Social media SEO should be part of any aspiring marketer’s repertoire, but today we’ll delve into Facebook-specific tactics. That’s right — we’re revealing the secret SEO recipe for Facebook!
In this guide, we walk you through the ins and outs of Facebook SEO and give you a dozen tips you can apply today to increase your reach.
What is Facebook SEO?
Facebook SEO is the practice of optimizing your content on Facebook to increase reach, discoverability, and visibility on the platform.
Social SEO is a relatively new practice, but it is based on the same principles as more traditional SEO, which is the process of boosting your site’s rankings on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Facebook search engine optimization is essentially the same idea, but within the walls of Facebook. In both cases, it’s all about working with the algorithm to make sure your content rises to the top.
If your Facebook page is a mini-site, think of your Facebook feed as a SERP.
Why Does Facebook SEO Matter?
There are many reasons why Facebook SEO should be a priority.
If you want to increase your reach on the platform (and who doesn’t?), Facebook SEO can help you grow your fan base and build relationships with your followers.
But it’s not just about visibility on one platform — when done right, Facebook SEO can also help your brand rank higher on other SERPs.
Social media profiles are often ranked first in search results. A page that ranks well on Facebook may also rank well outside of Facebook and help you get seen on places like Google. And oh my god, who doesn’t want to be the best at Google?
As anyone who gives credit to Google’s appetite for SEO-rich content knows, every little thing helps. The higher any part of your brand is in the SERPs, the better your website traffic. The better your website traffic, the more quality leads go to your website and the higher your conversion rate.
You get more downloads, collect more information, earn more money and live a happier life (maybe)!
So why does Facebook SEO matter? Well, because it’s part of a well thought out digital marketing diet, kids.
12 Facebook SEO Tactics to Optimize Your Page
When it comes to Facebook SEO, you need to be strategic. You can’t just post content and customize your profile willy-nilly. This is a recipe for failure.
Instead, consider these Facebook SEO tactics your secret weapon to climb your feed!
Tip 1: Your name matters
Names are important. Anyone who was made fun of in elementary school can tell you that (from Smallwyn, I mean Colleen herself).
When you choose a name for your Facebook Page (which may be obvious), you must tell who you are. If it’s not too spammy, add what you do after.
Search engines and social platforms love relevant keywords, so if you can put one in your Facebook page title that also resonates with what you’re doing, then you’re laughing.
An anti-social skateboard shop is an example of good SEO and a Facebook page name. It says what the brand is (anti-social) and what they do (skateboard shop), which is the main keyword.
Source: Antisocial Skateboard Shop on Facebook.
It’s also perfectly acceptable to use just your company name as the name of your Facebook Page.
For example, “Flower Garden Farm”would be very awkward to read if they included keywords after their Page title. Flowerbed Farm, Vancouver Island’s tourist hotspot, sounds… wrong.
Source: Flower Farm on Facebook
When in doubt, stick to what reads naturally.
SEO is designed to best serve people on the pages they are looking for, so you should always strive to sound natural. Write for the people, not the machine, and the machine will reward you.
Tip 2: Grab This Pretty URL
When you first create your Facebook Page, you will be assigned a generic URL. The anti-social skateboard store, for example, has not changed its own yet, so it looks like this:
Source: Antisocial Skateboard Shop on Facebook.
(Anti-social skateboard shop: if you’re reading this, change your generic address to a pretty URL!)
Be sure to change that nonsensical default string to a pretty URL. Vanity URLs are custom web addresses; like dressing tables, you decide what is written on yours.
To create your own page URL, you just need to change your Facebook username, which is found in the About > Create Page Username tab. Use something short, branded, and add a keyword.
In the example below, the popular news and media site NowThis has a custom URL of facebook.com/NowThisNews. It is clear that they include the brand name and the main keyword.
Source: NowThis on Facebook
Tip 3: Have an Accurate About Us Section
The About Us section is one of the first things visitors to your Page will read. As Simon Sinek says, be sure to start with your Why. His Ted Talk about the Golden Circle should give you an idea of what it could be for your brand.
You might be thinking why include branding tips in your list of SEO tactics? It’s science, actually: you want users to hit the follow button so that Facebook considers you the most popular kid at the party.
And the best way to get buy-in? Make sure your branding speaks to your audience on an emotional level.
You can also use some of the relevant keywords in this section, as Hootsuite does in the next tip. Way to be one step ahead, Hootsuite; it’s like you’re hiring super talented, fully competent and beautiful writers (cough cough).
Tip 4: Include keywords on the entire page
Your About section, description, title, photo captions, notes, and even updates are all areas for potential keyword stubs.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: keywords are the cornerstone of your SEO strategy. You want to use your keywords at least once on your Facebook page.
