Attracting candidates is no longer about instruments that worked in the past. As the world changes, candidates choose new ways to look for jobs, and your mission is to adapt and use the tools you can to benefit from all the changes. One such tool is search engine optimization - a well-built strategy can help you gain a new audience and create a pool of warm candidates. Utilizing basic tactics can decrease time-to-hire and make it easier to attract candidates.
Search Engine Optimization - What is it and Why is Everyone Talking About It?
Simply put, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of techniques that allow you to drive organic traffic to your website with the help of search engines (Google, Bing, Yandex, etc.)
When you type in a request, the first thing you see are the paid ads that appear at the top of the search results, which are not related to SEO.
If you scroll down a bit, you will see organic results. These are web pages that Google ranked high and defined as the most relevant and helpful information. This is what SEO does - it helps you rank high on any search engine with the help of strategies and techniques.
As Google is focused on offering the most accurate content for the reader, SEO specialists should improve their websites in terms of online content creation and from a technical perspective, focusing on user experience and non-manipulative ranking tactics to ensure they provide truly valuable content.
I am a Recruiter. Do I Really Need SEO?
One of the best advantages of SEO is the chance to target the correct audience. Recruitment search engine optimization concerns websites that candidates visit, including web pages, career sites and blogs, and job postings. If you improve your website to attract more visitors, chances are you will find the right candidate much quicker and with less effort.
Besides, a well-optimized website enhances employer brand visibility. According to the research, 64% of candidates do research on the company before submitting their application. If candidates cannot find relevant information online, 37% of them do not apply. Visibility matters, which is why paying attention to your online presence is a must nowadays. Hiring professional SEO services goes a long way since they can create an organic marketing strategy to enhance your online presence and make the right candidates find you more easily.
Online presence also includes social media. With SEO, you can optimize social media as well! As most candidates search for jobs through platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook, your presence there can connect you with the right candidates.
Simple SEO Techniques to Boost the Hiring Process
Whether you want to attract potential candidates or just increase brand exposure, SEO will help you achieve all of these goals. We have listed the first steps you can take to start your journey towards building an effective SEO strategy.
Target specialized keywords
Keywords targeting for recruitment is a basic step in improving your search ranking. In general, keywords refer to words and phrases that people use when they search for something in a search engine, which is why it is important to perform thorough research in advance. Besides, it is a great way to gain insights about the business area you are in and understand what content your audience finds the most interesting.
You may start with performing recruiting keyword research. Lots of keyword research tools can help you define the most relevant keywords, such as SE Ranking, Ubersuggest, WordStream, and Google Trends. This step will also help you to analyze your competitor’s job listings and to find keywords that work for them. For instance, the SE Ranking's tool not only lets you analyze keywords and find relevant ones, but also helps you analyze your key competitors.
We suggest you add location-based keywords to your recruiting keywords — phrases that include a specific geographic area. Adding such keywords to your SEO strategy will help you attract candidates from certain locations, as they are more likely to look for employment opportunities in their area first.
In addition, you can create content that is related to a specific region. This is your chance to connect with your readers in a way that feels familiar to them. You can do this by incorporating culturally-specific terms, covering topics that may be relevant to the specific location, and incorporating the culture in the content pieces you create.
Deliver high-quality content
An SEO strategy will hardly work without insightful, relevant, and helpful content. High-quality pieces are a way to motivate potential candidates to stay longer at the website, and search through it or come back, which builds visibility for your company and adds trust.
Job-hunting advice, interview and career tips can engage candidates and be great content to start from. The more readers engage with the website, the higher your articles will rank in Google or other search engines. Quality content influences important indicators that matter for SEO - your web pages get a chance to rank for your target keywords, more websites may potentially refer to your content, and a targeted audience spends more time on your website. If you want to drive even more traffic to your content definetly think about working with a specialized SEO agency.
Build backlinks
Backlinks are the links that lead from one website to the other. You have probably used them many times when you were doing research. Backlinks let you discover more on the topic that is not revealed in detail in the article you read, or simply get you to the primary source with research results or other specific information.
When search engines see that your content was backlinked, they consider it valuable. The more backlinks you get, the more Google will move your publications to the top of the search. One of the ways to make this happen is to publish articles on other resources. Besides the obvious value that it brings to your SEO strategy, it is also a great chance to show yourself as an expert in the field and expose your brand to the world, which strengthens your position in the recruiting world.
Yet, earning backlinks can take some time. If you have just started discovering how link building works, try competitive backlink research. It involves analyzing the collections of pages that are linked to the websites of your competitors based on similar keywords - while you perform the analysis, you can get valuable insights on where to start from.
Make the website mobile-friendly
Most candidates search for jobs through their phone nowadays, which means adapting your website or job postings page is very important. You definitely do not want to lose traffic because of the absence of mobile optimization. Whether it is your home page or another important page on your site hiring one, make sure it is displayed on mobile devices correctly.
For some companies, this would just be a simple call to a developer to help. But if you’re at a startup or bootstrapped, you may want to consider using a website builder to host your site as they’re all mobile-friendly by default.
Without a mobile-friendly page, you risk facing an SEO ranking drop in the search engine result page, as the time readers spend on the page will drastically decrease.
Upgrade Job Postings with SEO
Use the benefits of metadata
Metadata helps search engines to define what your posting is about. It is an invisible data for readers that appears as the code in your CMR. When you write meta tags, make sure to incorporate relevant keywords, use location, or indicate that you hire remotely.
Make your posting visually appealing
Creating a visual experience for potential candidates is beneficial for two reasons. First, it helps readers to digest the information, as they tend to read diagonally. When you split paragraphs, write only important information and create headings so that potential candidates will be more likely to read till the end and understand whether the position is the right fit for them. Second, search engines tend to give preference to properly structured pages.
Add search optimized URLs
Logical URLs will help potential candidates navigate through the pages and search engine to understand what your content is about. The URLs of your job postings should be simple, include primary keywords, and be easy to read.
Use structured data
Another way to help your search engine is to use structured data. If you are not a big fan of coding, you can use plugins to add structured data, such as Schema or Yoast. The structured data will help Google understand what it is you are going to talk about in your publication.
Share job listings on multiple platforms
The more platforms you use to share your job posting, the more people will see your content and will interact with it. Even if you do not resonate with all potential candidates who see your post, they will remember you, which increases the chances of them thinking of you when they start looking for a job.
Summing Up - SEO for Recruiters
SEO for recruiters works just the same as SEO for any other business, and is just as important. The good news is that your efforts will pay off in the long run, and the earlier you start investing in your SEO strategy, the quicker you will facilitate the hiring process.
By following the recommendations we have listed in this article, you can lay the groundwork for recruiting optimization and start attracting more relevant candidates. Good luck!
