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How To Make Money Off Facebook By Turning It Into A Content Farm

written by John Chow on July 28, 2011

How to make $593 in less than one hour

The other day, I was looking for information on a Dynaudio MW 182 subwoofer. I’m doing some research for a new car audio system, and Dynaudio makes some extremely nice (and very expensive) speakers. Like most people doing research on the Net, I fired up Google and typed “mw 182 subwoofer” into the search field to see what information I can dig up.

While I was expecting to see Amazon.com on the list, I was a bit shock to find that Dynaudio.com wasn’t the top result. In fact, Dynaudio.com wasn’t in the first five pages. I guess they need to work on their SEO more. What really caught my eye was the fourth result from Facebook.

My first thought was, “What the hell? Facebook doesn’t sell speakers!” Clicking the link lead me to a Facebook note created by “Subwoofers3.”

It turns out that Mr. Subwoofers3 has written nearly 100 notes, with each note featuring a different subwoofer. Most of the information is copied and pasted from the manufacturer’s website. Mr. Sub added a call to action with an On Sale, Buy Now, or Special Price icon. He then linked the product to Amazon.com using his affiliate link.

Taking Advantage of that PageRank 10

Because Facebook has a PageRank 10, the highest ranking available, the site ranks extremely well on Google. Mr. Sub is taking advantage of this by creating a bunch of pages/notes that is really nothing more than Amazon affiliate links. I have a feeling subwoofers is only one of the categories. I’m sure there is a Midranges3, Tweeters3 and who knows what else.

The last Google update was designed to filter out content farms that add no value for the users. The update didn’t affect Facebook. It looks like affiliate marketers are taking advantage of this by setting up a bunch of affiliate pages on Facebook, waiting for them to rank on Google and then raking in the money! If you want to get in on it, better do it quick. I have a feeling neither Facebook nor Google will let this go on for long.

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{ 95 comments }

Pawel Reszka July 28, 2011 at 12:27 am

Nice catch John. I have seen this a few times before as well. People do this not just for Amazon products but also for cpa offers, Clickbank products etc. I wonder how long will it last. Funny that these notes outrank some big authority sites too.

PPC Ian July 28, 2011 at 12:30 am

I agree. Interesting strategy. I did not see this before, I bet Google will quickly put an end to it. :-)

Rajib @ SEO for Blog July 28, 2011 at 3:28 am

I also see this many times. But, i ignored this strategy to do myself. Now, its time to do this.

Virtual Tour July 28, 2011 at 6:17 am

Does this PR 10 give you anything since it’s nofollow?

Caleb July 28, 2011 at 7:37 am

Its not that link juice gets passed on to you, its more of a case where Goog gives preferential treatment to high pr sites in their serps…so if your content is on them for terms a user is searching for then chances are high that it too will recieve better treatment..

This is why we should NOT avoid putting content or guest posting on sites just because they have no-follow especially if that site has a high pr and gets love within the serps…although you may not their pr passed on to you, you may still get a portion of their targeted traffic which is what you mostly want anyway ;)

PPC Ian July 28, 2011 at 9:09 am

Caleb does a great job explaining it! :-) I used to see a similar phenomenon with Digg back in the day.

ZK @ Web Marketing Tips July 28, 2011 at 7:30 am

Yes I am sure facebook will take action against it soon.

Thry should have understand it that if they are allowing link adding option than this kind of situation will arise definitely.

Erwin Miradi July 28, 2011 at 8:54 am

Yeah I think so. Facebook is not too friendly to this kind of action anyway..

PPC Ian July 28, 2011 at 9:09 am

Agreed. FB needs to preserve their relationship with the search engines and their relationship with the overall market.

Kevin Kimes July 28, 2011 at 2:45 pm

It’s already been stopped, in this example. That SERP is now leading to a facebook “This content is currently unavailable” page.

ZK @ Web Marketing Tips July 28, 2011 at 6:41 pm

Yes I also checked that one …

Facebook is quite fast.

John you killed ones business … lollzzz

Rajib @ SEO for Blog July 29, 2011 at 12:07 am

They are stile on search result. But, content is removed.