Just don’t use keywords. If you go overboard, you’ll get a chime. Remember, you are writing for people, so be natural.
Take a look at this page (quite randomly selected!) for an example of natural keyword integration. Pay attention to the “About us”section (Social media tools! Build brands!) and the photo caption (chatbot!).
Source: Hootsuite on Facebook.
If you don’t know where to start with your keyword research, keep an eye on what your audience is searching for and talking about with brand monitoring tools. You can also use SEO tools like SEMRush or Google Keyword Planner to create a list of keywords to keep an eye on.
Demand changes over time, so review and update your target keywords regularly. This way, you will always be aware of changes in keywords related to your business.
Tip 5: Earn Those Backlinks
Backlinks are like a vote of confidence – they increase the credibility of your page. Google will consider you an industry authority if you can get other authority sites to link to your Page or your content. Don’t forget to include a link to your website in the “About us”section of your Facebook page!
You can build a backlink network by partnering with influencers and other strategic partners.
But the best way to earn quality backlinks is quite simple. Create high-quality content that matches user needs and those links will start showing up.
Actually, speaking of quality content…
Tip 6: Post Keyword Rich Content
Okay, good news first or bad news?
The bad news is that you have to post keyword-rich content consistently and repeatedly. You can’t just publish one or two posts a month and expect groundbreaking results. This is consistent, quality content that will really help your SEO.
The good news is that Hootsuite can help in many ways.
- If you don’t know where to start, try the 2023 guide to social media content creation.
- If you’re familiar with the basics but want to really wow your followers, this guide to captivating and effective content is here to help.
- If you’re facing a creative block, these 17 fresh content ideas will be in full swing.
Once you sort through your content and find keyword caption ideas, be sure to schedule your mass posting with Hootsuite (it’s the best way to save time).
Tip 7: Engage with your followers
Social networks are created for communication. If your followers leave a comment, reply! Open a dialogue and chat.
The Facebook algorithm evaluates content (in part) based on the level of engagement. So if your followers offer you an opportunity to increase engagement, take it.
Tip 8: Double-Check Your Contact Information
Don’t forget to include your business address, phone number, and business hours on your Facebook page.
Even if you work exclusively online, do not call me and work from 3:00 to 4:30, you will want to include something here. Facebook indexes for local search based on this information.
If you have a physical address, you can also allow users to register, which will make your business more visible. It can also help increase public trust in your brand.
If you see a friend signing up for a business, you might want to check it out yourself.
Tip 9: Moderate your reviews
Don’t be discouraged if you get a bad review. Bad reviews are part of life! Not only that, but they offer you the opportunity to provide top-notch customer service.
You are more likely to get a loyal customer if you can turn a bad experience into a great one. You can even ask them to review the review they left. Negative feedback is just positive feedback waiting in the wings!
Your first step is to respond to the reviewer, apologize, and offer to fix the situation. Then, once you have resolved or dissipated the situation, you can ask them to reconsider their assessment.
Five-star brands are more likely to interact on Facebook, which will improve your SEO.
Tip 10: Post at the right time
Figuring out the best time to post on Facebook will inherently increase your engagement rate, improve content delivery to your audience, and please the algorithm gods. All of this, of course, works to improve your SEO.
Content Publisher Hootsuite will suggest the best time for you to post. Or, for those looking to be successful, you can do your own research by following this hot tip on the best time to post on Facebook.
Tip 11: Be smarter with alt text
Alt text: We like to see it. Adding alt text to your Facebook photos helps the platform understand and index your content. As a result, it appears more in search results.
Even without the benefits of SEO, creating accessible content is just good practice. It also allows visually impaired people to enjoy your content.
In addition to being right, it effectively expands your audience to include people with visual impairments or other disabilities.
Tip 12: Create content for a specific location
Do you have more than one location? Your SEO strategy can benefit from multiple location pages. This will allow you to benefit from the benefits of localized marketing.
For example, you have donut shops in Vancouver, Seattle, and Oregon. You can potentially rank for regional keywords for each location, but only if you have separate keyword pages for those regions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Facebook SEO
Still curious? Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions.
What does Facebook SEO mean?
Facebook search engine optimization is a strategy to increase the visibility, reach, or ranking of your Page in Feeds. SEO for Facebook is very similar to SEO for other platforms.
How can I optimize my Facebook business page?
You can optimize your Facebook pages by applying the 12 Facebook optimization tactics above! The sooner you start, the better you will be.
Can you do SEO for other social media platforms?
Absolutely. Hootsuite has guides to help you learn Instagram SEO, TikTok SEO, and Pinterest SEO.