Optimize Your Facebook Business Page

Free SEO and Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

Why is Search Engine Optimization important for my Social Media?

A simple way to think of the internet is like on big filing cabinet and SEO is like alphabetizing your files. Search Engine Optimization helps search engine’s like Google and Bing quickly find the most relevant information for a search. Social media has the same goal, share the most relevant information but instead of using massive amounts of data and websites you’ve visited, it bases its results on your personal experience on their site with other pages and profiles. Social media uses your interests and interactions with information and people that you have followed, like, shared, commented or clicked to share results. Ultimately, social media uses how you interact more heavily to share information in feeds then based on what you are looking for when searching on search engines like google.

The key to rank well in both search engines and social media is to make your profile and the content you post relevant to people who want to by your product or services! An easy way to start is to optimize your business Facebook page with these 11 tips!

How can I Optimize Facebook for Google?

Many businesses already use Facebook pages, so let’s start after you’ve created you business page. Some of these tips require a certain number of fans, once you have about 50 followers you should be able to take advantage of all of these tips.

1. Create a Username Which Also Affects Your Facebook URL

Facebook gives each page a username (@username) that appears under your profile picture. You’ll also notice it at the top of your business page after www.facebook.com, for example, www.facebook.com/albion.digital is my username and page url. This is called a “vanity url” and is different than what Facebook generates for a page at the beginning. After your page gets 25 fans, you can change the username/vanity url to a branded name. I always make the url the same as my twitter account to create a cohesive and easy to remember brand identity through all of my social media accounts making me easier to find, but you can also make it your business name with a keyword like Albion Digital Marketing.

2. Use A Keyword With Your Business Name on Your Page.

Using your business name as the title of your Facebook page is appropriate but you can give your page some extra SEO juice by adding a keyword like you did for the vanity url. Keywords or phrases in the title of you page can help attract someone interested in your services. For example, Estero Animal Hospital tells Facebook users in Estero that there is animal hospital nearby and their username is @esterovet using another relevant keyword! This way when you are searching for a vet in the Estero area, you will find the Estero Animal Hospital first!

3. Use Keywords Throughout Your Entire Page!

A Facebook page is like a mini website with a high domain authority which makes it extremely valuable. I like how MOZ describes how a search engine would index your Facebook page in their article that inspired this blog. The fan page name is like an SEO title, meta description and h1 (header 1 or highest value title on a page) which tells search engines what the page is all about. The about section is also like the meta description which tells you, the user what the page is about.

4. Fill Out Your Profile as Completely as Possible

Facebook has added many features since the MOZ article, expanding your strategic keyword and phrase placements by sprinkling them in other sections like the story and mission section. The About Us is still the most important and has not lost its heavyweight status. Dynamically incorporate different keywords while filling out your profile as fully as possible to take full advantage of Facebook SEO.

5. Keep Up to Date with the Latest Features

My business, Albion.Digital added services to the page which shows to new visitors and increase my relevancy for people looking for my services. Not only does it display at the top of my page, I can tag posts with my services that makes me more relevant for the reader and connects my business with the content.

6. Connect Your Page to Other Social Media Profiles and Other Places You Share Content

Backlinking to other social media profiles works the same way it does for your website. This will increase your credibility with high authority sites and contributes to your online credibility with both search engines and people who use multiple platforms to share and consume information.

7. Optimize Your Facebook Fan Page for Status Updates

Search engines value the first 18 characters of your posts as meta descriptions and let’s readers know what the post is about. It’s of the upmost importance to entice readers to follow through to the article with an interesting tag but incorporating relevant keywords is an added bonus that can give your visibility a boost! That’s important in times like these when Facebook is limiting a business page’s ability to reach only 3% of it’s audience! If you have a hard time incorporating keywords into the first 18 characters, hashtags are another great way to keep the post relevant. Make sure you use them properly and vet hashtags your using. Using hashtags is like joining a large conversation, and you don’t want to associate with the wrong ones.
Just like backlinking, make sure to link your site to the post even with content from a different source. I always include my website url in posts with a link preview to other content for a targeted post, so I can have both connected to my business.

8. Include Your Phone Number And Email Address.

Filling out your Facebook page is the best way to make your business easy to find. Making sure you have the correct phone and email address on your Facebook profile is just as important as having a correct Google business listing and contributes to your local SEO. Correct contact information not only provides legitimacy for your business, but allows people to ask questions or brag about their experience directly which is the most important part of social media! Communication!

9. Optimize Photos Using Keywords.

Optimizing pictures for SEO is super easy and in large volume can give you a boost. I save all my pictures by incorporating my business name, a keyword including location if it fits, and an appropriate description of the picture. If you want to keep it simple I use this format for the pictures (business-name_keyword_picture-description).

10. Optimize How Pages Post.

When you have a small budget, a great way to compensate is to dedicate time reaching out as either an agent of your business with your profile or to use your business page to interact on other page’s posts. You can find open forums, groups, hashtags or posts when you like pages as your business page and leave insightful comments that is the equivalent of guest blogging for social media which will establish your status as an expert and thought leader on relevant topics to your business.

If you haven’t seen the pattern yet, many SEO strategies can also be used on any social media platform as either a business (page) or representative of a business (personal profile). You can see this more by exploring LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

11. Customize Your Page Tabs.

Your Facebook Page is basically your second website. Unlike many other social media sites, you can share most of the information from your website on your Facebook page. Customizing tabs is a great way to duplicate important elements of your website on a high authority site and can make a more engaging page.

Don’t Lose Sight Of Your Social Media Goals!

SEO is an important part of your overall online visibility strategy, but make sure your efforts compliment your social media strategy. SEO and social media are like Ying and Yang, they should balance each other out for the sake of the best user experience. These 8 tips should add value to your overall brand making it more cohesive. A more cohesive brand will lead to a stronger message, but if you don’t share targeted, interesting and relevant content from your business page, your message could be lost.

The most important note I would like to leave you with is understanding time vs. money when it comes to optimizing your social media. If these tips seem overwhelming or you do not want to work on your social media and SEO yourself, contact me for more information on how I can help you. If not, feel free to drop a line and introduce yourself and share your feedback!