The Knowledge Graph is Google's way of keeping you within the confines of its search pages, so you won't have to navigate away. This feature has done wonders for Google users, and remains one of the reasons why most people still use Google. The Knowledge Graph has come a long way from a simple arithmetic calculator to the complex information panel it is now. In addition to the previous music artists' event schedules, Google has now added more dimensions to the array.
It started last year when Google started showing music artists' event schedule in its Knowledge Graph pane on the left. Here's a screenshot from the update back then;
This feature has now been expanded;
Ticket links for events
For artists: if you mark up ticketing links along with the events on your official website, Google will now show an expanded answer card for your events in Google search, including the on-sale date, availability, and a direct link to your preferred ticketing site.
As before, you may write the event markup directly into your site’s HTML, or simply install an event widget that builds in the markup for you automatically—like Bandsintown or BandPage.
Delegated Event Listings
What if you can’t add markup or an event widget to your official website - for example, if your website doesn’t list your events at all? Now you can use delegation markup to tell Google to source your events from a page of your choice on another website. Just add the following markup to your home page, making sure to customize the values in bold:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{"@context" : "http://schema.org",
"@type" : "MusicGroup",
"name" : "Your Band or Performer Name",
"url" : "http://your-official-website.com",
"event" : "http://other-event-site.com/your-event-listing-page/"
}
</script>
The marked-up events found on the other event site's page will then be eligible for Google events features. Examples of sites you can point to in the “event” field include bandpage.com, bandsintown.com, and ticketmaster.com etc.
Comedian Events
Google wants to feature comedian events in its Knowledge Graph too.. Just add ComedyEvent markup to your official website. Or, if another site like laughstub.com has your complete event listings, use delegation markup on your home page to point Google their way.
Venue Events
Google is also starting to show venue event listings in Google Search. Concert venues, theaters, libraries, fairgrounds, and so on: make your upcoming events eligible for display across Google by adding Event markup to your official website.
As with artist events, you have a choice of writing the event markup directly into your site’s HTML, or using a widget or plugin that builds in the markup for you. Also, if all your events are ticketed by a primary ticketer whose website provides markup, you don’t have to do anything! Google will read the ticketer’s markup and apply it toward your venue’s event listings.
If you're an artist, comedian, or event organizer, then add the markups on your site and help new fans discover your events, and play to a packed house! All the best :)
