How businesses can use Facebook's Graph Search

Friday, 18 January 2013 04:17

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at an event at Facebook's Headquarters office in Menlo Park, California on January 15, 2012.(Photo: JOSH EDELSON AFP/Getty Images)

Story Highlights

Graph Search will make it easier for Facebook users to connect with businesses
Update the "About" section of your profile to help users find you
Add a location to your page to attract local users

With Facebook's introduction of Graph Search on Tuesday, businesses are naturally curious to find out how they can take advantage of the tool, even though it's currently only in limited preview for English audiences. Facebook has naturally made it a point to explain what businesses should be doing.

Facebook says Graph Search will make it easier for people to discover your Page and learn more about your business. Whether that will indeed be the case remains to be seen, but if you want to stay ahead of the game then you should take the new feature seriously.

Aside from doing the usual maintenance to ensure your Page is complete and up-to-date, Facebook recommends the following:

--The name, category, vanity URL, and information you share in the "About" section all help people find your business and should be shared on Facebook.

--If you have a location or a local place Page, update your address to make sure you can appear as a result when someone is searching for a specific location.

--Focus on attracting the right fans to your Page and on giving your fans a reason to interact with your content on an ongoing basis.

The first two points are pretty straightforward: the more information, and the more accurate information you put on Facebook, the more likely your Page will show up in a search. The third one shows that Facebook will be taking growth into account when surfacing Pages, not just current popularity.

Facebook gives a few examples of queries it expects its members to use with Graph Search: "sushi restaurants that my friends have been to in Los Angeles," "hotels near the Eiffel Tower," or "TV shows my friends like." The second one is your typical Google search, but the first and third are clearly meant for Facebook, and that's an important thing to remember here.

There's SEO and then there's Facebook SEO. If Graph Search takes off, the latter will become a big business.

This story originally appeared on The Next Web ^[1].

MORE: from The Next Web:^[2]

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STORY: Facebook reveals how its new Graph Search feature works with your privacy settings ^[5]