Quality web content is one of the primary ingredients of SEO. After all, without web content, Google won’t be able to index and rank your site. This is why blogging is an essential SEO task that can help increase your chances of seeing a positive return on investment by 13 times.

Blogs are a huge help for recruiters like you. When done correctly, they can help drive traffic and generate leads to your site. At the same time, they can help you establish yourself as a recruitment authority, which can help you gain your prospects’ trust and ultimately help you grow your business. 

Don’t Make These Blogging Blunders

Blogging, however, is not as simple as it seems. In fact, even the most experienced marketers can fail to harness the marketing prowess of blogs. To make sure that you’ll get better results from your efforts, we at Recruitment Traffic are sharing with you the common blogging mistakes you should avoid. 

1. Writing about topics that only interest you

True, it’s easy to write about topics or ideas that interest you. However, just because you find something engaging, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the same is true for your target audience.

Always keep in mind that the reason you’re creating a blog is to help solve your audience’s problems and show them your recruitment expertise. For this reason, you should select topics that are relevant to the recruitment industry. Also, they should be able to answer questions or concerns your prospects may have. If you can’t figure out what to write about, consider your company’s goals and come up with ideas that can help you achieve them. 

2. Failing to create a “marketing persona”

Commonly known as a buyer persona, a marketing persona represents your ideal clients based on the information you obtained from your existing prospects and clients, as well as from the data you got through research. Because of the numerous benefits it can offer you, failing to create a marketing persona before creating content is one of the biggest blogging mistakes you can make.

A marketing persona can make it easier for you to create content for your recruitment site. It allows you to bridge the gap between your content and the things that matter the most to your prospects. Using a marketing persona, you can improve the effectiveness of your blogs and other aspects of your marketing campaigns. 

3. Taking yourself too seriously

Indeed, providing quality recruitment services is serious business. However, taking yourself too seriously, particularly when writing blogs, can affect how your audience consumes your content. To make your writing more engaging, write as if you’re talking directly to your prospects. Don’t be too stiff. Make yourself more approachable.

If you want to keep your audience interested in whatever you have to say, ensure that your writing is easy to read. Avoid the excessive use of industry jargons. Also, don’t be afraid to reference popular culture if it’s relevant to the topic you’re writing about. 

4. Choosing very broad topics

Avoid making the mistake of writing about broad topics because it can be challenging to answer all the questions about them. Instead, write about something more specific. While specific topics often attract smaller audiences, the people drawn to them are usually more likely to become leads or even clients. As such, blogging about a particular subject instead of a general idea can significantly help improve the quality of your leads.

Here’s a quick example. Let’s say you want to write about finding a good-paying job amid the pandemic. Instead of providing solutions to all candidates, why don’t you focus on a smaller segment of your audience? For instance, you can offer advice for job seekers in the hospitality sector instead of targeting all kinds of candidates. 

5. Your writing is all over the place

As we mentioned earlier, it’s essential to ensure that your blogs are readable. Otherwise, your audience is less likely to read them until the end. Since most people these days are busy, have shorter attention spans or both, you must organise your post in a way that will make it easier for them to digest your content. Otherwise, you’ll be making one of the most crucial blogging mistakes. 

It helps to create an outline of your post before getting down to writing. It lets you organise your thoughts and present them clearly and concisely. At the same time, it helps you break up your post into smaller, digestible paragraphs instead of large chunks of text, which is useful not only for your audience but also for your recruitment site’s SEO. 

Unleash the Full Marketing Potential of Blogs

Blogging is an effective way to showcase your recruitment expertise. At the same time, it helps you engage your audience and optimise your site for Google and other search engines. To ensure that you’ll get the most out of your blogs, see to it that you avoid the common blogging mistakes discussed above.

At Recruitment Traffic, our goal is to help recruiters like you leverage the power of Google to attract more traffic and leads. If you need help writing blogs or optimising your recruitment site for search engines, we’re always happy to lend you our expertise. Contact us today, and let’s discuss your SEO strategy.

If you’re targeting candidates and potential clients in a specific area, you should improve your local SEO strategy. Local SEO enables you to reach specific audiences, making it easier for you to encourage them to enlist your recruitment services. To make the most of this strategy, you’ll need to create quality content for local SEO. 

You can use a wide range of content marketing tactics to improve your local search ranking. Below are some of them. 

1. Submit content to local websites

At this point, you probably already have a blog for your recruitment site. If you want to expand your reach, you’ll need to branch out by publishing content on other websites. This strategy is called guest blogging, and it will help you build quality backlinks and generate referral traffic to your site. What’s more, it provides you with the opportunity to showcase your recruitment expertise, allowing you to boost your credibility and earn your prospects’ trust. 

Here are a few guest blogging tips you should consider 

a. Find websites that accept guest posts

To make the most of this strategy, the first thing you need to do is find guest blogging opportunities. On Google, type in your location + website + guest post. After obtaining the results of our online query, create a list of relevant websites that can potentially publish your content. 

b. Determine the publishing requirements

Visit each site on your list to determine their guest post guidelines. Also, pay attention to the types of content they are publishing to ensure that their audiences include job seekers and employers. 

c. Reach out to the publisher/site owner

Contact the site owner by sending them an email to express your interest to do a guest post. 

2. Use “localised” keywords

Whether you’re posting an article on your blog or submitting a guest post on other sites, make sure to incorporate “localised” keywords into your content. It is also a great idea to add local keywords to your URLs and meta descriptions besides your blog posts or page content. 

For instance, let’s say you’re trying to recruit employment law solicitors in Northampton. You can use the keyword “Northampton employment law solicitors” and its variations in your web content to reach local audiences. Meanwhile, Google Keyword Planner can help you identify relevant keywords that are popular in your target location. 

