Can Google Crawl the new Facebook Business Page Timelines?

There has been an ugly rumor going around, started by some very large companies in fact, that Google cannot crawl Facebook pages.
As many of you know, Google has had problems crawling JavaScript and Ajax in the past. There are of course modifications you can make to help get this type of online content indexed, but you have to make the effort. Furthermore, there are really two categories of JavaScript and Ajax. There is JavaScript that once activated generates indexable content on the page and that when activated simply modifies the indexable content. It is really the activation that has been the problem for Google.
For example, the SEO Inc. Facebook page has plenty of great content on their new Facebook Business Page Timeline, but turn off JavaScript and visit the page and this is what you get.
As you can see, all of the posts are now missing due to turning off the Javascript.

Can Google Crawl Facebook

So can Google crawl the content on the new Facebook Business Page Timlines? We believe so. First, lets take a look at a post by Matt Cutts.

Can Google Crawl Ajax and JavaScript Matt Cutts

As we can see, back in November of 2011 Matt Cutts confirmed that the Googlebot has the ability to execute Ajax and JavaScript to index some dynamic content. We would assume that Google would do everything in their power to index Facebook content. So it is pretty safe to believe that they are using these or similar abilities to index Facebook pages.
Furthermore, any SEO can look at their backlink profile in webmaster tools and see links from Facebook pages.

Webmaster Tools Facebook Backlinks

As of now, all signs point to Google being able to crawl Facebook pages and index Facebook backlinks. Have question or comment? Leave it below!
Footnotes

• Facebook has commented out content. However, Google would still have the ability to access this. An exception may be being made for Facebook.
• The webmaster tools backlink report shows links from Facebook pages as well as http://en-gb.facebook.com subdomain.

How Google Classifies You

Google AdWords has a very useful targeting feature for delivering ads to users within its display network called interest categories. Interest categories are buckets of users who have been classified as interested in a category based on their browsing behavior. There are over a thousand of these categories and some 500 million users classified. If you browse the Web, you’ve been classified.
From an advertiser perspective interest categories are awesome. We use them here at SEO Inc to deliver outstanding results both for client branding and direct response initiatives. We like interest categories because they expand the targeted audience available to an advertiser and provide a layer of control when combined with other display targeting options such as contextual or remarketing.
On the other side of the coin are the internet users who are being classified. Their perspective is not always so rosy because for some it seems like a violation of privacy. Personally I think that behavioral targeting is a great thing. I want to be shown ads that are highly relevant to my interests. I don’t want to see ads for senior living or baby toys – I want to see ads for solutions to my particular wants and needs. If an advertiser can figure out what I need based on my browsing history they have saved me time and made my life more efficient.
Like them or not you’ve probably been classified. Here’s how to view, edit, remove and even opt out of interest category ads. Navigate to the following URL http://www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb. Under the “Your Categories” section select “remove or edit” which should bring you to a page that contains table like this:


It’s definitely an interesting experience see the categories that Google has matched to your browsing history for the first time. My demographics are spot on and I’ve been browsing eCard sites for a client which explains that category.
If you’re like me you’d rather not see ads for Cards & Greetings, but marketing and search engine solutions would be useful. First click “remove” on any existing categories you don’t like, then add your preferences:


Google’s transparency and user enabled controls for interest categories are impressive, but there’s much more to the Web than Google. If you’d like to know more about how you’re being tracked online beyond Google try downloading Collusion, a Firefox add-on that allows you to see all the third parties that are tracking you across the Web.
How have you been tracked and categorized and what is your opinion of behavioral targeted advertisements? If you have an interesting experience as a user or advertiser lets continue the conversation in the comments.