websense

I just finished writing an article for our upcoming newsletter detailing the reasons why Facebook and Twitter are not the be all and end all of search marketing, then this comes out! Google is going to be including Facebook status updates in real time results (finally decided to catch up with the newbie - Bing).

This will be important for businesses, and of course cleaning up your page on Facebook and getting it ready are all good recommendations. Fine, go do it then. But you have to remember that your site is only as good as the effort you put into it. Your business site is an extension of your business. Your Facebook page is only meant to promote your website, not replace it.

There are some things that should be happening before you ever bother with a Facebook page. The number one thing is SEO. If you have covered your bases with a good, thorough approach to organic optimization on your site, then perhaps it is time to add social media. Let’s not forget, however, that SEO is an ongoing process that continually needs to be assessed and tweaked.

Have you joined LinkedIn? This step is not only good for your business, but it is good for your career in general. Making the effort to fill out a full profile, and perhaps add to those of people you have worked with and for might not be as fun as Facebook, but should give you a better ROI of your time.

Google including Facebook status results will probably provide a small boost for some, but why not take matters into your own hands and make sure your site has all the bases covered. Invest in some quality SEO. The tried and true will never fail you.