The first step to optimizing your site for search is
to identify the best keywords you should use. Keywords should be
selected on the basis of how potential customers who have NEVER heard of
your brand name but who NEED your goods/products/services are searching
for providers. Keywords are tricky to pick out but with a little help
from Google's keyword tools (insights, trends, sets, etc) you can
uncover not only the right words and phrases but the search volume
itself. Try and find good keywords and link them to your company name as
you choose your Vanity URL.
Make sure your
Facebook Page URL
represents the identity of your business and your brand. They frown on
black hat behaviors so keep it above board and choose a username that
represents your brand! Part of the process to get a vanity url is to
have 100 fans on your page. Once you get more than 100 fans you can
implement this SEO element with Facebook.
Once you have
investigated and selected the best keywords and selected your vanity
page URL it is time to concentrate on the actual optimization of your
Facebook page. Here are some general guidelines for on page optimization:
Add keywords to your "about" box
Place your company website link url in your profile
You can add more than one URL so add your Twitter link, LinkedIn profile link, etc.
Publish interesting content on a regular basis that is related to your products or industry that is not 'salesy'
Use keywords in everything you post if possible
Be social, interact, evoke comments
Add video from YouTube, add photos or products, your store front, etc.
Find links related to your site content.
Put your Facebook page url on your email, newsletter, website, etc.
The
"About" text is the place to pack your description with keywords as
close to the top of the page as possible. You are limited by the amount
of text you can place in her it is still the best place to add custom
text. There is a 250 character limit so use keywords in your text and be
selective!
The "info" tab is a critical place to
include more keywords/phrases as well as your links to your website and
other social networks where your brand has a presence. This is
essentially where the descriptive metadata for your fan page is pulled
by the search engines and really boosts your content score. Facebook has
a super high page rank with all the search engines therefore it is
critical to have your website on your Facebook page to provide a
valuable link. To have your website displayed on your main profile page
click access the information box on the left side of your profile page.
Click on the yellow pencil and you will be able to edit the box. Check
the box "website" for your site to be displayed. Now visitors can go
directly to your website. Here are some things to add to this box:
Local
Search Information - complete address for a brick and mortar business
or city, state, and zip if you work from home or only have PO box.
Company Data - Mission statement, Products, Services, Brands carried
URL - add links to your website, blog, and other social networking personal pages
Facebook
lets you create "static FBML" (Facebook Markup Language) boxes and tabs
for large volumes of content, images, or video. The more content you
have on your page the greater your content density score with Google;
however, keep in mind that each tab you create has a separate URL from
the search engine perspective. To add a custom tab or box to your page:
In the search box on the top right of your Facebook page type in "static fbml"
You will go to a page of listings. Select the "Static FBML" application button.
A new page will open and on the top left side are two options. Click the "add to my page" icon.
Choose the page where you wish to add the custom content box or tab.
Close the dialog box and go to your Fanpage. Just below your profile photo click "edit Page"
A new page will open. In the application list is the application "FBML 1." Click on the pencil beside it.
Select "edit"
A
new page will open with 2 fields - "Box Title" and "FBML". Name the box
or tab with a Keyword related to the content you will place there. If
this will be a Tab Title you will be limited to 10 characters.
Click "save changes"
To return to your application settings page click "edit" at the top of your page.
Click the pencil next to the name you selected for the FBML application and then choose "application settings."
To add the FBML you just created as a box select "add" next to the "box" option.
To add the FBML you just created as a tab select "add" next to the "tab" option.
Status
updates are a great place to post direct links to your website;
however, you want to do that judiciously. No one likes to be sold to or
constantly pitched. Since Google really likes pages that link to
relevant sites, posting relevant related links near the top of your
page's structure are legitimate Google boosters for your Facebook page.
Post the raw URL in the status update frame or use the "
attach link"
feature. Posting the raw url Facebook automatically links the text to
the URL. The resulting anchor text is what it is...you can't change it;
however, the url is linked directly to the destination page and does not
have Facebook.com as part of the menu bar on the destination page.
If
you use the "attach link" feature Facebook pulls the title, body, and
any images from your page and creates a suggested image and text to the
side of your page's link. This is great for increasing your keyword
density too by changing the anchor text before "sharing" your link. This
link will go through a share url that places the destination url in an
iframe that has the Facebook menu bar at the top. It will also include a
share feature as well as a place for comments.
Content
is still king so what you post beyond URLs can influence your
searchability. But highly optimized keyword rich content is useless if
it is not interesting and varied. Photos are terrific but add keyword
rich captions perhaps with a geo-targeted keyword for additional mojo.
Post an event and include text and keywords as well. Create a discussion
forum for those events and to discuss brands and product reviews, etc.
All the content you share on your Facebook Pages are indexable by search
engines.
There are even some offsite things you can do
for your Facebook Page. One of these is getting inbound links from you
website and vice versa. Reciprocal related linking from related and
authoritative websites help your PageRank. Put a Facebook badge or
Facebook Fan Box widget on your website to encourage your website
followers to link back to your Facebook page. Links from other Facebook
pages are also a form of inbound links to your page. The more fans you
have the more links you have to your Facebook page thus adding to your
"Google go juice."
Encourage your followers to comment
and discuss topics on your page. Get them to "like" content on your page
as that links their name back to their profile page thus creating yet
another back link. When Google's spiders see that your fan is commenting
on your page as it is indexed Google sees reciprocal links. This type
of linking is heavily weighted.
SEO is important to all
that you post on the nternet related to your business. Growing your
social media connections on Facebook is greatly aided by simple search
engine optimization tactics. You can do a lot to maximize your brand's
exposure to search engines through your
Facebook Fanpage.
Shannon
Evans is recognized in the Puget Sound as an expert in how to make your
business have a web presence rather than just a web page. Her
conversational marketing techniques and practices outlined by Practical
Local Search, LLC you will see your small business presence on the web
increase: http://www.practicallocalsearch.com/. She is a consultant for
social marketing campaigns that allow you to organize your marketing and
sales efforts in an inexpensive delivery platform that is easy to set
up and manage. The ability to send, deliver, and track any installed
resource gives you the power to create a marketing program quickly and
easily in a scalable format that can grow with your business.
Shannon
is also a co-author of Get Found Now! Local Search Secrets Exposed:
Learn How to Achieve High Rankings in Google, Yahoo and Bing and
multiple business ebooks. Her books teach entrepreneurs how to leverage
the internet to attract new clients.
Shannon has a wide
and varied background in both the practical and the pragmatic aspects
of the business world. Shannon loves nothing better than teaching local
businesses how to think globally and to be searched locally.
