Facebook Reach on Post Just Spiked!
-
Yesterday I put a post with a photo on our company Facebook page Normally our reach on a post is 500-600 out of a list of 77,000 followers. However, since posting this one yesterday afternoon, our reach has hit almost 9,000!
The only thing different with this post vs. any others we've done is that I put a text link for the company name back to the same Facebook page that the post was put on. I didn't intend to do this, it's just that when I started typing in our company name, Facebook suggested making it a link, so I thought, why not? I'm thinking somehow that made it appear in more people's timelines than usual. We posted it the same time in the day as every other post, and this was the only thing unique about it.
Any thoughts?
-
Ah, that's about what I suspected. Tagging back to our FB page was the ONLY thing we did differently in that particular post. I just ran another post with similar content and also tagging our page, but the reach on that one was about what we expected. It's nice when you occasionally find yourself on the right side of the algorithm.
-
So as you probably noticed, Facebook's algo has been hitting brand's pretty hard when it comes to post reach recently. The only thing I'm seeing across the board that actually works is paying for your post to be promoted, and then usually the organic rate goes up.
Ignite did a big study where they found an exact equation for how much you pay and how it increases, not only ad views, but organic reach too. Despite what Facebook says.
That said, there are "tricks" that some people have noticed that help you more reach. I'd equate these tricks to SEO tricks back in the day, like keyword stuffing, only they're perhaps less annoying.
These tricks will help you see a little increase, but eventually Facebook changes the algo to get rid of them or essentially fix a bug in their algo. One of these tricks is tagging your band in your post. My theory behind why this works is because Facebook finds a post with others tagged it more valuable (brands can only tag other pages). We tried this trick with Moz's account, and we saw only a negligible difference, much less than yours!
-
I dug into the post metrics and they haven't shed much more light on why this one has so much more reach than any others. Its a photo post, as are many of our others, without the photo being that much more interesting. It's also a contest, which we've run many, many times before with less reach, so I'm still scratching my head. The only variable is that there was a link in the post BACK to the FB page it was posted from. Still don't know why that would have an impact, though.
-
Edgerank doesn't exist anymore.
This is why I don't do Social Media any more. There is enough to contend with SEO hehe...
-Andy
-
Edgerank doesn't exist anymore. Its much more complex now and without a catchy name. (I still catch myself calling it Edgerank when trying to explain Facebook feeds to people though) http://marketingland.com/edgerank-is-dead-facebooks-news-feed-algorithm-now-has-close-to-100k-weight-factors-55908
Check the post metrics in your Facebook insights for a deeper understanding of that post. Might help you glean more ideas as to what specifically was different about this post and maybe it can be replicated in future posts. Much of Facebook is trying to determine when to post those things that should be seen right away, when to post the interesting stuff that can sit all day, when to tag who & how, varying of images & links & shares, and determining what your community appreciates so you can deliver more of that to them.
-
I think that what you are seeing here, is an aspects of Edge Rank. This is Facebook's own algorithm that determines how a post is promoted, by looking at various factors.
Have a read of: http://www.whatisedgerank.com/
If you understand how Edge Rank works and how it ties in with visitor interaction, you can do a lot more with your Facebook pages.
I probably don't spend enough time on SM than I should do (due to amount of work), but it is definitely something you should look in to more.
-Andy
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Will spammers hurt your Facebook?
HI, We have noticed as SEO person, whom we feel has become a spammer of sorts, has been liking all of our Facebook post to his Facebook. Will this effect our site and facebook page by him simply liking them all? Thanks
Social Media | | AkilarOffice0 -
Facebook Like Button vs Like Box
We want to add the Facebook Like and Google Plus One functionality to our website but had a question. Is it better for SEO and usability to use a global Facebook Like Button for people to Like the home page of our website or a Facebook Like Box to Like our Facebook page from our website? I know that we can specify the URL in the Like Button but I wanted to get some feedback. Thanks!
Social Media | | Prager0 -
Facebook shares/likes not showing correctly
Hi guys, I've been running searches on Opensiteexplorer for our site www(dot)mobileunlocked(dot)com and am seeing Facebook shares as 21 and 0 Likes. However, we have 2857 people who have liked our page on Facebook. I'm concerned that the search engines also aren't seeing our relationship with our true number so is there anything I can do to make sure this is being picked up? Thanks.
Social Media | | purpleindigo0 -
Outreach person different than guest post write
Hello, For a current client of mine, the person doing the outreach (me) and the person who is going to write the guest post (expert) are different people. Also, the expert doesn't want their real name published. They're going to use their first and middle name instead of first and last. How do I taylor my outreach and link building to accommodate the above two facts? BTW: The expert's picture is on the site if that helps, in an "Ask the Expert" menu tab Thanks
Social Media | | BobGW0 -
Facebook Like Button or Like Box
Hi, A client has a FB like button on their website but is frustrated that those "likes" are disconnected from their company FB page. It is possible that they could change their website like button, to a like box, which will then mean people are liking their FB page and give them a greater opportunity for on-going engagement through FB. However, from an SEO perspective is it better for them to attract likes & potential sharing of their website content rather than their FB content? Thanks.
Social Media | | bjalc20110 -
Removing Facebook Pages Without Admin Access
A few years ago someone started a Facebook page for my company. It has about 15 fans and is not active, however it is ranking in Google because of it's age. I want to delete the page (so that the real official Facebook page will rank instead). However, I do not have access to the original admin account and Facebook is not responding to my removal requests. Any suggestions for what I should do? Thanks!
Social Media | | theLotter0 -
Whats the SEO value of getting Likes to your brand's Facebook Page (not your site's URLs being Liked)?
UPDATED: I meant to say SEO VALUE, not just business value Lets say I have a site - www.company.com, and I set up a Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/company. I understand the SEO value of having the domain www.company.com "Liked", using the FB Like button on my homepage lets say, or the same goes for individual pages - www.company.com/page. My question is rather about having my Facebook Page - Facebook.com/company "Liked". Are those likes counted by the engines as a strong signal that www.company.com should rank well? Or only that the Facebook Page - Facebook.com/company should rank well in searches for that company?
Social Media | | Jeff.Gold-315371 -
Facebook business page
Hello Can you help me. I'm starting out in SEO and sometimes I think I miss the Elephant in the room. I have tried and tried to find our via 'Google' or 'Seomoz' articles the answer to this question. How does 'Google Panda' link a facebook business page to it's actual business website if the url is not identical eg 'www.setteeherts.co.uk' 2 'www.facebook.com/settee-herts'? As no one is talking about this I'm assuming I am missing the elephant. If you can see it can you point it out gently? ta!
Social Media | | catherine-2793880