In late March, Facebook introduced a migration tool to allow individuals and businesses to convert their profiles into pages. They promoted this feature by stating that it would offer businesses increased presence since Facebook users could simply “like” their page once it was migrated. Unfortunately, it would appear there have been some obstacles that have left some users unhappy.

Problems with Facebook’s Profile to Page Migration

While Facebook did caution users that not all data from a Facebook profile would transfer to the page, many users were surprised to discover the following after migrating:

• Only the profile photo gets transferred to the page
• Any wall posts and message history are lost permanently
• As soon as the migration is complete, the custom Facebook URL (that allows you to incorporate your username) is once again open for the general public to take
• Effectively, everything that was on the old profile page will be wiped away for good once the migration is complete with no option to restore it
• Once you’ve got your page setup, if you’d like to have a profile as well, it is necessary to create a new account. This is problematic since Facebook does not allow users to use any of the same email accounts or networks that they applied to their former accounts

The above are just the problems relevant to businesses looking to take advantage of the migration feature. Individuals that opted to try it out as well have complained of even greater inconveniences.

Facebook’s Solution to the Migration Problems

After only one week live, this feature was temporarily disabled by Facebook. Facebook has since provided users with the opportunity to ‘appeal’ their migration. A request can be submitted to have the transfer to a business page reversed. They are stating that this service is offered only to those that ‘accidentally’ transfered their personal profiles. They also note that they reserve the right to reject any appeals not deemed appropriate.

Typically when we discuss Google, it is with SEO and SEM in mind. However, this search engine has been taking steps to look at the bigger picture. As a result, we felt it appropriate to draw some attention to a unique, charitable project pioneered by the internet giant.

Google Implements a Crisis Response Initiative

As there have been a number of large-scale natural disasters in recent history, Google made the decision to help in a way that only they know how. In order to facilitate communication and information sharing after a crisis, they put a response team in place full-time. The goal of this team is to ensure real-time information is made available as soon as a situation occurs.

The earthquake that hit Japan in March gave Google their first opportunity to put their full-time team to use. They managed to play a positive role - working with their “People Finder” tool to help individuals post their locations so family and friends could locate them. Live satellite images, citizen videos and regular news updates were also provided under this initiative.

Google intends to keep working on the development of new technology that will provide even greater benefits in the wake of a natural disaster.

The Span of Google’s Influence

While this story may not help you enhance your online marketing strategy, it demonstrates how a company that so greatly influences how we operate online also has the power to be influential for the greater good.

Social network ’share’ buttons have increased the number of ways that individuals can share information online. Now, Google has decided to implement a feature that offers the same convenience. In late March, Google unveiled their plans for the +1 button. This would allow individuals to share organic search engine results as well as web pages with friends.

Details and Features of Google’s +1 Button

• The +1 button will appear next to each website in Google’s search results
• Later, webmasters will also have the option to add the +1 button to their websites along with their other social media buttons
• The goal of this button is not to broadcast information for all the world to see, instead, friends that login to their Google accounts will be able to see which search results or websites you have marked as worth reading
• +1 buttons will also be added to Google ads
• Google will likely use these +1 votes as a factor in search engine rankings

This change will provide a new way for you to share information with your patients using the +1 button to mark search results. It will also provide greater convenience to patients that would like to share your services with others (when the button is on your site).

Take Advantage of Google’s & Other SEO Strategies

MedNet pays close attention to the frequent changes at Google and we adjust our SEO strategies accordingly. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your practice become more visible in search results.