Facebook Graph Search is a convergence of search and social media. It culls its results only from content that has been added by Facebook users (User Generated Content), Liked, and/or Shared between Friends. Queries are “natural language,” such as “Movies my friends like,” or “Popular restaurants in Myrtle Beach, SC,” and search results are personalized -- directly related to content that friends have ‘Liked’ and ‘Shared’.
Messages are spread differently on social networks than on general search engines, so optimization practices you use to promote your brand message through social platforms needs to be different as well. Here are some of the most important GSO (Graph Search Optimization) steps you can take to increase your online traffic with this new search tool
Your Business Facebook Page
To show up in Graph Search results, you must set up a Facebook Page for your business, and update it often. When setting up (or improving) your business Facebook Page, keep in mind the following tips:
- Be easy to find: Choose a direct, easily remembered, natural Page name and custom Facebook URL that is relevant to your brand and business.
- Optimize your description and About page: Write a positive description, and complete your About page using pertinent Key Words and Key Phrases.
- Invite Fans: The more Fans your page has, the more engagement you will achieve. Invite customers and Facebook friends to your page in as many ways as possible – on business cards or fliers, on signage, on your personal Facebook profile. Most importantly, create links from each of your Web pages to your Facebook Page to ensure visitors can connect with you on Facebook.
- Make sure customers can “Check In”: Provide your business’ full address. This ensures that customers can “check in” on their mobile devices, sharing on their own pages that they have visited your place of business. Then, ask fans to post photos and videos of themselves at your business on their own pages. You can use contests or quizzes to nudge customers into sharing.
- Share images and other graphic content: 50% of all Facebook content is now visual, so Facebook Graph Search puts high importance on image content. Most of your posts should include high-resolution photos, videos, and infographics related to your business – with its own descriptive name and location tag. The more interesting and sharable your content, the more interaction you will get from your Fans.
- Engage, Engage, Engage: Pages whose content has the most user interaction – likes, shares, comments, check-ins, and offers redeemed – will show up more often on Fans’ News Feeds, and thus on Graph Search. Encourage interaction with your content: Place Calls to Action right on your cover (“Like us Here!” button, or “Like this post if you took a vacation this year,” for example). Or, post pictures of groups of customers (with permission), and ask people to tag others they recognize.
- Do your research: Find information about local events and attractions, and connect your content with your community.
On Your Website
You can optimize your website as well as your Facebook Page to ensure that your business is showing up in Facebook Graph Search.- Optimize your Web pages with microdata: Include precise location and contact information, specific products/services offered, and special offers. Not only does such structured data improve Facebook Graph Search rankings, but it is now accessible to machine-reading search engines, many mobile apps, in-car navigation systems, Google, Apple and Yelp maps, and SIRI.
- Request customer comments and reviews on online platforms: Facebook Graph Search pulls five-star ratings from online platforms such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Angie’s List to help it describe relevant businesses. Encouraging customers to rate your business or service on these platforms may benefit your Graph Search ranking.
- Customize your Open Graph settings on your Web pages: Remember, every blog post and web page you create can be socially shared. Every time someone Shares or Likes something on Facebook, the link from the page URL that they clicked is shown. Without customized settings, Facebook’s Open Graph API will always show your URL’s Meta Tags or default title and description – along with the first image it sees on your Web page. Determine which of your posts and pages will draw the most positive viewer responses, and implement customized Open Graph tags for that specific content. To optimize for Open Graph, you can choose a customized title, description and targeted image, and select a specific type and category for each page.
New to the Facebook Open Graph?
Start with the free web based Facebook Open Graph Meta Generator
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