Rock the Status Quo

Want to optimize your Facebook page? Here’s how, in a nice little primer from gShift Labs called the “Facebook SEO Guide.”

There are a few points that I strongly disagree with though, so here goes…

1. “There’s no reason why you can’t have more than one business Facebook Page. If you have other branded or unbranded keyword phrases that you want to claim, then you should, as long as you can efficiently and consistently manage the content for those pages.”

I am totally against creating social media pages that simply cater to specific keywords. While optimizing your social media is great, your content and reason for participating should focus on meaningful conversation, not rankings.

Also realize that real-time search is not “there” yet – it is weak and in its infancy. It will get stronger as time goes by, but for now, social media doesn’t have a strong impact on Google ranking yet. The results are not worth large time investments, strictly from an SEO perspective.

2. “Post Your Tweets to Facebook.” I recommend reversing this. Most people are far more active on Twitter than Facebook – and who wants a flood of tweets burying them on their Facebook page? If you have to do it, use an app to keep the Twitter feed on another tab, not your timeline. Also, do be sure and connect your Facebook to Twitter, so all Facebook posts head over to your Twitter feed. Volume is a good thing on Twitter, since you often have only a few seconds to be visible as people scan over their tweets.

3. The eBook incorrectly states that Google crawls and indexes Facebook. Yes, it did test this for a short period, but it was taken down almost a year ago. I still am not seeing Facebook activity appear on standard Google search results, and the “real-time” option on the Google sidebar has not yet reappeared. It will, eventually, but for now it is not.

I haven’t finished the  eBook yet, but most of it is good, basic information. Time to head out and finish reading. Have a fantastic Thursday, all!!