Knowledge Panels for Affiliate Sites | Why You Need a KGMID (James Dooley Interviews Mike Lovatt)
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What Does “Knowledge Panels for Affiliate Sites | Why You Need a KGMID (James Dooley Interviews Mike Lovatt)” Talk About?
This episode of the James Dooley Podcast dives into the topic of knowledge panels for affiliate sites, exploring why Google's evolving algorithm now favors real, verifiable entities over anonymous blogs. Host James Dooley and guest Mike Lovatt break down the multiple routes an affiliate site can take to earn a knowledge panel, including the e-commerce route via Google Merchant Center, securing a Google My Business listing, publishing books or journals, and the traditional path of accumulating enough press coverage and online discussion to trigger automatic panel creation. The conversation also addresses why the helpful content update has raised the stakes, making it essential for affiliate marketers to demonstrate that they are genuine businesses with real-world signals.
A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the importance of Knowledge Graph Machine IDs (KGMIDs) and how founders and authors attached to affiliate brands can build personal authority as subject matter experts. Mike Lovatt references a Google patent called 'entities as experts,' explaining that Google actively tries to determine whether an expert is real or simply a pen name, and that third-party corroboration is critical for that recognition. The episode also covers practical steps such as creating Crunchbase profiles, obtaining reviews on platforms like Trustpilot or reviews.io, adding a legitimate business address and phone number, and using schema markup as the connective tissue that ties all these signals together in Google's knowledge graph.
“Schema reduces disambiguation. If your page isn't written in a formal semantic structure, Google can make mistakes. Schema increases clarity and confidence about who you are and what you do.”
— Mike Love
Who Are the Guests on “Knowledge Panels for Affiliate Sites | Why You Need a KGMID (James Dooley Interviews Mike Lovatt)”?
James Dooley is a well-known figure in the SEO and digital marketing space, recognized for his expertise in affiliate marketing, link building, and technical SEO strategies. As the host of the James Dooley Podcast, he regularly interviews practitioners and thought leaders to share actionable insights with his audience of affiliate marketers and SEO professionals.
Mike Lovatt is an SEO specialist with deep expertise in schema markup, structured data, JSON-LD, and knowledge graph optimization. He has spent years working on content and link building strategies for affiliate sites and has increasingly focused on entity building and KGMID optimization. His practical, hands-on perspective on how Google interprets real business signals makes him a valuable voice for affiliate marketers looking to future-proof their sites.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “Knowledge Panels for Affiliate Sites | Why You Need a KGMID (James Dooley Interviews Mike Lovatt)”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Affiliate sites can and should pursue a knowledge panel because Google now prioritizes real entities over anonymous blogs, especially following the helpful content update.
- There are multiple routes to earning a knowledge panel, including the e-commerce path via Google Merchant Center, Google My Business, press coverage, and publishing books or journals.
- Third-party corroboration is essential, meaning a founder or expert attached to a site must be referenced externally in press releases, on other platforms, and across the web to be recognized as a genuine entity by Google.
- Schema markup acts as the connective glue that links an affiliate brand's scattered web presence, including social profiles, Crunchbase, and Wikidata, into a coherent entity in Google's knowledge graph.
- Adding real business signals such as a business address, phone number, and email alongside profiles on platforms like Crunchbase and reviews sites sends strong trust signals that help affiliate sites compete with e-commerce brands.
“Being seen as an expert helps you rank better, but it needs third-party corroboration. If you hire a doctor to review content, that doctor needs to mention your site elsewhere or be referenced in press releases. It needs third-party mentions.”
— Mike Love
Is “Knowledge Panels for Affiliate Sites | Why You Need a KGMID (James Dooley Interviews Mike Lovatt)” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to because it addresses one of the most pressing challenges facing affiliate marketers today: how to survive and thrive in a post-helpful-content-update world where Google is aggressively rewarding real businesses and penalizing thin, anonymous content sites. James Dooley and Mike Lovatt go beyond theory and provide a concrete, actionable framework that includes specific platforms like Crunchbase and reviews.io, schema implementation strategies, and the rationale behind dollar-a-day social media promotions to build genuine brand signals.
What makes this episode particularly valuable is Mike Lovatt's detailed explanation of the 'entities as experts' Google patent and how it reframes the entire concept of E-E-A-T for affiliate marketers. Rather than simply adding a doctor's name to a health site, the episode explains exactly why that tactic fails and what genuine entity building looks like in practice. Listeners will come away with a clear understanding of why KGMIDs matter, how schema connects the dots across their entire web presence, and what steps they can take immediately to start building the kind of trust signals that Google rewards with higher rankings and knowledge panels.
Who Should Listen to “Knowledge Panels for Affiliate Sites | Why You Need a KGMID (James Dooley Interviews Mike Lovatt)”?
This episode is ideal for:
- Affiliate marketers who want to future-proof their sites against Google algorithm updates by building genuine brand entities
- SEO professionals looking to deepen their understanding of schema markup, structured data, and knowledge graph optimization
- Digital PR practitioners who want to understand how third-party corroboration and press coverage contribute to entity building
- Founders and content creators running niche blogs or review sites who are ready to transition from anonymous publishing to building a recognized, authoritative brand
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What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“This episode finally made schema click for me. I've heard about structured data for years but Mike's explanation of it being the glue that connects all your brand profiles together is the clearest breakdown I've ever heard. Immediately went and updated my organization schema after watching this.”
“The part about the entities as experts Google patent was genuinely eye-opening. I've been adding author bios to my affiliate site for years thinking that was enough, but the point about needing third-party corroboration completely changed how I'm approaching my digital PR strategy going forward.”
