More than ever, Facebook is sharpening its focus on delivering meaningful engagements across its channels (Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, etc.). To create a positive experience and encourage a high Facebook page ranking, brands must take advantage of available tools to authentically build and engage their community.
The good news is, marketers don’t need Google AdWords to make their Facebook business page appear at the top of Google’s search results page. A strong link-building strategy is enough.
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James Norquay, SEO director of Prosperity Media, said that improving Facebook page ranking starts with a verified listing featuring a relevant vanity URL.
“You need to ensure that you are using keywords that match those on the search page,” he said. “You need to find these relevant keywords by doing research, using tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush. You also need to ensure that you link to your company Facebook page from all relevant business sources to improve the overall rankings.”
According to The Pearl Source president, Leon Rbibo, a few basic strategies can dramatically improve your Facebook page’s standing in organic search results.
“You’d be surprised how many businesses forget to link to their own social media profiles in a prominent location on their site,” he said. “If your site has a high domain rating, you are missing out on even greater benefits. Search engines have shown a strong preference for ranking social media profiles.”
Additionally, adding links to your email signature can amount to quick wins.
“Every click to your social media profiles sends a signal to search engines that that page is important,” Rbibo said. “If you’re sending hundreds of emails a day, it makes sense to include your social media information in your emails.”
Improving Rank
Tim Parkin, president of Parkin Consulting, said that Facebook has long favored video content, so if a company isn’t creating and posting videos, they’re missing an opportunity to raise their ranking.
“Post videos on your Facebook page at least weekly, and film at least one live video every month,” he said. “You can maximize your Facebook Live’s reach and engagement by sharing in advance on email and social media when you’re going live.”
Creating events on a regular basis is also a fun and easy way to increase reach and raise your page’s profile.
“Events are often shared and people love to invite their friends, both of which will boost the visibility and ranking of your Facebook page,” Parkin said. “Events don’t have to be in-person, either. You can create an event for a product announcement, online contest, or any number of other digital events you can think up.”
Co-founder of Boomer Benefits, Danielle K. Roberts, said that for every business-related post someone shares on Facebook, they should share at least two to three posts that relate with their target audience on a more personal level.
“People aren’t on Facebook to see your product or service posts. They are there to engage in things they enjoy seeing,” she says. “If you spam them constantly with posts about what you sell, you will have low engagement and you’ll lose fans that you’ve worked hard to gain. Companies that build real relationships with their followers on Facebook, win rank. Engage with the people that engage with you and you will begin to rank organically.”
Feedback & Reviews
But what about reviews? How do they contribute to your page’s success? Reviews are great for credibility, and they can also help improve the ranking of your Facebook page. The best Facebook pages have tons of 5-star reviews, which is a significant factor Facebook uses to evaluate pages.
“Allowing reviews on your Facebook business page sends a stream of fresh, new, engaging content to the page in a cadence that’s conducive to search rankings,” Rbibo said. “Fresh content like this sends a clear signal to search engines that the page is active, engaging, and healthy.”
A Complete Picture
When setting up your page, don’t forget to fill out the “About Us” section using keywords related to your niche or business.
John Mims, assistant professor of communications at High Point University’s Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, said that an incomplete About Us page doesn’t do brands any favors.
“About Us has all the important information—address, hours of operation, contact information, etc.,” he said. “You need to apply a custom URL. You have to ensure your products and services are listed. If you allow customers to connect with you via Facebook Messenger, you need someone available to respond in a timely manner. In short, your Facebook page is at least as important as your corporate website. Make sure that you give it the same attention.”
Get Legit
It turns out one of the most important things you can do is also the easiest. Intrepy Healthcare Marketing co-owner, Justin Knott, said that verifying a Facebook page is an essential step in improving page rankings, but that most companies forget about this simple step.
“People go years sometimes blissfully unaware of the impact (and ease of correcting) of not claiming their page on SEO,” he said. “Claimed pages are easy to spot as they sport the grey check mark next to the page name. To verify, it’s as simple as clicking on ‘settings’ and going to page verification. This will solidify trust with Facebook for people searching for your page or related pages in your field that you show up highly in search results on Facebook.”
