We are all familiar with the Google Page Rank score and with how Google uses complex algorithms to rank web pages but did you know that Facebook uses the same sort of techniques to give you what they call your EdgeRank? If not you need to because this is going to be the next battle ground for your eyes and your attention.

You’re aware that at the top of your Facebook page there is “Top News” and “Most Recent” but do you know the difference between these two sections? And… do you know why it is becoming more important that you show up in these sections?

The “Top News” section is a collation of status messages which Facebook considers are from your close friends and pages and this is calculated using the Facebook algorithm and is called your EdgeRank. The “Most Recent” are status updates from ALL of your friends and also ALL the pages which you have liked. So how does Facebook know the difference between your closer friends and everyone else without you telling them? This is simple because you are actually telling them and more on that in a moment.

But here is something you should be aware of… By default the “Top News” is what you see when you FIRST login. Now because over 50% of people just view these updates without even been aware that there are other views it’s important that you are listed here so your message can be seen by your community and ultimately get there attention.

So what is EdgeRank and how does the formula work? Well as I said earlier it is the algorithm which Facebook uses to determine which of your status messages your Facebook community sees in their “Top News” when they first login. And don’t forget that 50% of your community don’t even look at any of the other choices so this is the first things they see before they interact with their community.

This means that if you get their attention first you stand more chance of them liking your statuses and more importantly commenting on them, more on that in a bit but first here is the formula:

Affinity x Weight x Time Decay = Your Facebook EdgeRank

Let’s break down the formula to make it easier to manipulate…

The first part is the affinity score, this is a measure of the relationship between you the creator of the item and the viewer your friend. Facebook calculate this by considering if you send your friend a few or a lot of Facebook messages, do you check their profile often and if you do you will get a higher affinity score for that friend than for an old acquaintance you don’t talk to very often.

Then there is the weight which is given to each type of interaction. For example a comment on an item has much more importance than a Like and a picture has the heaviest weight of all.

Lastly there is the time factor or how long has it been since someone had any interaction with an item. In other words the longer an item goes without anyone interaction with it the less important it becomes.

This simple formula is the magic to increasing your status views and it all boils down to one thing… Engagement! The higher your engagement is the higher your Facebook EdgeRank score will become.

This is the magical formula to increasing your status views or as Facebook calls it impressions. What does it all boil down to? Engagement! The higher your engagement is, the higher your EdgeRank score will be.