Everyone knows Facebook is great for connecting and building relationships.  But did you know it is also a useful search engine?

While it doesn’t make the top 10 search engines in the world, it is still great for business.

According to the latest netmarketshare report (November 2018), Google accounts for 73% of all searches on the internet.  So Facebook isn’t garnering that kind of traffic in searches, but it is still a player for B2B businesses and that includes your industrial business.

Is Facebook Really a Search Engine?

So you are probably wondering why Facebook is so important as a search engine for your business.  People want to learn as much about something as they can before they purchase.  Whether it be a vacation, a car, a new piece of industrial equipment or safety device.  They look information up on the internet.  Imagine the convenience of not leaving Facebook to perform such a search.

Facebook users can find product information, reviews, photos, videos and more by doing a simple search in Facebook.   Because Facebook provides robust search capabilities, users can find anything that has been posted by or about a business.   Don’t believe me?  Try it yourself.  Search any business on Facebook and see how much info you come up with.

What Do People Search For?

Facebook sees over 1.5 billion searches every day and over 600 million users visit business pages every day.  You may be surprised to learn that many of those searches are for things other than people’s names.

Facebook has some built-in features that specifically encourage searching:

• Professional Services tab, people can look for services in their area.
• Marketplace, users can buy, swap, and sell things within the app.
• Recommendations allow people to ask their friends for recommended products and services. This is a great feature, as it allows users to get advice from people they trust.
• Events show you events that match your interests and lets you know what your friends are up to.

Facebook wants more people to use its search features. Soon they will be suggesting better brand matches using their algorithms, user data, and location to find more relevant results for people’s searches.

“Check In” Feature

Even businesses who don’t think they have a Facebook page, may be there.  With the “check-in” feature on Facebook, there is a good chance an unclaimed page for the business already exists.   When people “check-in” as part of their Facebook status, anything they posted will be connected to the page they “checked in” to, even if it is an unofficial page.  Many unofficial Facebook business pages include reviews, photos, and conversations in the comments.

By the way, seeing that unofficial page speaks volumes.  Like “why isn’t this business claiming the page?  Why aren’t they with the program?   Don’t they know customers want to see them online?”

So if there happens to be one of those unclaimed pages for your business, you need to grab it.   Then you would be able to control what is publicly posted, respond to negative reviews, and update the contact information.

Claiming your business helps businesses find you.  As you grow your following on Facebook and encourage engagement, you will organically reach more people.  The more you and your followers post on the page, the more likely it will appear in search results.

Make Your Industrial Business Page More Searchable

Follow these three important steps to make sure your industrial business performs well in Facebook search results:

1. Claim your Facebook page and update your contact information and photos.
2. Optimize your Facebook page description with relevant keywords about your industrial business and location.
3. Post updates to your Facebook page regularly to increase the likelihood of positive messages about your industrial business in the search results.
4. Encourage engagement.  The more people respond to your posts, the more your posts will show up in various searches.  Think questions, polls, etc. and respond to their comments.
5. Post videos directly to your industrial business Facebook page.
6. If you are going to post blog post links (you should) make sure you have completed the meta description for your blog post.  Facebook pulls this from your site to use in link previews.

More and more people are using search engines within social media instead of turning to Google and Bing.   Facebook’s search engine is on the rise, so take advantage and make sure your business page is up to date and searchable.

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