I don't need to wonder, I can tell ya. They're effective. Even in a brick'n'mortar world of in-person sales, they're effective. And they're effective because they cheat Google ads - if you have a large social media presence, you will rise to the top of Google searches. They're good SEO, plain and simple. And because Facebook permits aggressive microtargeting you can literally target one person if you want to; if you know a guy in his 40s who likes model airplanes and Madonna, you can literally buy an ad for him by specifying his zip code, "model airplanes" and "Madonna." He'll be the only one to see it. Thing of it is? Eventually you'll top out on Google anyway at which point you don't care about how awesome your Facebook campaign is anymore. But since most businesses die in the first five years, there's been a steady influx of generous buys to get them their $70b a year in revenue.
So you are buying Facebook ads to up your google search rank? How does that work I’m confused. Also you can’t really get on the first page of google without buying a slot for most commercial search phrases. I usually have to scroll at least once now to get to even the first real result.
We were. We stopped cold at Cambridge Analytica. Google's PageRank algorithm functions by assessing the number and quality of inbound links. An inbound link from Facebook to my page counts a whole lot more than an inbound link from Sams-SEO-Shack.blogspot.com, and an inbound link from a Facebook page with a whole lot of other inbound links counts more than an inbound link from a Facebook page with no inbound links. If I have a reasonable presence on Facebook, a reasonable presence on Instagram, a reasonable presence on Yelp and a verified address linked to my page, Google figures I'm pretty much the A-number-one-legit owner of that service or business for that location. And since Google's search results for anything it considers "local business" are heavily weighted towards, well, local businesses, I win. Not true at all. I beat out four other birth centers and all but one hospital when I type "birth center" into Google. I beat out the New York Times. I probably don't in Minnesota but I don't give a fuck because I'm not dealing with women who live more than 20 minutes away. Sounds like you need to up your adblock game. Note that I do have adwords now - we don't spend a lot of money but we throw I think 30 or 40 bucks a month at it - and the ads for that phrase when I look locally are (1) a hospital (2) me (3) that same hospital. We're at like 700 followers and a couple dozen reviews so it's not like we're Nike or some shit. Last I checked something like 35% of our business came from search, like 15% came from referrals, like 20% came from insurance carrier lookups and the rest was "drove by and saw the sign."So you are buying Facebook ads to up your google search rank?
Also you can’t really get on the first page of google without buying a slot for most commercial search phrases.
I usually have to scroll at least once now to get to even the first real result.