Facebook Page Not Found in Facebook Search?

One of WildApricot’s blog readers got in touch recently with a Facebook question that has plagued other nonprofits from time to time. He created a Facebook Page for his nonprofit organization, but the new Page doesn’t show up in the results for Facebook’s own Search tool.

“Why is this?” he asks:

1.  Is there some time it takes to update?
2.  Are FB pages not searchable?

Here’s what I came up with for reasons why a Facebook page isn’t showing up in search, and what to do about it — but I have a feeling that I may be missing something here, so please do chime in with a comment if you have any thoughts on this problem!

First, to address our reader’s two specific questions:

1.  Is there some time it takes to update?

Yes, from what we’ve seen, there often can be a bit of a time delay for Pages to show up in Search. Depending when you set your Page up, it may just be a matter of waiting a bit longer.

2.  Are Facebook pages not searchable?

Yes, Facebook (Fan) Pages are searchable.  In fact, they’re searchable by search engines like Google, as well as by Facebook Search itself.

You can see if Google has indexed your FB Page yet by doing a search like  site:facebook.com “your Page name here” — and try the same on other major search engines.  If Google and the gang have your Page indexed and listed in search results, then you’ll have a good idea that the source of the problem is a Facebook Search glitch.  If so, you can bring this to Facebook’s attention via their Facebook help for Pages.

And a couple of other possibilities come to mind —

Is your Page published?

When you first create a Page, there’s a final step to take — “publishing” — to move it from draft status to public view. If it’s not “published” to the public (or if Facebook doesn’t think it’s published), it won’t show up in Search. You also won’t be able to share the contents of an unpublished Page with another website; for example, linking your Facebook Page with your Twitter account. If you visit the page on which you can connect your Facebook account and your Twitter account, and try to add the application to your unpublished Page, there’ll be a big notice telling you to publish it first.

One quick and easy way to double-check that your Page has been officially published is to copy the URL for your page, log out of Facebook, then try to visit that URL. If the Page isn’t published, you won’t be able to see it when you’re logged out of Facebook.

Is your Page private?

Privacy settings may be restricting who can search for (and become a fan of) your Page. On your Page, click “Edit Page” link; in the Settings section, click the pencil icon and choose “Edit” from the dropdown menu; check settings and adjust as needed, and click “Save Changes”.

What else might keep a Facebook Page out of Facebook Search results?

If you’ve had experience with this problem and insights to share — or even a theory you’d like to float — please do jump in, in the comments!

Read More: Complete Guide: How to Raise Funds on Facebook (with examples)