Google: Facebook Likes "Will Not Influence Your Ranking"

Mar 22, 2011 - 8:40 am 36 — by

Facebook Likes and Google SEOJack from Google said in a Google Webmaster Help thread that adding a Facebook Like Button to your web pages will have no influence on your Google rankings.

The response needs to be put in context. One webmaster claimed his rankings dropped soon after adding the Facebook Like Button to his web pages. In response to that, Jack said - no, it wouldn't drop.

The thing is, we know that Google uses site speed as a ranking factor. We also know that Facebook Like Buttons, if implemented certain ways, can slow down the load of your page. Does Google specifically make sure to ignore the Facebook Like Buttons in the speed tests? I don't know. But if not, and it slows down your page load time, it may negatively impact your rankings. That being said, it is not specific to Facebook, anything that slows down your page can be detrimental to your rankings.

Going a bit beyond page speed, we also know Google uses social signals for rankings. Right now they use Twitter, Google Reader, and other social sites but currently do not use Facebook. So Facebook has no real direct impact on rankings as of yet.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help .

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Adopts New AI Training Control

Oct 30, 2026 - 12:50 pm
Bing SEO

Microsoft Bing New AI New Controls With AI Training From AI Search Grounding

Oct 30, 2026 - 12:15 pm
ChatGPT Ads

ChatGPT Gets Wider Ads, Multi-Image Ads Expands, Expansion & More

Oct 30, 2026 - 11:17 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: October 30, 2026

Oct 30, 2026 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Volatility X2, Spam Updates, AI Overviews Everywhere, Blending Ads & Organic, Google & Microsoft Earnings

Oct 30, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google AI Overviews & AI Mode 0.9% Click-Through Rate, Opt Out Study Says

Oct 30, 2026 - 7:51 am
Previous Story: AdSense's "i" Link Replaced By "AdChoices"