Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

The Perfect Word · #1 (**permalink**) 02-09-2011

Hi all!

I think I already know the answer to this--which is no--but just making sure. Is there any way to change the URL name of your FB page AFTER you've already changed it from the generic one they give you when you initially set it up? I haven't changed my business name just wish I had done something a little differently when I picked the URL for it on FB as far as Google searching.

Thanks!!

The Perfect Word · #2 (**permalink**) 02-09-2011

Never mind, just found in on FB and the answer is no like I thought. Guess I was just hoping someone could give me a different answer! Oh, well! Thought I'd just leave the thread in case someone else was wondering the same thing.

kimbeckers · #3 (**permalink**) 02-09-2011

There actually are exceptions to this, if you are talking about your business page you can actually make a change up until you have 100 fans, if you have more than 100 fans than you cant but if you still have less than 100 fans you should be able to change it. You would need to go to your FB fan page and click on edit, then you should be able to make the change, assuming you do have less than 100 fans.

On My Wings · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2011

Pam - You are correct in that you can only change the name of the page up until you reach 100 likes, in the area in which Kim is directing you, but unfortunately you cannot change the vanity URL itself - which to clarify, I think that's what you are referring to...correct?

What was the reason you were wanting to change your vanity URL? How many likes do you already have? Have you been established for awhile on your business page?

The Perfect Word · #5 (**permalink**) 02-10-2011

Yes, Pam, it was the url I wanted to change. I was thinking it would help in SEO if that was exactly my business name with hyphens to separate words. Right now it's www.facebook.com/perfectwordtranscription, rather than something like www dot facebook dot com/perfect-word. It might not make any difference, though. I'm pretty green at SEO; probably need to take a class or something! Don't spend near enough time with that. I have 36 likes.

Thanks!

assistantnikki · #6 (**permalink**) 02-10-2011

If I am not mistaken, you can't put a hyphen in the url, I just set my vanity url yesterday and I got an error message that said that you can only use alpha and numeric.

On My Wings · #7 (**permalink**) 02-10-2011

Hi Pam -

While it can help with SEO it's just a tiny part. What will be a really good thing to do is to change your page name before you hit that 100. Have it use your best keywords - and because people may search on FB for you by your name - or because if they ever receive a communication from you, it's recommended to include your name. For instance, eventually you may decide you want to use the Event feature. If you receive an email from a page name vs. a person - which are you more likely to open.

The biggest things that are going to help your SEO on FB will be great content, making sure your information tab and other areas where you can put information about your company is using the right keywords (but don't stuff).

My page reads Pam Blackman: Internet Marketing Specialist & Virtual Assistant. I think having your company name is good enough for the URL - because that's what people will logically look for you under.

The dashes (or some now even say that Google likes the vertical bar even better) will help you with your website's title. You've already done this, but one thing I might suggest, even for that is to put your company name last because as you are crawled you want the keywords to be identified first - and also think about how people search.

Would they more likely look for Transcription of Audio & Video...or would they look for Audio & Video Transcription. Of course the phrase you use needs to be determined by your competitive keyword research. Perhaps in your research it showed that Transcription of... is the best choice. :-)

HTH & HTMS.

Rae J Gallaher, VA · #8 (**permalink**) 02-10-2011

Wow, this all sounds greek to me. I guess I had better do some research on SEO and within my FB business page before I get 100 fans. Thank you, Pam, for the great information!

On My Wings · #9 (**permalink**) 02-10-2011

SEO is a multi-faceted and can be complex. Just whatever you do, don't pay anyone who says that if you pay them a bunch of money they will get you to the top of the search engines in days or whatever. i.e. be careful who you give your money to. I'm on a mission lately to warn everyone of these deceptive practices, because the reality is that getting to the top takes time and there are a lot of components that go into getting there.

The biggest scams are where they tell you that you should "submit" your website to search engines on a regular basis - and that they will do this for you for a fee. Actually, if you in essence "spam" the search engines they will in effect turn their backs on you for a long time. It's like if you have a guy you like - if you come on too strong you'll chase him away and who knows when or if he'll come back around.

The Perfect Word · #10 (**permalink**) 02-10-2011

I easily found where to make that FB change and will be doing it shortly. And I see what you mean about the website page titles. That's a quick and easy fix, too, that I'll make tonight. Wonderful information, Pam...thank you!