Yesterday a new feature was announced by Microsoft that allows logged-in Facebook users to link related pages to themselves. The new product, ‘linked pages,’ not only allows users to link pages to themselves, but also to friends.
To see all linked pages simply click on the tab underneath the search box. Those Facebook friends with a linked page will show up in the left column. When pages are linked to a profile, the Facebook result displays first with all other linked pages below:
One missing option that may anger users is that users cannot move other pages above the Facebook link. Linked Pages will display the Facebook link above all others in the search results pages, an obvious traffic benefit for Facebook. If you are one of the users who like to separate their Facebook accounts from work, linked pages probably aren’t for you.
Not only can you set up your own linked pages, but you can assist with your friends pages. If you are viewing a page in the SERP’s that you’d like to link a friend to, simply click on the “Link to other friends” button underneath the search result and your friends names will begin to autofill for you. I was looking through the linked pages of Matt McGee, MarketingLand’s Executive News Editor, and noticed that he hadn’t linked his Twitter profile:
I was able to quickly link the Twitter profile to his account (with no work on his end):
Users can unlink any pages that they don’t like by going to the linked pages section. Any user who hasn’t granted linked pages permissions on Facebook will not be able to have pages linked to them. See also our related article, Bing Posts To Facebook Timeline If You Use New “Linked Pages”.
Much to the chagrin of marketers, Linked pages currently do not work with Facebook brand pages. This would however be a lucrative proposition for online reputation management & brands if it ever offered. For more information see the video below:
Comments