Everybody is focused on social right now. In fact, I’ll bet there isn’t a single marketing or SEO blog out there that hasn’t published something about social media in the last month. It is the next frontier in advertising, SEO, and marketing. But when it comes to reputation management, many companies don’t think having a Facebook page will help them influence the results that appear in a Google search.
However, the search engine world is rapidly changing and social factors, like Facebook shares and comments, are becoming some of the most important aspects in driving search engine page rank. And Facebook is the mother of them all. If you haven’t thought about the way that Facebook can help your online reputation, here are some facts that might change your mind.
1. There is a high correlation between Facebook shares and page rank
Last December, Google and Bing (in an intervew with Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land) both admitted that they use public Facebook feeds in their ranking factors. Although they didn’t elaborate in detail, they did share the fact that links shared on Facebook impact search engine rank. That means that the more a link is shared on Facebook, the higher rank it will receive in search engine results.
Although tests of the exact weight of Facebook data in determining page rank have shown that Google does not measure Facebook shares directly, there is a high correlation between the number of shares a link get on Facebook and the ranking factor of the page it points to.
Simply put, if you want positive pages about your company to rank well, starting a Facebook campaign is not a bad idea.
2. Facebook comments spread organically
If you control a number of blogs or websites related to your brand, it behooves you not to include the Facebook Comments plugin on those sites to help spread positive information about your company organically.
When someone makes a comment on your blog or website through the Facebook Comments plugin, their comments is shared back to their own profile wall on Facebook (by default)—and with all their friends. This can create an organic effect that drives more people to visit the site and respond to comments, resulting in higher traffic and better SEO for the pages that implement Facebook comments.
3. Facebook makes your company seem authoritative and personal
Using Facebook plugins like a Facebook Like Box on websites you control adds an element of authority to your brand. For example, when a user searches for your company name on Google, and they see a Facebook Like Box (filled with faces of your fans), immediately, your company takes on a whole new dimension. It is no longer a faceless entity; your company has friends and followers. And if it has friends and followers, you must be doing something right.
Adding a Facebook Like Box to sites you control is a great way to personalize your company and give it a face that people can trust.
4. Creating a Facebook page gives people in your organization a place to connect to you
Besides all of the SEO and organic reputation factors that Facebook provides, it also simply gives people in your organization a place to connect with your company and with each other, strengthening their ties to your company and the rest of the organization.
And when people in your organization connect to your company, they are more willing to pass along their love of your company to others, both personally and online, creating secondary SEO effects that pass along positive information about your company.
Overall, Facebook is never a bad idea for reputation management. Not only will it help you boost the SEO of websites you control, but it will also create positive secondary effects that will give your company a better reputation online and in the real world.