Google’s Real-Time Search Includes Facebook Fan Pages Now
Back in December Google announced their deal with Facebook to list feeds from Facebook in their real-time search results. Although they reached a deal, the data wasn’t making it into the feeds until now. Google tweeted that Facebook Fan Pages feed are not officially part of real-search results.
What you need to know:
The only updates that are being shown in real-time search results are updates (links, status updates, photos, videos etc) that are posted on a Facebook Fan Page by the owner of the page (comments by page visitors will not be included)
What does this mean?
If you don’t have a Fan Page, you need one now and you need to keep it updated and active.
A quote from Danny Sullivan at SearchEngineLand:
“This is also a good time for search marketers and marketers in general to think again about Facebook, if you haven’t already. More and more Facebook content has been made visible to search engines over the years. “ Sullivan then goes on to say “ Google’s move makes having Facebook fan pages even more essential. Without one, you’re missing out on a chance to be found within yet another area, Google’s real time results.”
(Source: http://searchengineland.com/facebook-fan-page-updates-now-in-google-real-time-search-36836?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+searchengineland+%28Search+Engine+Land%29&utm_content=Google+Reader)
Danny said it all – if you don’t have a page – now is the time!
Don’t forget in addition to the Notes, Links, Discussion and Wall (default tabs on a Facebook Fan page) you want to create custom tabs with FBML to make the page more compelling and a stronger marketing tool. If you don’t know how to work with code, let me know and I’ll be happy to get you a quote on us creating the page.
Got a Fan Page already? Send me the URL and I’ll take a peek and see if I have any suggestions to improve it. 
Have any questions or comments? Submit them below!
Jenn Horowitz, Director of Marketing
EcomBuffet SEO and Social Media Services
Popularity: 2% [?]
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Yahoo! and Twitter Parnership
Twitter and Yahoo! announced a content sharing deal today!
In addition to real-time Twitter updates on Yahoo! Search, people will be able to access their Twitter feeds on Yahoo! verticals like Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Sports and others.
Yahoo! is making it easy for people to tweet from Yahoo! sites and share content from Yahoo! in their tweets.
“Let me try to capture the enormity of this integration in 140 characters or less,” Yahoo! Vice President Bryan Lamkin said in a written release. “We’re turning the key to the online social universe — you will find the most personally relevant experiences through Yahoo!”
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More SEO Questions Answered
The following question was submitted by Keith Riddington:
What works the best out of all the options?
I think what Keith is asking is with so many online marketing strategies, what works best.
If we break it down, the most common strategies used are:
- SEO
- Blogging
- Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Buzz etc)
- Link Building
- Article marketing/Syndication
- Press Releases
- PPC
(Note this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list of all online marketing strategies. I am mentioning the ones most commonly used by clients and prospective clients of mine)
The truth is so many of these strategies complement each other and work in tandem, so it is hard to isolate where your focus should be.
Of the above mentioned items I think they all add value and are worth participating in. If I add to pick I would say SEO, Blogging and Social Media will have the biggest impact (and in some cases, also PPC – but only for people that have the budget, time and knowledge to do it properly – otherwise it can be a big money waster).
I wrote a post the other day that offered a little blueprint for where you should spend your time. Check that out: http://www.ecombuffet.com/SEO-Blog/seo-topics/seo-questions-answered-part-2/
So the truth is, there is a lot you need to be doing, so go get to work!!
Jenn Horowitz, Director of Marketing
Popularity: 2% [?]
Fortune 500 Still Clueless About SEO, Study Says (From SearchEngineLand)
Great post at SearchEngineLand: http://searchengineland.com/fortune-500-still-clueless-about-seo-36420
Popularity: 1% [?]
Anatomy Of A Successful Tweet
Check out my article on SearchEngineJournal: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/anatomy-of-a-successful-tweet/17810/
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SEO Questions Answered (part 2)
Carolyn Winslow asked “I would say my biggest question is how do all the pieces fit together? What would be the correct order in putting the strategies to work obviously one couldn’t do everything at once.”
