Facebook Privacy Changes Affect Internet Professionals
We've known the day was coming when Facebook privacy settings would change. While Wednesday's announcement has raised privacy concerns for individuals, few are talking about what the change means for web professionals. In short, the changes are good news for internet marketers, small business owners, and bloggers.
Because the new privacy settings will make Facebook links and posts easier to find on the web, professionals who use Facebook as a way to promote their services get a boost to their exposure, SERP rankings, and traffic.
Having control over all items published on Facebook makes it a one-stop shop for friend and family networking alongside business networking. Users can control what they want to be publicly available and what should only be seen by family and friends.
Small businesses will certainly be optimizing profiles and posts to ensure they get maximum exposure from the changes. Facebook links will no longer rely on viral sharing for promotion. Now they can be found by anyone.
Just the other day, Google announced its collaboration with Facebook to get the real-time stream into search results, much like with Twitter. You'll soon see SEO strategies for Facebook coming out to help professionals leverage the site more effectively. Right now, the strategies primarily consist of the following:
• Select a targeted URL and "vanity" name
• Use keyword-rich descriptive text in the "About" page
• Use the "Info" page for the most important keywords and links
• Create static Facebook pages with the Static FBML application
• Link your blog posts to Facebook
• Link your Facebook page on every web profile
• Encourage users to become "fans" of your site
• Update often with photos, videos, current events, and other content
The changes also represent an enormous opportunity for consumer research. Companies will gain greater insight into what buyers want and PR departments can keep a closer eye on negative PR and respond more quickly to problems.
For business, the Facebook changes are a huge boost to SEO. Those truly concerned about privacy will of course make sure they use Facebook privacy settings to the greatest extent possible. Everyone else will be sharing useful with the marketing world and finding web services more easily.
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