1. A computer-implemented method comprising: identifying a candidate parent entity, the candidate parent entity comprising an entity of an entity set and having one or more characteristics indicative of the entity having a parent hierarchical relationship to another entity of the entity set; identifying a candidate child entity set, the candidate child entity set comprising entities of the entity set each having one or more characteristics indicative of the entity having a child hierarchical relationship to the candidate parent entity; comparing, using a computer, characteristics of the candidate parent entity to characteristics of an entity of the candidate child entity set to determine whether a hierarchical relationship exists between the candidate parent entity and the entity of the candidate child entity set; determining that a hierarchical relationship exists between the candidate parent entity and the entity of the candidate child entity set; and updating a hierarchical index to reflect the hierarchical relationship between the candidate parent entity and the entity of the candidate child entity set.