Answer: Its true there is a lot to focus on and everything can’t be done at once. You need to start by taking stock of where you are at. What areas are you lacking in? If it were me, I would do things in this order:
- Get your site optimized (make sure the code is clean, fast loading and optimized for the engines)
- Set up a Blog
- Create a Twitter account and start building followers
- Create a Facebook Fan page (and invite friends, family, followers, colleagues etc to become a fan, post a Facebook badge on your site and Blog)
- Feed your Blog into your Facebook page
- Write Blog posts that are “article style” and then tweet them out to followers
- Syndicate the articles you posted on your Blog to article directories (once they have been spidered on your site)
- Add content that is keyword rich to your site in addition to your Blog
- Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8 (as well as building Twitter followers which is mentioned in step 3)
I know it’s a lot, but there are pieces of it you can outsource. Do the best you can and work at it consistently – getting a little bit done every day is better than not doing anything.
Tips:
Articles/Blog posts don’t need to be really long. If you are syndicating them they need to be at least 400 words. It’s often easier to write shorter articles. If you have a lot to say make it a multi-part series.
It’s possible to do all this without taking over your whole day. Set time frames for each task and set a timer. Only work for the allotted time and when the time goes off, move on. Even small bits will add up over time and its better than doing nothing – which is what most of us do when we are overwhelmed.
Resources to help you out:
Twitter training program: http://www.ecombuffet.com/Twitter-quickstart.htm
SubmitYourArticle submission service
Good luck!
Jenn Horowitz, Director of Marketing
Popularity: 2% [?]
SEO and Social Media Questions Answered
I’ve asked you to submit your top questions related to growing your business online. I am working my way through answering the questions. Here are a couple to get us started:
How do I get links into my site?
An age old question that has left many site owners confused and frustrated. Google is pretty finicky about what links they do and don’t count towards your link popularity. They are looking for quality long term links into your site that really show that your site is popular. Tons of link exchanges and too many links acquired too quickly are a bit of a red flag for Google.
Although we all want it to happen overnight, your very best bet with linking is to realize that it does take some time and the best way to get links is to put quality content out there that people can link to.
How do you do that? Write a great article and post it on your Blog, syndicate it to your Facebook Fan page, syndicate it to article directories, submit your RSS feed to various directories, Tweet your content (and ask for RTs), email your content to your mailing list. You want to push your content out there any way you can think of. Just remember people will only link to it if it’s good stuff – so the key to your linking success is to write great content. Make sure you have a system in place to syndicate the content out to as many places as possible.
Want an article syndication service? I highly recommend SubmitYourArticle
Need a Facebook Fan Page? Email me for details.
Need help getting started on Twitter? Check out http://www.ecombuffet.com/Twitter-quickstart.htm
Want tips on writing great articles? Email me and I’ll send you a couple great PDFs on how to write and syndicate great articles.
What social media do I really need to participate in?
Twitter is a must. Twitter drives traffic, helps spread content, creates relationships, creates amazing networking opportunities, it allows you to participate in real time search and helps you get links into your site and so much more. Your prospective clients are using Twitter. Can you afford for them not to find you there?
Facebook is a no-brainer. Every business needs a Fan Page. You may choose not to have a personal profile that you actively update but your business needs a Fan Page no matter what. Fan Pages are a great way to get exposure, drive traffic to your site and capture leads. What most people are missing when they create a Fan Page is that there is so much more to a GOOD Fan Page than just a Wall and some photos. You need custom tabs created to get maximum exposure. You need to pull your Blog feed into your page. If you don’t know how to create a killer Fan Page, contact me for details.
Some stats you need to know about Facebook:
- Facebook has 400 Million Global Users (and growing)
- Facebook has 100 Million U.S. Users: Facebook is strong worldwide (Canada has the highest penetration rate), but almost 1/3 of all Facebook users are in the U.S.
- The average Facebook User Spends 55 Minutes Per Day
- Real-time Search Is Important: Facebook is now making most content available publicly (unless you adjust your privacy settings). This has tremendous implications for search engine optimization and reputation management. You need to be on top of real-time search – today.
A recent study (The Sysomos study) found a strong correlation between amount of content (notes, links, photos, videos and custom pages/tabs) and number of fans.
