We’ve all fallen victim to spammy sites on the Facebook Newsfeed. A link promises you an article on “Top Food Destinations in the United States” and instead, you are met with disruptive ads and very little content. Well, Facebook’s new algorithm is down-ranking these types of sites, which means, more traffic for yours.
Earlier this year, Facebook asked users what’s not to love about the newsfeed? To which the FB community replied: links leading to websites with not a lot of substantial content, but a whole lot of disruptive, shocking, or malicious ads. So, in order to accommodate the people’s desires to only see good content, there are a few specific types of ads that Facebook is saying “no more” to.
And, what’s awesome about Facebook cracking down on these types of sites (other than cleaning up the newsfeed for all of us), is it provides the potential for more exposure for your own.
Here’s what you need to know regarding how exactly this update works to clean up the News Feed, and how to produce content to keep your page at the top of it.
The Update
Facebook is rolling out this new algorithm over the next couple months. And, in their effort to finally rid the News Feed of misleading, spammy, and sensational sites, they will now rank pages in part by their content to ad ratio. Pages containing ads with overly sexual, violent, or scary images will be flagged, as well pages with ads selling illegal products or containing spyware.
Other ads that Facebook will be flagging include pop-up and interstitial ads. And, one of the more popular sites that actually does show an interstitial ad before allowing users to read content, is Forbes. To which Facebook says: sorry, no exceptions.
It’s important to note that this update will not prevent users from sharing these sites on their own, and their friends’ walls. But, it will make sure that the links to these sites do not appear at the top of the News Feed, if in the News Feed at all. Which means, more space for your page at the top.
What Facebook’s Algorithm Update Means for your Content Marketing Strategy
Because we all know the key to a successful content marketing strategy is consistently producing quality content. So, as long as you continue to post content relevant to your followers, and keep the ads on your page in check, then this algorithm is a good thing for you.
The goal is to build a better News Feed experience through better information. As long as your page isn’t misleading or unsubstantial, then this won’t affect your page, other than the small increase in traffic you may see.
