Graph Search – Learn How to Improve Your Ranking
August 2013 was a pretty monumental month for Facebook. The company officially turned on its new Graph Search feature for all English speaking profiles and Pages thereby implementing possibly the biggest change to the system since Timeline. A common question many companies with Pages are asking is how they can take advantage of this change to become more visible or rank higher in searches.
Want to make your Facebook Page more visible to people using Graph Search and possibly improve your search Graph Search rank? Here are four tips on how you can make sure your Page shows up when users search using specific keywords.
1. Ensure that you have the right name
Companies often go by numerous names. There’s the full name on the masthead and registries, the name employees use, as well as the name your company uses when talking to customers and possibly what customers call you. With your Facebook Page, you should use the name that your customers most frequently identify with. For example if you are Ricky’s Pizza Joint LTD. and your customers frequently call you Ricky’s Pizza, try naming your page Ricky’s Pizza.
Beyond that, it’s not a good idea to pad your name with too many keywords, as chances are high this will be associated with spam and your rank may be punished. If you notice that other pages use the same name as you try adding in a location specific word e.g., Ricky’s Pizza – Vancouver.
2. Include as many details as possible in your profile
Facebook Pages include sections like About, Mission, Company Description, etc. where you can provide valuable information about your company. Take a look at each of these sections and ensure it includes the information you want your customers to see. For example, in the About section include your website, contact information and even brief 1-2 keyword rich sentences or paragraphs about your company.
Under the Company Description box make sure you actually say what your company does, or how your services and products can help customers. Again, you can include keywords here that you think people will use when searching for either your company or a solution/product that you offer.
At the very least you should ensure that the basic information like address, company name, website and contact information are provided, but having some more information will improve the chances of your Page being found in Facebook searches.
3. Grab a customized Facebook URL
Did you know that Facebook allows businesses to customize their Facebook page’s URL? This is a good idea because it makes your page more visible and easier to remember/find. An optimal Facebook URL would be facebook.com/yourbusiness. You can customize your URL by:
- Logging into your Facebook account and pressing the cog in the top-right.
- Selecting Account Settings and clicking Edit in the Username row.
- Entering the name you want beside Username.
- Pressing Save Changes.
- This will change not only your username, but also your Page’s URL.
4. Keep creating awesome content
Despite the changes, Facebook is still a social oriented site where sharing of quality content is the name of the game. You should be sure to focus on creating content that your clients, customers and fans on Facebook want to share or even engage in and interact with.
With Graph Search, the more content that is shared, liked and commented on the higher the chance that you will be not only found in searches but also be ranked higher. If you are active and customers/users are interacting with you, this could really help your Page and your brand gain valuable exposure.
Facebook is looking to make Pages more relevant and if you take the time to optimize your profile, while working to create interesting content, you should see increased exposure and maybe even a higher search rank. If you are looking to learn more about Facebook and how the recent changes can affect your business please contact us today.
