How Search Functionality Will Impact Facebook in 2017

During a Q2 announcement in 2015, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the social media platform was facilitating 1.5 billion searches each day. The numbers can vary from who is reporting them, but with an estimated average of 3.5 billion searches being performed each day on Google, Facebook’s search numbers looked very promising.

In July of 2016, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was now seeing more than 2 billion searches each day, representing a 33% increase over the period of a year and new opportunity that could no longer be ignored. It is assumed a large number of searches performed on Facebook are for individual users, but the specific search trends have not been revealed.

With the introduction of new features that take advantage of search and location functionality, the viability of this technology has increased substantially. New services on the platform, including Marketplace and Professional Services, are prime examples of how this technology is growing. But how will this new search functionality affect marketers?

Facebook CFO Dave Wehner stated the platform is close to reaching peak ad load levels within the newsfeed during their recent earnings announcement. Even with Facebook’s phenomenal profit earnings and positive growth trends, this news caused a drop in after-hours trading. To avoid these future financial problems, Facebook will need to find alternative revenue sources.

This unique opportunity undoubtedly makes search functionality a prime candidate for improvement. As search functionality begins to grow on the platform it can be optimized to provide relevant search results, including specific brands and the associated products and services they offer. Once this happens, Facebook could begin promoting search ads and selling ad placement within the search results, much like Google currently does. This puts both marketers and Facebook in a lucrative position as search functionality begins to grow on the platform.

You can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your business listing, website development, marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2017 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!