Facebook Comments Now Being Indexed by Google

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Careful with what you post online, even if it’s just a comment on Facebook. Google is now indexing Facebook comments, and these will appear in relevant Google search result pages.

Popular commenting systems like Disqus and Intense Debate run on Javascript, which makes it difficult for Google search bots to crawl entries for content and keywords. However, a recent update to the way Google crawls websites now enables the search spiders to read content posted as Facebook comments, both within Facebook itself and using plugins for third-party websites like Comments Box.

With the new system, it’s also easier for readers to look for comments attributed to your Facebook name or account. Digital Inspiration‘s Amit Agarwal shares that search queries can now include [User Name * Job Title] because Facebook usually includes a user’s company and position as identification in comments. For example, Agarwal says, you can search for [Robert Scoble * Chief Learning Officer at Rackspace] to find all comments that Robert Scoble has written using the Facebook plugin.

While it’s advantageous for businesses to now use Facebook to engage their audience, this also comes with a downside. Comments posted on Facebook might sometimes be personal in nature, and can sometimes reveal inappropriate discussions. So with Google now indexing Facebook comments, it will be a good idea to think before you post, even if it’s just a Facebook comment and not a new blog post or article altogether.

Like with Facebook’s recent update allowing subscribers to comment-posters, this also incentivizes writing of good content as comments on existing Facebook content or third-party website posts. Further, since your comments are treated by Google as any other content, website owners will find a need to moderate comments for spam or inappropriate content, which might appear on Google as part of relevant search results from one’s website.