Prior to 2013, Facebook search had only returned results based on existing pages. There wasn't much logic in the algorithm other than the name of the person or page you're looking for.
As soon as Facebook launched its own Graph Search (in 2013), it was only a question of time before it became a big player among search engines. But Facebook search was still limited as far as optimization was concerned. The results it returned focused on personalities, places/groups, events rather than a link that contained the answer to your query like Google.
So you couldn't target based on keywords quite yet, nor could you take advantage of a searcher's affinity. This means the only way to target was by targeting another page or product.
Since 2007 Facebook has been a solid directory site for local businesses to have their business page when the number of businesses listed on social media was only about 100 000. It allowed businesses to be in front of one of the fastest-growing social media networks in the world, but the discoverability of your business was limited to mutual connections and brand awareness.
It wasn't until 2014 when Facebook received a new and improved
version of Places Directory that Local Business Search became a focal point for Facebook to compete with Yelp and FourSquare.