Erwin Miradi July 29, 2011 at 10:08 am

OMG! LOL! Facebook really showed us just how fast they are. Thank god I haven’t make my own page.

Kevin Kimes July 28, 2011 at 2:35 pm

Ian, I’m sure you’re right that Google will realize this is happening. Once they do, they’ll immediately end it.

However, ignoring the SERPs aspect, part of this idea can be combined with what you mentioned in comments of the previous post: FB fan pages and FB’s PPC.

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:14 pm

That’s definitely going to be, sooner or later.

TrafficColeman July 28, 2011 at 7:34 am

How crazy is that to see facebook ranking so well for those keywords..think I might be using notes more.

“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:15 pm

It’s not only note, I have seen facebook pages also ranking for some low competitive keywords.

Gold Coins July 29, 2011 at 3:17 pm

I’m trying to figure out how to make these notes public. So far I’ve created a fake profile and created 2 notes, and tweaked my privacy settings to include everyone, and shared them, and created a page and shared them on the new page I created and they still don’t show up when I log out.

If you figure out how to do that, let me know…

PPC Ian July 28, 2011 at 12:29 am

John, you’ll have to let us know what car audio system you end up with! I’d like to get a premium audio system in my car.

Kevin Kimes July 28, 2011 at 2:40 pm

I agree. I’m a bit of an audiophile, and I recognize Dynaudio as a top brand in the industry. Would love to see what John puts together.

PPC Ian July 28, 2011 at 12:30 am

By the way, really cool to see how many messages and updates John has in his Facebook account – a lot more than I’m used to seeing. :-)

Virtual Tour July 28, 2011 at 6:17 am

I also am a big fan of this, gives me more good things to read!

ZK @ Web Marketing Tips July 28, 2011 at 7:32 am

Ian which car you are having ?

PPC Ian July 28, 2011 at 9:11 am

I drive a BMW M3 Convertible. :-) One of the benefits of the online marketing lifestyle and countless hours of work (but it’s not really work to me since I love online marketing). How about you?

Kevin Kimes July 28, 2011 at 2:42 pm

I drive Teva knock-offs ;)

Virtual Tour July 28, 2011 at 6:44 pm

I drive a nice bike! A beautiful perk of working at home!

Steffen July 28, 2011 at 12:33 am

lmao @ your 262 friends requests xD
but thanks for the great tip :) nice to know^^

PPC Ian July 28, 2011 at 9:11 am

Yeah, that really caught my attention too! John is so popular! Really crazy screenshot.

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:18 pm

He should have edited that part of the screeshot!! :D
I am sure John also have tons of unread mails in his inbox.

Sara@WebLoverz July 28, 2011 at 12:42 am

Nice tips shared..Thanks John .. As Facebook in the World’s 2bd largest Site so its results are also shown on the top of search results…So taking the edge of this we can Earn a lot of from FaceBook..

Sara@WebLoverz July 28, 2011 at 12:43 am

Sorry there was spelling Mistake in first line..Tha was…”World’s 2nd largest Site”

Virtual Tour July 28, 2011 at 6:18 am

I don’t think any of us cared, we all type pretty quick anyways!

Rajib @ SEO for Blog July 28, 2011 at 3:30 am

Agreed. And going to do this to earn few USD.

chris July 28, 2011 at 1:40 am

Good catch, you don’t even need to set up a site! awesome

Sara@WebLoverz July 28, 2011 at 7:59 am

Yes for that you dont need any site…All you need is a facebook account…

Erwin Miradi July 28, 2011 at 8:56 am

Yeah but from the sound of it.. It looks like it’s only going to be temporary.

Ed July 28, 2011 at 3:21 am

Good point. May not be effective for every product or services because like the example above, most will go for Amazon. However, this may be a good strategy for other niches.

Sara@WebLoverz July 28, 2011 at 8:03 am

AS amazon has high page rank as other sites so their results are shown at top…

Rajib @ SEO for Blog July 28, 2011 at 3:32 am

Nice sharing John. It’s really a great idea to use fb effectively. Thanks for share.

Retweet Exchange Network July 28, 2011 at 5:06 am

Cool strategy but really, I don’t think this will last long );

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:19 pm

What if it stays there?

