Recently unveiled as its main form of search competition against major power players like Google and Bing, the Facebook Graph search tool allows users to find all of the key information on various businesses, entities and local events from within the social media search bar. This is a huge step forward for the world of search, and has left even big names in search worried about what this entails for their futures. If your small business or brand has not yet optimized your page for Facebook Graph, then you could be missing out on tons of valuable traffic. In the following article, we will discuss a few simple tweaks you can perform to ensure that your page is being seen by those who are interested.

Picking the Right Category

One of the key elements of Facebook Graph is the way in which it categorizes pages. You may remember when you first created your Facebook page that you had to specify a category – was this the optimal selection for your business? If you are unsure, then you can verify and make any necessary changes by navigating to ‘About – Edit (under Basic Info)’, where you will see all of the available categories. If you are a local business or place, then it is best to select this category. Other, online brands can specify a more specific category in order to achieve the best results possible. This will ensure that your page is pinging search engines on Facebook and is displayed in relevant search results to users.

Complete Your Profile

When you first set up your Facebook page, were you sure to fill out all the relevant details? In many cases, new pages are set up in a hurry in order to establish a presence, with the remaining details to be filled in later. Facebook offers several sections where information can be given about various aspects of your brand or business – about, mission, description, awards and products are just a few of these examples. With all of these fields filled out, Facebook Graph will give preference to your page over others that do not have all of these details included.

Encourage Check-ins

Many local businesses have the luxury of a physical presence, which ensures that users can check-in at the establishment whenever they are present. The more people who interact with your brand in this regard, the better your chances are at being seen via a relevant Facebook Graph search. It only makes sense that Facebook would prioritize pages with higher check-in rates, as this is a basic indicator of popularity of the brand among local patrons. While this may not work for every brand or page (in particular, those that operate nationally or internationally), it can be effective for local and small businesses.

Conclusion

With these three tweaks – completing the information in your profile, ensuring that the proper category is selected for your page and encouraging check-ins via your page and in-person, users will be able to ensure that their page is pinging search engines on Facebook Graph search and in the process, indirectly boost their exposure via key search engines.