As the majority of tech candidates use Google to find their next position, recruitment search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential. Without SEO, attracting clients and candidates will always be an uphill struggle.
Why should recruiters care about recruitment SEO?
The purpose of search engine optimisation is to get your website ranked based on algorithms. There are various SEO strategies and digital attraction techniques you can adopt to increase your site’s visibility and ranking.
Here are some tried and tested recruitment tips.
1. Conduct keyword research
You need to find the most popular words and phrases used by:
- People looking for a job
- Clients searching for recruiters or candidates
You should conduct your research as soon as possible and this may require some brainstorming to come up with the most likely keywords. You can identify these words by checking your competitors’ job posts or by using keyword research tools.
It is also useful to have an idea about the search intent behind the keywords.
Make sure you pick keywords that are specific and relevant to your industry, including:
- Name
- Job position
- Location
- Company name
You can also target searchers in your area if you include relevant and local keywords in your recruitment campaigns. Local recruitment SEO helps attract candidates to location-specific jobs.
Although keyword research may take some time, it can give your site more visibility and enable your target candidates to see your job posts.
2. Include the keywords in your site content
Once you have found the keywords you need, it is time to incorporate them on your site. You can include them in the:
- Site content
- HTML elements
- Page titles and header tags
- Image alt tags
- Meta descriptions
However, you should avoid ‘keyword stuffing’ – adding the words as many times as possible. This is a black hat SEO tactic that Google strongly discourages. If you get caught, your site’s ranking may suffer.
To be safe, only use a keyword when it makes sense in a sentence or is relevant to your content.
3. Optimise your website for mobile search
Nearly every job candidate will use their mobile phone when looking for a vacancy. If you want to be able to reach these people, you will need a website that is both mobile-friendly and optimised for mobile search. However, making your site viewable on mobile devices is not enough; you will also need to ensure that it is user-friendly for mobile users. For this reason:
- The content should be readable and navigating between the pages should be straightforward
- There should be no pinching or zooming required to read the content
- Candidates should be able to submit their CV online using their mobile phone
4. Provide helpful information
High-quality content often results in a better Google ranking. As a recruiter, you must make sure your job offers contain information that is useful to candidates.
You can boost the search visibility of your site and job posts by adding keywords. Conduct some research to identify the topics that will attract your target clients and candidates.
It is also vital that you update your site content frequently and add new topics. This will encourage clients and candidates to visit your site on a regular basis, which will in turn result in a higher ranking in the search results.
Posting blogs that provide helpful advice is an excellent way of attracting job candidates. You can build your online reputation by providing applicants with:
- Career information
- CV-writing tips
- Interview advice
- Job-hunting tips
You should use high-quality content to help and engage jobseekers while boosting your online ranking.
5. Build links to your site
Link building is the best actionable SEO advice for recruiters, or at the very least an important strategy to implement. Remember, Google recognises links from other sites as a sign that your website is authoritative and provides quality information. You only have to make sure that the websites that link to yours are trustworthy.
Nevertheless, obtaining links may require some work on your part. Writing high-quality blogs can convince some sites to link to them but it is also likely that you will reach out to other websites with your content.
You will also need to explain to the site owners how sharing your content could benefit their readers. Therefore, you need to make sure your articles are relevant to your intended audience.
6. Choose local keywords
Candidates tend to search for job opportunities within a specific area. Therefore, when drafting your job posts, make sure you use location-related keywords. You could also specify where the successful candidate will be based (e.g. city or region). For instance, when writing a blog, you should include tips for people looking for a job in a particular town or city.
7. Use social media to announce job offers
In the recruitment industry, social media is a very useful tool as it will help you:
- Create brand awareness
- Announce or share job opportunities
- Attract additional traffic to your site
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are three of the best social media platforms for sharing valuable employment opportunities. You could also use these sites to share career advice and tips to expand your online reach.
A social media strategy can entice other websites to link to your content, making it more trustworthy as far as Google is concerned. Make it easy for visitors to like your blogs and posts by adding social media links to your site.
Conclusion
Without doubt, recruiters need to utilise SEO in their digital marketing campaigns as this will enable their target audience to view their website and job posts. The first stage of your SEO strategy should involve identifying the keywords that will lead potential clients and candidates to your site. If you are struggling to understand which keywords to use, you should check out the words your competitors are using and also take advantage of keyword search software. Besides incorporating keywords, make sure your content is useful and relevant to your readers. You should add fresh content on a regular basis to encourage visitors to return. Finally, if other sites link to your content this can make your site appear authoritative and trustworthy.