If you are looking to really grow your Fan base, you need something more than a standard Fan page.
Stay tuned as I answer more questions. Please don’t forget to leave your comments on my Blog. Share your thoughts and ask any questions you have.
To Your Success,
Jennifer Horowitz
Director of Marketing
www.EcomBuffet.com
562-592-5347
jennifer@ecombuffet.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ecombuffet
Facebook Page: www.ecombuffet.com/SEO-Fanpage/
Popularity: 4% [?]
Facebook Fan Page
Interested in Facebook Fan Pages? They are a great tool to generate new leads and develop relationships with people to help grow your business.
There is some confusion about a Profile on Facebook, a Group and a Fan Page or Business Page.
Unlike groups in Facebook, Fan pages are visible to unregistered people and are indexed by the engines – which is another opportunity for you to come up in the engines.
The number of Fans you can have is unlimited (whereas the Friend limit is 5,000).
Pages are generally better for a long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers.
Pages include links. Because the pages are public, you can get some link juice (link popularity).
You can send “updates” to fans whenever you want. It’s a nice way of building a database of interested users. Send messages about new products, updated website, etc.
When someone joins a Fan Page, it’s published in their News feed for all of their Friends to read (unless they have turned this off). This helps spread the word about your Fan Page.
A Fan or Business Page is designed to promote a business. It can be used to share simple information like your business hours, contact information and product/service offerings. It can also be used as a marketing tool.
If you design a fun and graphically appealing Fan Page that is designed to capture leads and promote your business well, it can be a good tool for generating new leads.
You don’t have to have a Facebook profile to have a Fan/Business page BUT if you want some of the added features to enhance the page, then you do need a profile. You don’t have to be active and look for old high school or college friends or play any of the games or other things people do on Facebook. You can use Facebook simply as a business tool. You just need a simple profile with your name and a link to your website and then the Fan/Business page can be set up with all of the added benefits.
Anyone can set up a Fan page, but to get the most out of it with the added features, you need to know HTML.
If you want us to set up your Fan page for you, the cost is a onetime fee of $175.00. The following is included:
• Banner design for your page that has a similar look and feel to your website
• Set up of simple profile page, if you don’t already have one.
• Creation of Fan Page with SEO and marketing strategies in mind.
• Introduction text for Fan Page – professionally copy written.
• Blueprint for promoting the page.
If you have more questions, let me know!
To Your Success,
Jennifer
Popularity: 2% [?]
Want to get more sales online?
Tip of the day: Reviews and recommendations play a big part in consumer decision making:
- 62% of shoppers read consumer-written product reviews online.
- 80%+ say their purchase decisions have been directly influenced by reviews.
- 70% of shoppers share product reviews with their friends, family and colleagues.
- 18% of consumers say they look for more product information online or in other locations in addition to looking on the product’s packaging.
Source: Entrepreneur Magazine
Seems like a great reason to participate in social media and get conversation going about your products and services! You also want to get Blog posts and web site pages ranked that have feedback and reviews about your products and services. Have any customers that are real brand evangelists for you? Get them to share their opinions on consumer feedback/opinion sites.
These stats are too telling about consumer behavior to ignore!
Have a great Wednesday!
Popularity: 2% [?]
SEO Interview
Roger from SENinja.com and I had 2 great chats about SEO. He interviewed me on some hot topics in SEO. All the questions were submitted by people that follow his Blog and needed answers.
There are 2 ways you can access these interviews:
Listen on Roger’s Blog:
Interview 1: http://seninja.com/blog/jennifer-horowitz
Interview 2: http://seninja.com/blog/jennifer-horowitz/2
Download and listen on your iPod or in iTunes:
Interview 1: http://d1zb57ug7cxq3a.cloudfront.net/JenniferHorowitz.mp3
Interview 2: http://radio-show.s3.amazonaws.com/JenniferHorowitz2.mp3
We’d love to hear your comments and questions for our next call!
Have a great day everyone. I’m loving today so far.
Jenn Horowitz, Director of Marketing
Popularity: 3% [?]