Henry July 28, 2011 at 5:10 am

This is no doubt a great write up John. I admire your writing style. Keep it coming.

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:19 pm

John always share great tips.. :)

Top Business Schools July 28, 2011 at 5:15 am

Great post about making money with facebook

Sara@WebLoverz July 28, 2011 at 8:06 am

Yes that is a great post…and taking the advantage of facebook’s page rank…

aeroporika eisitiria July 28, 2011 at 5:46 am

i have seen people doingl ink building for facebook notes quite sometime now and i was always wondering whether it had results

now it is clear to me

Thanks

ZK @ Web Marketing Tips July 28, 2011 at 8:19 am

Well internet business persons are always looking for new ways to make money.

This one is also simply great … Lets see when this is going to close.

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:21 pm

All outgoing links from facebook redirects from a nofollow links.. They are of no use.

Virtual Tour July 28, 2011 at 6:18 am

This is a strategy that I’ve seen a few people doing but never taken advantage of… Does it make good money you?

ZK @ Web Marketing Tips July 28, 2011 at 8:20 am

If they are ranking in first page and that also facebook faith than you can assume yourself whether they are making money or not.

Michael July 28, 2011 at 6:22 am

Nice strategy! Seems like it could work out pretty well until it gets shut down.

Olefin July 28, 2011 at 11:15 am

yeah its worth jumping on this while you can

fas July 28, 2011 at 7:31 am

Now people treating facebook like a landing page, wow.

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:22 pm

Now!!!
You need to see some fan pages.. :p

Caleb July 28, 2011 at 7:53 am

If I had known you could put images and basic html in fb notes I would have tried this a long time ago as this srtategy could make far more money than a fanpage!

ZK @ Web Marketing Tips July 28, 2011 at 8:22 am

Facebook sensed your strategy … Lolllzzz that’s why they did not allow it … :)

Caleb July 28, 2011 at 10:21 am

They had no srategy to sense as I didnt know html could be pasted like in the example John showed!

Ill be publishing a post on why I believe this particular listing was successful within the next 15mins so be sure you and everyone else here stop by to give your insights…

Erwin Miradi July 28, 2011 at 8:50 am

It is tempting. But I also agree that we need to do that fast, since Google won’t just sit and do nothing about it.

Virtual Tour July 28, 2011 at 6:45 pm

I don’t think it’ll last forever!

Erwin Miradi July 29, 2011 at 10:21 am

Yeah that’s what I’m saying. And actually, the page above is no longer exist anyway. I think John killed it lol.

Abhik July 28, 2011 at 10:01 am

I must say, that’s an awesome idea..!!
Very interesting.

Trabalhe em casa July 28, 2011 at 12:47 pm

Yes, there’s no doubt it’s a good idea.
Sorry may I replace my opinion – Brillant idea.

Gold Coins July 28, 2011 at 1:13 pm

Way to go John, now his page is gone. Too much exposure nailed him. It looks like they are already cracking down.

Virtual Tour July 28, 2011 at 6:45 pm

That sucks for him!

fazal mayar July 28, 2011 at 2:41 pm

this is really a good idea, thanks for sharing.

Justin Dupre July 28, 2011 at 6:15 pm

I’m seeing a lot of people selling stuff on their Facebook page. The great thing about it is that you can easily target people living in your location. An example is someone I know who set up a Facebook page and added everyone he knew living in his neighborhood. He would then sell stuff on his page which gets generates decent sales.

ZK @ Web Marketing Tips July 28, 2011 at 6:44 pm

Now facebook stopped it and removed that page.

But still Google is showing that result and facebook stopped it … so facebook is quite fast compare to Google …

But this can be understandable because Google need to change its all algo to bring it to effect where as facebook simply removed that page … would love to see whether such kind of pages still there in facebook or facebook created such norms which can remove all such kind of pages.

Kevin Kimes July 28, 2011 at 10:02 pm

Actually, Google just needs to do another pass of that page with their spider. Since it’s not a page which changes often, Google might take awhile to swing by there again.

Craig July 28, 2011 at 8:58 pm

Great idea! I wonder what kind of results the affiliate is getting….

