In our first article of this series, Google Will Eat ILSes' Lunch!, we introduced the idea that Google is starting to organize Multifamily's data, and talked about how this will impact ILSes.

But, how does Google organize industry data? And, how does it shift revenues from the industry ecosystem to itself?

The answer is in the deceptively simple, but awesomely powerful Knowledge Graph. Let’s look at the Hotel and the Apartment Knowledge Graph to unpack this technology.

The Hotel Knowledge Graph

Here is Google’s knowledge panel for a hotel visible on the right of a search results page:

What did it take to organize the Hotel Knowledge Graph?

First, Google collected information from many different sources:

• Some of the basics come from spidering the hotel’s website
• Other basics come from information volunteered by the hotel’s owner using Google My Business
• Photos come from customers that have visited the hotel
• Photos could also come directly from the owners themselves
• Finally, reviews have come from third party sites

And, then, Google linked all of the above to create the knowledge graph for a single hotel.

Why is the Knowledge Graph so much more powerful than other search results?

First, the knowledge graph is not a link to other sites.

Second, its goal is to directly answer the most important questions without having to click through to multiple sites. As Google’s Amit Singhal said: "If people are searching for “2+2″, why shouldn’t Google give a direct answer to that versus sending searchers to a site?”

Third, it has a built-in call-to-action that allows the user to initiate a transaction from Google. In this case, booking a room.

As a result, users are able to do all their research and make their decisions without leaving Google.

In contrast, the online travel agency (OTA) is left out of the loop. At best, it is left to make the actual reservation. At worst, the reservation is made directly on the hotel’s site itself.

The Apartment Knowledge Graph

How close is Google to organizing the Multifamily Apartment Knowledge Graph? Look at it for yourself:

Pretty close to the Hotel Knowledge Graph, right?

In our next article we’ll compare the evolving state of Google’s Apartments Knowledge Graph to their Hotels Knowledge Graph. (To catch the next article in this series, make sure you subscribe, below!)

What do you think about Google's Apartments Knowledge Graph? Will it help or hurt your property? Please share in the comments below!