How your ‘Name’ appears on your business Facebook Page is important! And we’re not talking about your ‘Username’ often referred to as your distinct URL. Although your distinct URL is important too.
Your Facebook ‘Name’ is what appears at the top of your Facebook Page (near the ‘Like’ button). And your Username is the URL that appears in your browser’s address bar.
Your Facebook Page name is important because it is the information Facebook uses to generate search results when people do a search using the Facebook search function.
For this reason, you want to think carefully about what your Page name should be.
Naming Your Facebook Page – Think Carefully
For sales representatives like realtors and mortgage brokers: do you have a name that is well known in your field when people conduct a search? Or do you work for a well-known company that people may search for? In other words, is there a benefit to including both the company name and your personal name when you name your Facebook Page?
It makes sense to ‘Name’ your Page something your customers are likely to think of or be searching for on Facebook. Or, as close to this as reasonable.
If you are a realtor or a mortgage broker or a specialist of some kind, you may want to include something about your specialty when you Name your Page. It will make it easier for those who don’t know you and haven’t heard of you to find you by your specialty.
For instance, say Jane Smith is a realtor in the Abbotsford area. She may decide to make her Username facebook.com/AbbotsfordHomes. When setting up her Page Name she may decide she’d like to use Jane Smith Realtor or Jane Smith, Abbotsford Homes for the name that will appear near the top of her that appears at the top of her Facebook Page. This name is also the name that will appear in the Facebook News Feed.
When naming your Page keep it relevant to your branding but also take into consideration what people may be searching for and if there is a way to work that into your Page name. For instance, if Jane Smith the realtor only uses Jane Smith for her page she will likely lose out on someone searching for a realtor generally or more specifically in her area. For this reason, Jane Smith, Realtor – Abbotsford Homes may make more sense.
Things To Keep In Mind When Naming Your Page
Here then are a few things to keep in mind when naming your page:
- Page names are not limited to just one business or person. They do not need to be approved as unique by Facebook. Unlike the ‘Username’ that is only available to one user (referring to the distinct URL).
- You can change your Facebook page Name periodically. So, if you don’t get it right at first you can fix it later.
- Your name will need to be relevant to
There are some restrictions on what Name you can use with your Facebook Page. And if you use a name that is not yours to use your Facebook privileges can be revoked by Facebook.
To change your Name or to reserve your distinct Username, look for and click on ‘Edit Page Info’ on your Facebook Business Page. It will open to the area where you can change your name. Your username can also be changed there.
While your Facebook ‘Name’ is key to the Facebook search function, the ‘Username’ makes it easier to promote your Facebook Page by making it easy to remember your Page address. Your Facebook URL is also important for other non-Facebook search engines like Google and Bing.
Updated January 2021
(Orignal article October 2011)