Recent Google patents provide some insight into how a search algorithm identifies brands and the associated data that can ascribe trust attributes, which affect SEO and brand optimization.

For example, this Google patent talks about answering questions using entity references in unstructured data. Part of the abstract says “Methods, systems, and computer-readable media are provided for collective reconciliation. In some implementations, a query is received, wherein the query is associated at least in part with a type of entity.” The word “entity” refers to a proper noun, which is a person, place or thing, and that includes a brand name. The abstract essentially says a brand can rank in part because of associated keywords. Trust is a brand SEO factor because the optimization process includes developing a connection between your brand and relevant industry keywords.

The patent summary goes on to say “One or more ranking metrics are used to rank the entity references, including frequency of occurrence and a topicality score. Frequency of occurrence relates to the number of times an entity reference occurs within a particular document, collection of documents, or other content. Topicality scores include a relationship between the entity reference and the content in which it appears.” This is important for SEO because it refers to how brands are understood by the prominence of brand references and the proximity of topically related keywords within the context of relevant documents.

Another section talks about how Google collects brand data and compares it to information in their database. “The system generates a collection of entity references appearing in a web page by comparing the structured or unstructured text to a list of known entity references, for example a list of names. In some implementations, entity references not previously known are identified based on a frequency of occurrence or other clustering techniques.”

The mention of “known entity references” could include the Knowledge Graph, which is a massive collection of real-world things and their connections. This database can affect brand SEO through connected information gathered from a variety of web sources used to enhance Google search results.