What is an entity in SEO?
In the world of SEO, an entity describes a distinct and identifiable “thing” that search engines understand as a real concept and not just a word. Entities can be people, brands, places, products, or concepts, each with specific attributes and relationships.
For example:
- Apple (brand/organisation)
- Steve Jobs (person)
- London (place)
- iPhone 17 (product)
- Generative Engine Optimisation (concept)
Search engines like Google and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT recognise entities across contexts and therefore understand that Apple the company is different from apple the fruit. Entities help search engines understand meaning, context, intent, and relevance beyond keywords.
Why are entities important for SEO in 2026?
Entities are being discussed more than ever before because of the emergence of AI search and LLMs, yet they have been an integral part of the SEO landscape for many years.
Just think about Google SERPs as evidence of this. Google Business Profiles identify businesses as entities, while the Knowledge Panel identifies products and concepts. Even Google Images use entities to better understand concepts, combining multiple signals, for example, visual recognition (objects, faces, landmarks), surrounding text or page context and alt text.
Whilst entities have been an important part of SEO since Google purchased Freebase in 2010 – considered by many experts as the first major step that led to the current entity search system – there is no doubt there has been a significant shift from exact match keyword targeting towards optimising around a wider a topic or entity.
| Old SEO approach | New SEO approach |
| Optimise for one phrase | Optimise for a topic or entity |
| One keyword per page | Entity coverage across multiple pages |
| Match wording | Match meaning and intent |
| Ranking URLs | Establish topical authority or relevance |
What does this mean in practice? It means content is judged less by exact phrasing and more by wider entity coverage, contextual relevance, semantic relationships and demonstrated expertise. As a result, E-E-A-T signals have never been more important (more on this below).
To remain visible within search in 2026 it’s vital that you’re seen as a credible voice of authority within your specific niche. In short, entities help provide certainty, and certainty drives search visibility.
How to use entities to improve your SEO strategy in the world of AI
Above we have explored what entities are and why they are important in an ever-evolving search landscape, however you’ll probably want to understand how best to use entities to improve your SEO?
Below we identify some actionable tips which can help to take your SEO to the next level in 2026.
1. Enhance your E-E-A-T signals
E-E-A-T stands for ‘experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness’. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, E-E-A-T signals are essential because they determine whether an entity is genuinely trusted, not just understood. Your brand – an entity in its own right – is unlikely to feature in search, be it traditional or AI-generated, if it’s not seen as an authority.
Search engines can identify entities using text and schema mark-up, but E-E-A-T signals tell AI systems which entities deserve visibility. Strong E-E-A-T helps Google validate whether an entity is credible, knowledgeable, and connected to real world signals – such as authorship, brand recognition, citations, and reputation.
In entity-based SEO, trusted entities are prioritised for rankings, AI answers, and knowledge driven results. Without E-E-A-T, entity recognition exists – but visibility does not.
MRS Digital’s 5 Top E-E-A-T Tips:
- Earn trusted third party mentions & citations. These external signals validate your entity beyond your own website, boosting authority. Think getting cited in trusted industry publications and relevant directories.
- Keep content accurate, consistent, and up to date, to reinforce trust. Outdated or conflicting information weakens AI confidence in your entity. Look to refresh key pages when necessary to provide users with the most up to date information, and ensure consistency across multiple platforms such as your website, schema mark-up, business listings, social profiles and third-party review sites.
- Demonstrate first‑hand experience within content – signalling experience. Create case studies, or unique research to help differentiate your genuine, experience-based expertise from AI
-generated content.- Add clear authorship. Showcase your real‑world credentials to harness both your experience and expertise. Create detailed author bios (not generic admin or brands profiles) and align them with social profiles where possible, such as LinkedIn. Detail your job role, years of experience within the field, plus any relevant qualifications or certifications acquired. This will help associate your content with real, verifiable people entities.
- Strengthen your About Us page to build trust. For example, clearly display your business name, a comprehensive description of your products or services and company history, physical address (if applicable) and contact details. This reassures both users and search engines that the entity behind the site is both legitimate and accountable.
2. Earn a Google Knowledge Panel
Earning a Google Knowledge Panel is crucial because it signals to Google that your brand, person, or organisation is a verified, authoritative entity. A Knowledge Panel enhances visibility in search results, builds trust with users, and strengthens semantic connections in Google’s Knowledge Graph.
This improves your chances of ranking for entity-based queries, Featured Snippets, and voice search. It also consolidates your digital identity across platforms, reducing ambiguity and reinforcing E‑E‑A‑T signals. In short, a Knowledge Panel is a powerful trust and authority indicator that boosts discoverability and credibility in an entity-driven search ecosystem.
Expert tip: Google’s Knowledge Graph API is a great tool for identifying entities within the Knowledge Graph. It details a vast array of entities, provides structured data about their context and relationships which can be used to enhance relevance.
3. Include semantically related keywords in your content
Including semantically -related keywords in your content helps search engines understand the full context and meaning of your topic, not just individual keywords. These related terms strengthen topical relevance, improve entity associations, and align your content with user intent. These related keywords are often referred to as LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords.
By covering a broader semantic field, you increase the chances of ranking for multiple queries, appearing in Featured Snippets, AI Overviews and building topical authority. This approach supports modern SEO, which prioritises context and relationships over keyword density, making your content more comprehensive, authoritative, and aligned with how search engines interpret language.
4. Increase topical authority and relevance
Above we explore the importance of including semantically- related keywords within each individual piece of content. However, it’s also essential to create related content around a wider entity to position yourself as an authority in your sector.
For example, if you want to rank for “AI SEO” (not a bad idea in 2026), it would be beneficial to create content on related sub-topics to enhance your topical authority. For example, “ChatGPT SEO”, “LLM SEO”, “Best AI SEO tools” and “Entity SEO” – exploring the wider topic from multiple angles.
Increasing topical authority and relevance with related content boosts SEO because it signals to search engines that your site comprehensively covers a subject, not just isolated keywords.
By creating interconnected, high-quality content around a core topic, you strengthen semantic relationships and entity associations in Google’s Knowledge Graph. This improves your chances of ranking for broader queries, earning AI Overviews, and building trust through E-E-A-T signals.
Essentially, topical depth and relevance help search engines view your brand as an authoritative source on the entity, driving higher visibility and long-term organic growth.
Expert tip: Remember to logically interlink related pages to create a content hub for a given entity, varying the anchor text.
5. Utilise schema mark-up
Schema mark-up improves SEO in the AI-driven search era by providing structured data that helps search engines clearly understand your entity, its attributes, and relationships. It creates connections between your content and recognised entities in the Knowledge Graph, boosting semantic relevance and trust signals.
This increases the likelihood of rich results, Knowledge Panels, and voice search visibility. By using schema types like Organisation, Person, Product, and Article, you make your content machine-readable, enabling AI systems to deliver accurate, context-aware answers.
In short, schema mark-up turns implicit meaning into explicit signals, strengthening your entity authority and discoverability.
Expert tip: Validate your structured data using https://validator.schema.org/ to ensure you have implemented correctly.
Strengthen Your AI SEO Performance with MRS Digital
Looking to refine your on-page SEO and boost visibility in the current, ever-evolving search landscape?
With over 25 years of experience, our SEO specialists have helped businesses of all sizes enhance their online performance and climb the SERPs. We also have a wealth of experience working specifically with B2B businesses and the unique challenges this can bring.
Learn more about our award-winning AI SEO agency or get in touch with our team today using our quick and easy contact form and we’ll be in touch within the hour.
