Facebook and Google Ranks

[omoutop]

Recently i have put the "Like" button of FB on my website's index page.
Nothing fancy here, a typical FBML "Like" button
<fb:like href="www.example.com" layout="button_count" show_faces="false"></fb:like>

Less tha 48 hours later i noticed a 1 point drop in Google Ranks.

My question is: are these two related or it was just a coincidence?

[creative craig]

Do you mean a drop in PageRank or a drop in search positions?

I would say either way it is a pure coincidence as the two are unrelated.

[omoutop]

both
Page Rank dropped by 1 point (6 to 5)
Search position (with certain keywords) dropped 2-5 places

[creative craig]

I would still say that the two are unrelated - look elsewhere for the reasons as to why the rankings have dropped; competitors are pro-active in their SEO, you lost links etc...

[omoutop]

ok thanks

[theentry]

Yap they should be unrelated. The like button should add to the user experience, there is no reason to punish for it.

[omoutop]

well, i removed the "Like" button yesterday, after my last post (2:26 pm on Sept 27, 2010 (EET +2)).

Today (a couple of minutes before i post this) i see my old search results gone up to the old values - the one it had before i implement the "Like" button.

Is this coincidence also?
Strange thoughts are beginning to form into my mind.
Facebook has block gbot out of huge amounts of contenet/data.
-Facebook uses the Bing engine for its inner searching script (in developer corner/forum/thread/wiki)
- Facebook implemented the open graph and a bunch of other techniques/approaches that gbot is not ready to scan/store/present.
- Its also possible that Facebook will dominate the web for the years to come, having websites and users rely heavily on it (traffic, scripts etc)

Is it possible that Google sees this threat and begun punishing sites?

[creative craig]

Anything is possible but I still dont think this is what happened in this instance - its just the natural rise and fall of rankings.

You can check a few things;

Do you know if Google visited your site since you have removed the Like button? Maybe check your logfiles to see if Google Bot has been by
You can also check the cache to see if it has been updated to give an indication that Google has been by in the last 24/48 hrs

[omoutop]

google bot has visited my page after i removed the "Like" button
last visit: Sept 28, 2010 00:50:18 GMT
cache page has no "like" button

[McSpike]

Keep on repeating the process. Two more times. Then come back.

[getxb]

Interesting observations.. Not yet happened to my site though.

[omoutop]

last cached from gbot on my index: 29 Sep 2010 13:15:38 GMT
again without "Like" button and still on my normal rankings (page rank + search results)

i will add it again and monitor how this goes

[omoutop]

ok 3rd day in a row with "Like" button online
google visited my page more than 24 hours earlier
i see no drops on page ranks/search results

[StoutFiles]

PageRank doesn't update every day, more like months. It is 99.9% likely that other factors over the past months made you lose PR.

[leadegroot]

I don't monitor page rank, but I added like buttons across 10,000 pages of a site a couple of months ago and have seen no drops in referrals from G.
I would have noticed it! :)

[OrisysSEO]

Yes, I don't think this will affect PR or search engine result page ranking.

There may be any other factor causing this problem.

[dailypress]

I experienced the same. But mine was 1-2 weeks after I added the like button. So at first I thought it might be the cause esp that I have the like button on the very top but now im thinking Google is just messing with me! ;)

[Victor1]

Google changes place rankings almost everyday on many of the sites I monitor. So likely no - the like button makes no difference

[ToniMartin]

I agree with Victor1 , the like button makes no difference .