Leveraging social media platforms in digital marketing is an important business strategy as it helps target prospective customers or patients. With a plethora of social media channels available, choosing the right social media platform is rather challenging. Regarded as one of the most popular and widely used social media platforms, Facebook has always focused on providing unique ways for businesses to reach their customers. When it comes to digital marketing in healthcare, Facebook remains the primary platform for most Americans. Reports suggest that two-thirds of US adults are FB users, and 74 percent of FB users say that they visit the platform on a daily basis. Regardless of the recent criticism of FB’s data privacy policies, both daily and monthly users are up by 13 percent every year.
Significance of Facebook SEO
If the SEO aspect of a FB page is done right, it can help move the Google rankings of your brand to a higher position, thereby helping customers and influencers to organically find your brand.
Over the years, FB pages have increasingly become a “second home page” for businesses online. Businesses are utilizing this page as a micro-site within the platform that highlights glimpses of the brand. In fact, more and more page owners are learning how to become an expert FB marketer, and FB has created new and unique ways for pages to gain more targeted traffic through the new tried methods of FB SEO. The platform’s “viral channels” – News Feed, Messages and Invitations play a prominent role in content generation. Employing those powerful SEO tactics within the page can help give more reach to the page and earn more followers. Establishing your brand name on FB and other social media platforms will definitely help get your name out digitally, since social media profiles are often the top rankings in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
For instance, when doing a search for “Outsource Strategies International (OSI)” a leading medical billing company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we are presented with a group of results on the first page. Apart from the domain and search directories popping up on the first page, their Facebook location page for their Tulsa location also shows up.
When optimizing the Facebook page, it is important to keep search engine methodologies in mind. Brand and non-brand long-tail keywords should also be added throughout the FB page.
Optimizing Facebook SEO – Tips to Follow
The prominent role of FB search engine optimization cannot be overlooked when it comes to ranking at the top of the search results. With several multi-billion-dollar companies around, optimizing your company’s Fan Page on this social media platform could be difficult. You need the best which can be easily accomplished with a proper SEO strategy in place. There are around 80 million business pages (both small and medium) on Facebook, and improving your visibility involves cutting through the noise and getting noticed. This is where search engine optimization can help.
Here are some tips and tricks that will help successfully improve Facebook SEO-
- Create a Custom FB Page Name – Choosing the right name for your FB page is a vital step. Having a custom (short or user-friendly) username for your page makes it more convenient for users to locate the page while searching. Always make sure not to stuff the page title with high value generic keywords as this will affect the page’s viral growth inside FB. For instance, if the page title appears too “spammy”, there are chances that fans may not share it with their friends on their profiles and are more likely to hide the updates from their news feed. Also, make sure not to choose a fully generic page name. As FB aims for page names related to the specific businesses or brands that they authentically represent, the platform has been disabling updates for generically named pages thereby increasing their ability to better reach their fan groups. In short, make sure to select a FB page name that will serve your specific line of business in the long run. For the best results, it is essential to select a phrase that aligns with your brand.
- Identify Relevant Keywords through SEO Keyword Research – Have a clear and precise understanding about the keywords and terms relevant to your line of business before getting started with FB SEO. By studying the search engine behavior of potential customers, it will be easy to optimize the FB page to reflect these relevant aspects. However, make sure to avoid keyword stuffing as this will only sink your rankings as Google may perceive this as spamming. Another thing is that never use the same keywords for different social media platforms. For instance, Facebook platform is primarily used for branding and promotions. For that reason, the keywords chosen should reflect the specific products and area of services offered. Use a keyword research tool like ‘Google Keyword Planner’ to identify the best keywords suitable for your area of business. Once the keywords are selected, type them in the search bar and if a lot of your top competitors show up among the results, it is better to choose some other less prominent but more specific keywords. Some of the important spots on the Fan page where the keywords can be placed include – the page title, the company name, the ‘About and Description’ section, photo captions, and when linking and tagging websites.
- Optimize Vanity URL on FB Page – Create a custom, “vanity” FB page URL as this can have a significant impact on SEO. Vanity URL is the custom username a brand selects for their FB page. In other words, it is a branded URL unique to the Facebook Business Page. It helps build brand recognition and trust with the audience as a branded URL is proof that your business is respectable and credible. Unless a brand creates a custom URL for their page, FB may auto-generate a long and tough to memorize URL. URL can be created by a brand by accessing the “Page Info” under the FB pages ‘About’ section. By accessing the ‘Create Page @username’ the username can be easily created. Add the brand name in place of username. However, in order to choose a custom URL, a brand FB page has to have at least 25 likes. Always try to keep the custom URL simple and descriptive, and it should preferably be your company’s name.
