As Facebook was enjoying an enormous growth in popularity this past summer in both popularity and new members, there was some grumbling that it’s platform was to restrictive for those inside that wanted to give their information exposure and for those on the outside who wanted to take a peek inside.
We also had what many consider to be America’s most prestigious newspaper, The New York Times, have something called “Time Select”, which placed key content behind unsearchable walls. Only those willing to pay could access it. That is, only those who valued the NYTimes as a news resource and would head over to the site. But what the Times didn’t realize in its arrogance was that there’s a heckuva lotta other new sources on the internet with a click of a mouse. Through a search engine that is.
So both companies made a good business decision. Facebook has lowered the wall and will allow search engines to take a peek inside. People can still opt out an have their profiles shielded from the outside world, but that’s going to be the exception as opposed to the rule. And the Times has now done away with their experiment, giving us all now the privilidge of accessing and reading the Grey Lady.
What this shows us is the continual importance of establishing a strong SEO presence. It shows that the likely most important reason to go online is still to get information that we want. It shows that Google and Yahoo and others are the gateways.
Now, not every profile on Facebook needs exposure. But as a whole, this relatively new but very influential site found it essential. As did the self-described most important newspaper in the country.
SEO gives you access to what you want: customers, visitors, users, and, $$$.
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