Top Business Schools July 28, 2011 at 9:11 pm

If we are in right way its possible to make money through facebook

Tony July 28, 2011 at 11:15 pm

It’s just hard to believe how people can make money with just any thing. I used to make some money from amazon aff program but not any more.

Top Business Schools July 29, 2011 at 4:39 am

some are the best method also available in online like amazon etc to make money in online

Tech solutions July 29, 2011 at 7:29 am

Thanks John for showing up that face book can drive a traffic as well a good seo technique to rank well in google search

Craig White July 29, 2011 at 10:55 am

John,
Nice post but I cant get my hyperlink to save in the notes. I tried copying from a word doc but they don’t show up.

Any suggestions?

Craig

Online Business July 29, 2011 at 1:31 pm

The best way to make a money online :)

Steve Hall July 29, 2011 at 4:03 pm

Unfortunately it seems that by the time I get to this post the method is not working any more.

So I guess it is just a matter of thinking high PR site that allows user generated content. Maybe blogger, wordpress, squidoo etc etc etc

Brankica July 29, 2011 at 5:02 pm

This is a really interesting thing. I haven’t seen it before because I don’t search for products much lately, but this is definitely something to look into. Maybe not as an affiliate tool but a way to rank some of your info higher. You got my wheels turning.

Kavya Hari July 29, 2011 at 11:45 pm

I should say this is one of the excellent ideas on here :) Thanks a lot for sharing your valuable post on here :)

Banner advertising July 30, 2011 at 12:23 pm

Thanks john for this excellent idea to use facebook to generate traffic and to rank in google

Whitney July 30, 2011 at 5:20 pm

WOW. This is absolutely amazing!! I had no idea you could do this with Facebook, I’m all over it!!

JoMi July 30, 2011 at 11:46 pm

I didn’t know that we can do an online business on Facebook, tnx for sharing John! =)

Helen Neely July 31, 2011 at 9:10 am

Nice to spot this trick. A lot of marketers have been using this method to drive traffic with their affiliate links. I don’t know, how Amazon will take this method of product promotion.

Top Business Schools July 31, 2011 at 9:08 pm

i have not earned anything through facebook but sure will follow up your guidelines in future

Dave Cupples July 31, 2011 at 9:11 pm

Hey great post John, interesting stuff!
I agree and also doubt Facebook will let this continue for long, but does anyone know a way to automatically make Facebook Notes out of our Blog’s RSS feed? That would be cool. I already use the free Networkedblogs app to automatically publish blog posts to Facebook, but creating separate Facebook Notes for each post that also rank in Google would be great.
btw John are you coming to Affiliate Summit again in New York? Any of you other peeps coming?

Ruben@AutoTransport August 1, 2011 at 8:57 am

Wow face book can be used for more then creeping up on people haha. I have relativley overlooked face book uses but with this new info i am going to do my best to utilize face book to my every advantage. Thanks again John.

Chris August 1, 2011 at 9:24 am

Yea this won’t go on much longer at all. I must give props to dynaudio for being so creative and using facebook in advantageous manner.

lets see if i can jump on this before it all ends..:)

Silver Lion August 2, 2011 at 11:07 am

Thank for this archive, it’s very usefull for me, a beginer MMO

Favourite Hobbies August 8, 2011 at 2:08 am

Content farm majorly getting tracked by google seems

Divya@ Make Money Online August 8, 2011 at 2:33 am

Thanks for sharing this useful tips, i think it will be good to see these things.

Essays August 8, 2011 at 4:24 am

Amazing… what an idea. Everybody can sell product of services this way. Plus, the high PR of facebook will make it happen quickly.

juan ignacio August 8, 2011 at 11:24 pm

people. this has been happening since apr as far as i know.

Favourite Hobbies August 17, 2011 at 9:14 am

facebook is the best place but i have not earned through it

Amani August 18, 2011 at 8:25 am

creative, but I think this is going to a short term. Probably the Google people or FB will look in to this soon.

Technary August 31, 2011 at 11:06 pm

Facebook is really a good platform to socialize. Anyways you had 262 friend requests that is amazing.! :-)

who2india September 14, 2011 at 1:37 pm

Agreed facebook is one of the best way to socialize and helps too.