How to claim your Facebook business page vanity URL

When you first set up a business Page, Facebook gives you a url that looks something like this…..

www.facebook.com/pages/Sample-Company/857469375913?ref=ts

The main problem with this format is its hard to pass this URL across easily to your customers.

Vanity URL

www.facebook.com/sample-company 

Its worth considering that the vanity URL can't be changed once its been set so you need to thin carefully before setting it to something that limits future use. 

How to change your URL

To change your URL log into Facebook www.facebook.com and follow these simple steps:

  1. Go to www.facebook.com/username
  2. Select “Select a Username” for your page
  3. This brings up a drop down menu, select the page you want to create the username for.
  4. If your page has the needed 25 fans it will bring up a box .
  5. Enter your desired username and click on “check availability”
  6. If it’s available, you will be shown some final terms - if you are happy with your choice click “confirm” or select “cancel” to try another one.

Remember - this won't work for a Page that doesn't have 25 likes or more.

Facebook encourages you to consider the following when creating a username for Pages:

  • Create a username that is as close as possible to your public figure or business name (e.g. ElvisPresley, BestBuy).
  • If you own the rights to a given name, make it your username so that others cannot obtain it.
  • Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”).
  • Choose a username you will be happy with for the long term. Usernames are not transferable.
  • Your username must adhere to Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

There are a few things to consider before creating your username.

  • Once created if can’t be changed
  • Do you want to use your business name or the main keywords user are searching for ie: BestBuy vs Everything Electronic
  • Facebook is indexed by search engines quicker than most website and therefore your fan page could appear in the search results quicker than your website
  • Make sure you follow their terms & conditions to ensure that you can keep your username.