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    How to Rank in Facebook’s Social Search Engine

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    With the rise of social media, Facebook’s ability to sort social information has become just as important as Google’s ability to sort search information. Facebook’s importance as a social search engine must be considered for anyone searching for information.

    Similar to Google’s PageRank, Facebook’s social search algorithm known as EdgeRank, determines the importance of content in Facebook’s search results; or in Facebook’s case, users’ newsfeeds. Newsfeeds contain the EdgeRank results of information Facebook considers most important to you. Appearing in your newsfeed are the connections deemed most important to you as well as the content they suggest or create.

    Every interaction you have in Facebook with content is called an Edge which influences EdgeRank. From likes to commenting on photos to sharing articles, these actions are considered Edges with your Edges being charted and ranked in your Facebook newsfeed. Determining the most important Edges or social actions by you is the main goal of the EdgeRank Algorithm. Understanding the main elements of the EdgeRank Algorithm is important for anyone concerned with ranking well on Facebook.

    Facebook’s EdgeRank Algorithm score consist of three main factors, Affinity, Weight and Time Decay. Affinity is a score based on how close to or friendly you are with someone. When you visit an individual’s or companies page often or comment on several of their photos or events you are considered to have an affinity for them. In turn these people or companies will appear in your newsfeed more often.

    Also determining what will appear in your newsfeed is your Edge Weight score. Edge Weight determines which content is more important for your newsfeed than others. Content such as videos, photos and links that you deem as important will have the greatest Edge Weight score. While it is not certain if videos, photos, links or other content has the greatest weight, creating content as a whole is very important for those concerned with boosting their ranking on Facebook.

    In addition to Affinity and Edge Weight, Time Decay must also be considered as part of the EdgeRank Algorithm. Time Decay refers to the idea that newer content is more likely to appear than older content. To influence Time Decay, you should create content and take other actions at a time when your audience are most likely to be using Facebook.

    Understanding Facebook’s EdgeRank is important as it will influence future social search algorithms. By understanding EdgeRank, you can not only influence your standing in the Facebook social search engine but get ahead of the curb when the next social search giant comes along.

    Originally posted at BeeSeen.

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