Google indexing Facebook comments
Watch what you say – it could turn up in search results!
Google has started to index Ajax/JavaScript content, so comments made on sites that use services such as the Facebook Comment Box or Disqus will now be discoverable via Google search. These comments will also contribute to a site's Google PageRank. Matt Cutts, head of Google's webspam team announced in a tweet:
We asked social technologist Suw Charman-Anderson what this will mean for website owners: "It's swings and roundabouts,” she replied. “For some website owners, it'll be great to have their comments indexed as it will help attract more traffic. But it will mean that they have to be more careful about moderation because spammy or astroturfy comments could put people off visiting.
"It will also be interesting to see what happens with comments that are duplicated across multiple blogs. On the one hand, it will help readers understand the context of the comment if they can see that the same person has repeated it across the web, but on the other, it could damage a website's rankings if they have to compete for attention not on the individuality of their own content, but on that of their commenters. But as with many things that Google does with search, we'll have to see the results of the algorithm they use before we can really figure out the ramifications."
Search-friendly?
We also spoke to content strategist Kristina Halvorson, who questioned whether searchers would want to see comments appearing on the results page.
"Google search results are already a mess,” she told us. “For example, yesterday my daughter had a headache and a fever, which was deeply concerning to me. I searched the term, and several of the results that came back were from forums (with comments from non-professionals) and "content farm" sites (such as ehow.com).
"What's going to happen once comments from Facebook are included in those results? Will I get status updates from people complaining about having a fever and a headache? Will I get a string of comments of people who aren't medical professionals giving advice to one of their friends about her child? Why would Google force me to wade through these?
"Also: Google is just now trying to beat out the content farms (ehow.com, wikihow.com, etc.) in order to deliver content that better meets quality standards: usefulness, true relevance, accuracy. I can never, ever be sure that comments are accurate, and if the platforms are unmoderated I can't be sure I'll get comments that are actually useful or appropriate.
"Finally, the last time I checked, Facebook is primarily a social platform for people's personal lives. If we can't relax there because we are constantly being monitored by The Eye of Google … then where? It's like always having to invite Google along to dinner with friends: suddenly I have to watch what I say at all times."
8 comments
Comment: 1
Comment: 2
You have a Social Technologist say it will help get more traffic but they will have to be more careful about spammy commenting???
By using facebook as a comments system helps alleviate a lot of that in the first place as a comment must be manually added from a facebook login just like here, so to me that is a great thing!!! You will get more real world comments on your posts and articles.
Then the next paragraph makes no sense at all about multiple posts damaging rankings, I think they need to re read the question and get a greater understanding of comments on blog posts via third party logins. This is not sending correct information at all.
And your Content Strategist should be getting medical advise from a doctor or a nurse not a search engine, especially if it was deeply concerning to her, and again she does not understand the question that you are posting to her.
Where does it say that they are indexing status updates??? Comments on blogs and the like are getting indexed, not behind private login areas. And that also answers the seeming rhetorical question in her last paragraph - please understand the question that is asked of you!!!
I think it is great, social media is a true word of mouth system that if utilized in the right way will serve up highly relevant results in search engines ( btw the post will benefit from the indexing, not the comment) Google understands this hence Matt Cutts' tweet in the first place.
Imagine of indexing on your blog if you have 30 or more comments on your page from an authority site that a huge proportion of the world access on a daily basis. And comments that to my knowledge have no autopost software available for.
Real comments served up to real people and their followers.
Good one Google, finally a great move with FB rather than against it.
I look forward to any comments
Steve
Comment: 3
I will only respond to a few of your points, as I feel several of them are based on your own personal judgment rather than facts.
I was not addressing comments on Facebook private accounts, and I should have clarified that; my callout of "status updates" should have been "responses to status updates", and I apologize for the confusion.
For most of the world, Facebook is an intensely personal environment in which they can build their own communities and choose how and where to participate. Inarguably, from a social perspective, participating in Facebook is simply not the same as commenting on someone's individual blog or a business's blog, which is a standalone experience.
Comments are the Wild Wild West of the Internet. It's hard enough to find quality search results on any topic; my opinion still stands that, despite SEO benefits to individuals and companies, as an individual (and business owner) this move will harm search result *quality*, which—actually—is what Google says it's for.
>>Imagine of indexing on your blog if you have 30 or more comments on your page from an authority site that a huge proportion of the world access on a daily basis.
In my experience, a huge proportion of the world does not leave comments on authority blogs; only a small percentage of very vocal participants do. Additionally, the ratio of useful, constructive comments to duplicative or comments simply regurgitating points in the article (e.g. "yes I agree too that blah blah blah") is very, very low.
"Google juice" might be the priority for some businesses and blogs. As a content strategist, I would argue that quality content—well-optimized for both external and internal search engines—is a better first step (albeit not the *only* step) towards successful SEO. To me, comments don't fall within that category.
Comment: 4
I appreciate your reply and I agree with some of what you say.
I find it an interesting angle that you take considering that you use the Disqus comment system on your own blog.
Google has seen Facebook as a threat, and have been at loggerheads with for sometime, this new indexing is proof that Google are standing up and listening or looking at one of the single biggest authorities on the internet.
Any SEO done well is going to rise to the top, but that gives it no authority, such as you have found looking for medical terms, so content alone, that was working well, is now being diluted by good marketers such as ourselves, and the new tool in town is the discussion to the article. Much like we are having here.
I still do not see how individual comments are going to appear on a Search Results page, but an article with many FB comments, from FB pages with good following is going to have a very positive effect on that post or article.
Something with social buzz will have to be taken notice of.
Again thanks for the conversation.
Steve
Comment: 5
Comment: 6
Comment: 7
Comment: 8