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Facebook Introduces Universal Search, Indexing All Public Posts

Facebook has made its entire index of public posts searchable, according to an announcement by the company today.

Previously, conducting a search on Facebook would return results from friends, family, Pages you like, and other sources you had some affiliation with.

Now, just like Twitter and other social networks, conducting a search on Facebook will return results from everyone who published a post containing that keyword.

Facebook’s index now includes over 2 trillion posts, with over 1.5 billion searches being conducted each day.

In addition to expanding its search index to include posts throughout the network, Facebook has also made the following improvements to its search engine:

  • Better suggestions: Typing in the search box will return better, more personalized results on the fly. Facebook will also highlight topics that are going on right now.
  • Filter Friends/Public: When search results are returned you can toggle between results from your friends, and public posts from those you may or may not be connected to.
  • Find Active Conversations: Jump right into active public conversations around links shared to Facebook.

The company adds that search results are unique to each person, which more or less rules out the possibility of devising a strategy to rank in Facebook search.

However, these new features will be useful for finding popular content on Facebook, learning what people are saying about a topic, and engaging with current events on Facebook in real time.

These updates are rolling out now in US English on iPhone, Android and desktop

Featured Image Credit: Gelner Tivadar / Shutterstock.com

Category News
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SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...

Facebook Introduces Universal Search, Indexing All Public Posts

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