Facebook’s Algorithm Change is Not the End of the World
Search Engine Optimization just got a little bit more interesting. If not incredibly so. Mark Zuckerberg and the crew over at Facebook love trying out new tactics and tweaking the largest and still most important social network every once and awhile. If you’re in the online business, you darn well know innovation and optimization are key to being the alpha dog. The Book of Face is one of the most, if not the most, used medium for publishers to get traffic into their site. Top online reputation and SEO firms, including Reputation Defender, have used Mark’s brainchild to get the word out on the latest trends and strategies. It’s not a secret. After all, over 1 billion potential hits is kind of a big deal. It’s no wonder the online marketing and SEO community had a nervous breakout caused by Facebook’s announcement that it had made some changes to the News Feed algorithm.
To those running around the street proclaiming the apocalypse is here, you need to stop it. The world is not over. If a change to some code is going to bring your business down then my man, you’re in the wrong business. If you read the statement explaining the reasons for the change in the algorithm, you’ll notice that Facebook’s heart is in a good place. The social network was started as a way to connect friends and families and somewhere along the line we were seeing more information about a plethora of topics that had nothing to do with our loved ones. Why fix what wasn’t broken? People weren’t complaining to Zuckerberg to give preferential treatment to Aunt Dianne’s vacation. Again, Facebook came to the conclusion that it’s News Feed was turning into something it wasn’t intended for and decided to do something about it.
Don’t forget the pillar of SEO.
When something is proven to be extremely useful it tends to become our first choice. It brings in traffic. It’s relatively easy to execute. It’s not expensive. Facebook seems like the perfect tool for SEO. Publishers who have already made a name for themselves and gained street cred have no need to worry. The have a loyal fan base who won’t stop coming into their site just because their article isn’t the first thing they see. Those who are looking to gain some popularity and credibility have it a little harder.
Harder. Not impossible. SEO 101 taught us that in our day and age content is key. There is no denying that. People will always be looking for the best content and they are willing to search around a bit. Facebook and Google’s search bars can handle that job quite easily. Additionally, word of mouth is still a huge deal. One person who likes something is sure to suggest it over another, especially when they’ve had a first-hand account of its usefulness. Worry more about writing high quality articles that are sure to enrich the user experience and less about being on the top of the News Feed.
Check out the post SEO Wonderful Questions to see what else you need to consider to get an edge on the competition.
You do know there are other social networks out there, don’t you?
Take this opportunity to explore the many benefits of other social networks and what they have to offer. Facebook is not the only way to get your information to the masses. Every social network has something to offer you over the others. It would be worth your while to take a look and do some exploring. Stepping out of the comfort zone and heading into uncharted territory could prove to be exactly what you need to show the world you can adapt to any situation and still remain on top.
Facebook and its many social media competitors will always try to get a step up on what’s going on. That’s the way the online world works and it has no intention of stopping anytime soon. As SEO managers or advisors, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest changes in publishing policies and algorithms and adapting to them quickly so as to not be greatly affected. Just because one site decided to give priority to something that is in line with its core values that does not meaning the world as we have come to know and love will come crumbling down. On the contrary, it’s the best opportunity to see what you are truly made of, how credible you have become, and how loyal your fan base is. So Facebook changed its News Feed algorithm. Big thumbs-up deal. Maybe it’s time we paid a little more attention to other social networks and see where they take us. And never ever forget that posting on a bunch of different outlets is for not unless what you are getting out there is worth a read.