“Really appreciate that they got into specific platforms like Crunchbase and reviews.io rather than just giving vague advice about being a real business. The tip about buying a cheap business address and phone number and adding it to schema is something I'm implementing this week.”
James Dooley: knowledge panels for affiliate sites. Today I'm joined with Mike Love and I want to talk to you about obviously you do a lot with schema with structured data with JSON LD and stuff like that and obviously now you're doing a lot more with KGM ids. If anyone that doesn't know what that means it stands for knowledge graph machine ID and optimizing for the knowledge graph. So, it's a pleasure having you, Mike. And let's jump straight in. I'm going to start with a simple question. Can an affiliate site have a knowledge panel?
Mike Love: Yes, they can.
James Dooley: Okay, so the next question is, how does someone who's watching this that's got an affiliate site get a knowledge panel? How do they get one being created?
Mike Love: So you could say the usual route is kind of brute forcing it. So trying to just over time get enough press eventually maybe hoping to get some sort of Wikipedia page or enough people talking about you that in the end Google just creates one due to search demand and enough volume of discussion online. The next route would be going down a slight e-commerce route like maybe adding a small e-commerce shop to your affiliate site and getting the knowledge panel that way via like the Google Merchant Center route which you'll see a few big sites have got. They'll just sell t-shirts or some branded gear and then they'll go down that route. Another way of doing it is getting a Google My Business, making yourself classed as an internet marketing service or something like that. There are a few ways of doing it. Another way could be publishing things like books or journals.
James Dooley: It was quite a loaded question. It's almost like asking how to rank a website and there's a million and one different ways of doing it, isn't there? So first and foremost, do you think it's important for an affiliate site to have a knowledge panel?
Mike Love: I didn't originally think it was that much. For years I've been doing content and link building, trying to get branded search and doing some off-site stuff with socials. A lot of affiliate sites have just gone and made social profiles and thought what's the point. If someone wants to search for reviews of air fryers, they're not going to dive into who has the best Facebook page. Affiliate marketers have always been slightly lazy with socials. Recently we've been discussing how it's important that you can spend a few dollars a day building up your social profiles with Facebook ads or Twitter ads just to get a bit more activity. Social profiles themselves are ranking more. In recent years, especially with the helpful content update, Google wants to rank real businesses. If you're a real business, you would probably have a knowledge panel. So it makes sense to work hard at getting one.
James Dooley: Anyone watching this, check out the link in the description. Myself and Mike did an in-depth podcast episode on dollar a day social media promotions and being omni-channel. Back to knowledge panels. Let’s say you've got a gambling affiliate site. How important is it for the founder or the author attached to get a KGM ID and a knowledge panel?
Mike Love: Two reasons. First, entities in Google's knowledge graph must connect to other entities. If your affiliate brand entity is unknown but you have a presence, connecting yourself as founder helps. Secondly, there was a Google patent called entities as experts. Google tries to decipher who is actually an expert and who is just a pen name. Affiliate marketers used to add doctor names to health sites which doesn’t necessarily work. Being seen as an expert helps you rank better, but it needs third-party corroboration. If you hire a doctor to review content, that doctor needs to mention your site elsewhere or be referenced in press releases. It needs third-party mentions. Google wants to rank real experts, especially after the helpful content update. E-commerce sites often rank more because Google knows more about them. They have legal names, business addresses and Trustpilot reviews. Bloggers often have no entries in the knowledge graph. So building yourself as a subject matter expert helps.
James Dooley: I want to re-emphasize third-party corroboration. It has to work both ways. Not just adding a name. There needs to be first-party, second-party and third-party confirmation across the web. What about Trustpilot for affiliate sites?
Mike Love: Trustpilot is trusted but expensive. They skew ratings if you’re not paying. Smaller affiliate sites might not see it as worthwhile. There are cheaper options like reviews.io. It can help, but it’s harder for affiliate sites to justify the cost compared to e-commerce businesses.
James Dooley: What about Crunchbase?
Mike Love: After the helpful content update, Google wants real businesses. If you've gone the extra mile and created profiles like Crunchbase alongside social activity, why not. Real businesses have Crunchbase profiles.
James Dooley: What about adding a phone number, address and email?
Mike Love: Google said years ago they want to see real business signals like terms and conditions and shipping details. The same applies to affiliate sites. You don’t need your home address. You can buy a business address cheaply. You can get a phone number for a few dollars a month. Add it to your schema and third-party sources. It all helps.
James Dooley: Let’s talk about schema. Some people say schema isn’t needed. Can you explain how schema improves clarity and confidence?
Mike Love: Schema reduces disambiguation. If your page isn’t written in a formal semantic structure, Google can make mistakes. Schema increases clarity and confidence about who you are and what you do. For knowledge panels, schema is the glue. Google sees information scattered across the web. It sees a Facebook page, Crunchbase, Wikidata. Schema connects them and confirms this is who we are and these are our profiles. There’s also more you can do like awards, people involved and services provided. It’s not just name and sameAs links.
James Dooley: If you're in the affiliate game, the quality threshold has increased. Just publishing content and building links is not enough. You need to build a real brand and aim for a knowledge panel. Attach a real name, address, phone number and email. Work towards getting that KGM ID for long-term trust. Mike, it’s been an absolute pleasure.
Creators & Guests
Host
James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.
Guest
Mike Lovatt is a British SEO specialist and digital entrepreneur based in France. He is the founder of M & B Marketing SARL. Mike Lovatt's approach focuses on topical authority…