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

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: May 9, 2025

May 9, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Volatility, D.C. Creator Summit, Apple Safari Google Searches Drop & Google Ads AI Max

May 9, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Ads

Google Ads With Number Of Followers

May 9, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Search Country & Language Parameters

May 9, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Stops 20X More Scammy Pages With Better AI

May 9, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google AdSense

Google AdSense Auto Optimize Adds Site Level Controls

May 9, 2025 - 7:21 am
Previous Story: AdSense's "i" Link Replaced By "AdChoices"