- Optimize ‘About’ Section in Company Profile – Optimizing the company profile online gives more credibility to the FB page and enhances the overall SEO. Make sure to optimize your Facebook page’s ‘About’ section as this is the section through which you can let the world know more about your company and mention the values and benefits of your products and services. This is one of the most important sections of your entire fan page as this is the very first place which new visitors often go to. People may try to know about a specific brand and fan page before deciding to like it. Start by creating an effective, punchy one sentence summary of who you are and a detailed overview of your line of business (including your core product and services offered). The ‘About’ section should be short and sharp (below 155 characters) for the best results. Presenting the content in a compelling, to-the point and concise manner with relevant keywords will encourage the target audience to click that thumbs-up icon.
- Add Backlink to FB fan page – To enhance the authoritativeness of the FB fan page (as per Google) for high ranking, Facebook requires inbound links to the page. Backlinks are basically like good reviews. The more high-quality backlinks an FB page has, the higher will be the chances for Google to rank the page well in the search results. These are used as a measure of credibility by the search engines. Make sure to add plenty of back links from the website to the FB fan page throughout blogs and article sections and other social media platform profiles to the FB page. Also, try to share the FB page link with other brands and businesses you are collaborating with. For instance, if you write guest blogs for a reputable blogger, make sure to add a link to your Facebook page at the bottom of these blog posts.
- Optimize Facebook Notes – FB notes are used to create better engagement among fans and inform them about important business-related news, upcoming events or any current crisis. Through Notes, you can add keyword-rich content that helps maximize your chances of being discovered by new audiences on FB. This unique feature can be used to boost FB SEO by re-sharing existing blog content to FB Notes. The title and the photos in the Notes contain keywords within the caption. After adding captions in the Notes, if any comments are made by the users, then there are higher chances to rank. In addition, if the comments also have keywords, the notes gains more value.
- Improve local SEO – This is a powerful SEO strategy for businesses that are planning to target hyperlocal markets. Most users search for businesses within their local area. To ensure that your FB page appears at the top of the search results, it is crucial to update the company information correctly. Make sure to add the phone number, address, website, business time and other contact information relevant to your business in the “About” section of the FB page. This will not only make it easier for customers to get in touch with your brand but also improve your rankings with these local searches.
- Create and Post Quality Content – Creating and posting good quality, relevant content is still the number one strategy in FB SEO. Craft unique content and make it as captivating as possible so that both your fans and search engines find it appealing. Product reviews, guest posts and other product-related campaigns on social media can take your business to the next level. Pay specific attention to the first 18 characters of your content update. These will be used as the Meta description of the post visible in the search results to tell people more about what the content is all about. For instance, visual content – infographics, images, and videos – have more value. Infographics are liked and shared 3 times more than any other type of content on social media. By posting these at regular intervals, brands can attract more number of likes and shares.
- Optimize Featured Image – To improve the SEO aspect of your FB page, customize the page by adding profile pictures. Along with the featured images, you can add a video or a slideshow in the image section. Testimonials and team credits can be promoted through featured image section. Facebook emphasizes that cover photos or images chosen should not be derogatory or infringe any copyright.
- Manage Customer Reviews – Interaction with customers is a crucial aspect in social media marketing and Facebook as a platform allows a great deal in this regard. It is important devise a proper strategy for the effective management of comments, reviews, ads and posts. Make a habit to respond and acknowledge reviews, even if they are negative as it creates a sense of trust for your brand.
- Use Facebook Messenger – Along with replying to reviews and comments, enabling Facebook Messenger helps connect with the customers directly. The level of responsiveness is directly based on how quickly you react to messages. Adjust the settings of the FB page in such a way that a ‘Messenger’ window automatically pops-up when someone visits your Page. However, with the advancement of AI, there are companies that develop FB chatbots ready to interact with the customers on a deeper level and help them with advanced tasks. Accessible on a 24/7 basis, these chatbots enhance the customer experience to a great level. According to FB estimates, there are about 300,000 active bots on the Messenger Platform. It is estimated that by the end of 2020, chatbots will handle about 85 percent of all customer service interactions.
- Include a Call-to-Action – An important step in Facebook optimization, including a Call-To-Action (CTA) within your shared links on blogs and product pages on Facebook will help your fans better interact with your brand. Incorporating CTAs in your posts would encourage users to click a link, watch a video, read an article, leave a comment, share the post, avail a service or even shop items from your e-store. CTAs help move users in a direction that your company wants them to.
The prominent role of Facebook SEO optimization in social media marketing cannot be overlooked. With more than 1 billion daily users, Facebook caters to a massive group of audiences. Building and expanding your Facebook Page presence requires creative planning and consistent execution, and FB SEO can play a vital role in boosting your page’s growth. Carefully consider the above-mentioned tips to improve your FB page. A reputable SEO company can help improve your SEO performance through innovative strategies and their effective implementation, as part of their comprehensive organic SEO services.
