For Whom The Knol Tells

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August 26, 2008 by James
Filed under: Internet Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Strategic Content 

Authority, advertising and effective search. That’s what google is offering with Knols. Google Knol’s are new. They offer the apparent ease of unprecedented publication and distribution for your content. But what are they, how will they ultimately get used and will they survive long enough to make it into the mainstream of Internet Marketing? And for those interested in SEO/SEM there’s the million dollar question… do Knol’s get indexed by the search engines?

“What is a knol?”

A Knol is an authoritative article about a specific topic. It’s a single web page and it resides within the protected walls of Google’s dominion. Some experts are crying “foul” and claiming Google is a media company rather than a search company and is doing ‘this’ for the money, but frankly all the noise is somewhat moot. Google has already done it. The Knol is here, what we do with it, and what the implications are is still unfolding.

“Is it like a Wiki?”

Within moments of appearing, Knols were compared to Wiki’s and it might seem on the surface that both are alike - however they are not. Other than the fact content is published on the web, that is pretty much where the similarity ends. Knol’s are not “editing free for alls” like Wikis are. Your Knol might get flagged but it cannot be edited and no one can butcher your content without your permission.

“Do knol’s get indexed?”

And Knols are growing rapidly - and yes, to answer the “million dollar question” they are indexed by the search engines. For those interested in SEO a Knol is a very powerful ally in helping you command yet another prime search engine result spots. Certain Internet experts say Google is unfairly weighting the Knols and allowing them too much sway in the results.

“A shell game?”

I say “so what”, the Google game is already rigged - don’t fight it (you’ll lose) roll with it and play within the system. Remember, it is a system. Governed by rules you do not control, commanded by people you cannot directly influence. Welcome to the wacky world of search… *Sidebar* This is why you do not put all your eggs in one “search” basket. But I digress.

“A lens by any other name…”

Back to Knol’s. The closest cousin I would say to a Knol is a Squidoo lens - pioneered by none other than Seth Godin. Squidoo provides experts a place to focus their interests into content pools (lenses) and these have always ranked well with search engines (and yes… I know about the ‘Squidoo slap’ and adjusted rankings - but overall, sites offering focused content rate well with the SE’s)

“Monetizing your knol”

Like lenses you can make money from commercializing your Knol content. It’s a simple model - split the revenue from advertising clicks. Perhaps you can now see why certain experts cried foul when Google made Knols available - it’s just one more place this giant media company can display its ads and in turn generate more money.

I would point out that you don’t have to display ads. It’s not mandatory. You can just publish your Knol and be done with it. And Google has no editorial roll whatsoever. Google wants to provide all the tools to help you create Knols, they’ll even host the content so that experts can focus just on the content.

“My way or the highway…”

Remember, Knols aren’t about consensus, they’re about authority, written by people who know about those subjects. No longer can the author of a Knol hide behind the anonymity of the web, now they’re thrust into the spotlight and you are shown exactly who authored each Knol.

Bottom line, Google rarely launches a dog. Knol’s are quickly gaining traction and some of my earliest Knols already have page rank! This is important to note because at the time of writing this post, the Knol had only existed for about 3 weeks! Page rank in under a month… Hmmm. Maybe the rumours about Google favouring its own are true.

“Protect yourself with knols”

My advice to you is this. If you understand the value of content marketing start making Knols. Re-purpose your content. Re-use your articles and your authority content. Command the space in which your work. Knol’s are yet another new frontier and like halcyon days of the early 90’s, there’s gold to mined in those digital hills - directly through advertising and indirectly through increased search marketing exposure.

PS. And if you’ve read some of my other work, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of online reputation management - so make a Knol for your own name. Remember, it would really be unfortunate if someone came along and made a Knol with your name/brand/trademark etc - and this new Knol showed up higher in the search results than all the results before it. Don’t believe me? It’s already happening and it’s called Knoljacking.

  • MakeMyKnol.com - Get your knol professionally written and published.

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Comments

2 Responses to “For Whom The Knol Tells”

  1. Tomaso on August 27th, 2008 10:51 am

    Yeah, but what’s a knol.

    Show me one.

    Explain the context.

    What is it doing for the world.

    Know I know a bit “about” knols
    but I’ve never seen one, and I
    don’t know the first thing about
    how to use them.

  2. James on August 27th, 2008 4:59 pm

    Tom,

    Check out the additional links benetath the article, that will help you get a handle on Knols.

    JB

    PS. Type “elance knol” into google and follow the link ;-)

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