How do I Improve the Effectiveness of My SEO via Facebook?

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Hey everyone, it’s Jason Hennessey from EverSpark Interactive. Recently, there has been a lot of focus on Facebook, from its rivalry with Google + to its recent changes, to the large announcement expected at today’s F8 conference in San Francisco. Facebook’s importance in our everyday lives is undeniable, and its importance in our business lives is always growing. Also, Mashable reports that large changes are in store for the social media site, saying that the upcoming announcements and changes will bring about “the evolution of social networking.” Mashable’s article also recaps the changes that have already been made by Mark Zuckerberg’s company in an effort to correct the fact that Facebook’s relationships with its users has gone stale and predicts the effects of the upcoming improvements:

“That’s why Facebook launched three recent changes: revamped Friend Lists, a real-time news ticker, and the subscribe button… But these changes are just the beginning. The changes Facebook will roll out on Thursday are designed to enhance the emotional connection its users have to each other through Facebook. These changes will make Facebook a place where nearly everything in your life is enhanced by your social graph. These changes will make it so you know your friends better than you ever thought you could.”

So in the spirit of the fact that Facebook is changing – possibly today – I thought I’d expand on a recent blog post we published, “Search Engine Optimization Tips,” which emphasizes the importance of branding to your current SEO strategy, and notes that Facebook can provide your website with good, high-quality links. Since Facebook is sure to get a lot of buzz in the coming days, weeks, and maybe even months, its important for businesses to be where the people are and be a part of the conversation. This is only one of many reasons to be on Facebook right now, and since we glossed the surface of why Facebook is so important to branding efforts in our blog post, today I’m going to go a little more in-depth and also discuss some tips for improving your Facebook page’s ability to drive links to your site and possibly improve your rankings in the SERPs. So, how do you as a business trying to improve your online presence via the 750-million user strong social media platform?

While creating good content should be the paramount object of any SEO, syndicating that content in the right places and to the right people can be just as important. What’s the point of putting good content out there if no one is going to read it, and no one is going to visit the helpful links integrated within that content? There isn’t one. So here are some tips for making your content and social media efforts improve the effectiveness of your SEO strategy:

One: First, make sure your branding stays consistent across all platforms, and make sure your pages and URLs include your company’s name. This will ensure that Google recognizes your company everywhere that you have a presence and can evaluate your footprint across the web.
Two: Once you have established your page, try to amp up the rate at which others begin to “like” your page, whether it be with Facebook’s targeted ads or by some other method. Why? Because Bing directly takes these into account when calculating rankings. A large number of likes also reflects well on your brand.
Three: Also, it’s not uncommon for businesses to use top keywords in their posts, especially in the “Info” section. While this is not a bad idea, where many companies go wrong is by stuffing their Facebook pages and their content with keywords so that people are turned-off from their pages. Strike a balance, don’t overdo it, and maintain your audience’s attention.
Four: Along those same lines, be present. Answer questions, interact in conversations, and don’t let your Facebook page become stale; if you do so, there isn’t any point in being on Facebook, because your dead page is no longer helping your business.
Five: And for the last tip, and possibly one of the more important ones, work to get inbound links to your Facebook page from both people on Facebook and people across the web; this will help you build the trust of your audience and it will also show the search engines that you are a trusted authority.

All in all, remember to keep a close eye on Facebook in the coming days and weeks following the F8 conference; for instance, just today, Facebook announced that it will allow developers to create their own actions for their sites (this also according to Mashable). Now, instead of having to “like” things online, users will have the ability to use other “Gestures” created by these developers (like “watched,” “listened,” and more). Apparently, the Facebook team did research and found that younger users were less likely to “like” things across the web because they didn’t want to look like they were endorsing them. Now, with “Gestures,” that will likely all change.

If you have any questions about social media, SEO, or anything else having to do with search marketing, please visit our blog to find daily posts with tips, best practices, and comprehensive posts about what’s going on with Google, optimization and more. For questions that are more specific to your business, give us a call at 770-481-1766, or visit our website for more information about our Atlanta SEO Agency. With that, thanks for watching and we’ll see you next time!

Related Information:

Facebook Changes Mirror Google Advantages
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Social Networking Importance Reflected in New Survey
Search Engines Responsible for 34% of Inbound Facebook Pages Traffic
Facebook Improves Privacy, Sharing
AIMA Social SIG Event: Live Blog Coverage
Twitter and Facebook Shake it Up
How Will Google + Business Profiles Compare to Facebook Pages?
Google Launches its Social Network, Google +