3. Create “local” headlines

Ensure that your page titles are optimised for local SEO. This will let Google know that your content is intended for a local audience. At the same time, it will make it easier for your prospects to recognise you as a local recruitment agency. You can do this by adding geotags or localised keywords to your title tags and content headlines. 

4. Write content for local audiences

After researching the keywords you’ll need to use, the next step is to create content for local SEO. However, adding localised keywords to your web content isn’t enough. You also need to make sure that your blog posts, articles, and service pages have a local flavour. 

For instance, if you’re targeting local job seekers in Northampton, you can create a blog post about the ten most in-demand jobs in the area. You can also compile local “Top 10” or “Best of” lists relevant to the local recruitment industry to attract your target audience’s attention. 

5. Participate in community events

Community events are a great source of local content ideas. You can feature a local event on your blog or website. Local gatherings also enable you to obtain relevant backlinks to your site. When you participate in a local event, awards, or charity drive, you might get a link from the event organiser’s official website. 

If you don’t want to participate in community events, you can try sponsoring one to get backlinks. It is also a great idea to support local clubs, teams, or organisations so your website will be featured on theirs.

6. Promote your content on social media

Want to make sure that your content for local SEO will have a wider reach? Cross-promote your blog posts, articles, and other types of content on your social media pages. This will help you drive more traffic to your recruitment site. At the same time, it enables you to engage your audience directly and attract more loyal followers. 

It’s also advisable that you join local groups on social media sites so you can share your location-specific content with them. Just make sure that these groups are relevant to your industry. 

Boost Your Local SEO Strategy with Quality Content

Improving your local search ranking is crucial to generating more traffic and leads to your recruitment site. One way to enhance your local SEO is to create content designed for local audiences. Consider the pointers discussed above to develop content that will attract the attention of local candidates and employers. 

If you need help creating content that will help boost your local presence, we at Recruitment Traffic can offer you the services you need. We can provide you with expert content marketing and SEO services that will help you generate more traffic and lead to your recruitment business. Please speak with us today to get started.

Because making good first impressions is vital, adding relevant images and photographs to your recruitment site is a must. Pictures make your web pages more interesting and engaging. They also make it easier for you to explain complicated concepts. However, posting photos to your recruitment site is not enough. You also have to optimise images for web or online use. 

But how do you do it without sacrificing image quality? 

1. Take good photographs

Set a good foundation for your image optimisation efforts by taking excellent photographs. You don’t need to invest in an expensive photography studio, especially with good cameras being less costly and more accessible these days. However, there are things you can do to take your recruitment photos to the next level. 

Here are some simple yet effective photography tips you should consider: 

1. Invest in a good camera, preferably a DSLR camera or a smartphone that comes with good photo and video capabilities. 
2. Always have an excellent light source with you when taking photographs. Proper illumination can make your photos pop and look more high-quality. 
3. Use a tripod to keep your camera steady. This will help prevent blurry images and ensure that your photos are consistently placed. 

2. Consider hiring a professional photographer

Not confident with your photography skills? If you have an extra budget, why don’t you consider hiring a professional photographer? This will certainly add depth and significantly improve the quality of your photographs. What’s more, professional photographers can also edit the images for you to ensure that they are fit for online use. 

3. Use the correct file format

When saving your photographs, use the correct image file formats. Only three image file formats matter when it comes to online use: JPEG, PNG, and GIF. 

• JPEG – best for photos with lots of colours.
• PNG – recommended for simple or transparent images.
• GIF – only suitable for animated images. 

4. Compress your images

Before uploading your images, make sure to compress them. Otherwise, they would hurt your recruitment site’s loading speed, especially if they have an enormous file size. 

Many photo editing tools, including Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, and On1 Photo, have compression features built into them. Alternatively, you can use online image compression tools, such as TinyPNG and JPEG Mini. If you’re using WordPress to manage your web content, you can install plugins, such as Optimole and EWWW Image Optimiser. These tools will automatically compress the images when you upload them to your site. 

5. Resize your images

When you import an image directly from your digital camera or smartphone, it will have a resolution of 300 DPI and a dimension of at least 2,000 pixels. It is because the image is intended for print or desktop publishing, not for website use. While the picture is clear and of high quality, its file size is quite large, and it will eat up a lot of bandwidth when you upload it to your site. 

To optimise images for web performance and prevent them from consuming many resources, you should make it a habit to resize your photos before posting them to your recruitment site. You can use the photo editing software mentioned above to resize the images. 

However, make sure that you resize the image correctly. If the photos are too big, they will hurt your page loading speed. If they are too small, they will look grainy. 

6. Add keywords to your image file names

Besides improving your site’s page loading speeds, you should also optimise your images for search engines. You can start by using informative file names on your photos instead of random letters or numbers. 

When naming images, you should briefly describe the photo and use dashes to separate words. Most importantly, add relevant keywords to your image file names to make them more SEO-friendly. 

7. Include alt text

Alt-text is what would show up if the web visitor is vision impaired or if the image doesn’t load. In addition, it also tells Google what the picture is all about. This is why besides the image file name, the alt text is an excellent place to incorporate your focus keywords. 

8. Optimise for a better user experience

To optimise images for web performance and better user experience, consider the following tips: 

1. Use clear and high-quality photos

Good quality images always make for a better user experience. Also, they contribute to your link building efforts since other websites are more likely to link to pages with excellent images. 

1. Ensure that images are higher up your web pages

Some web visitors don’t always scroll down to the bottom of web pages. Therefore, to boost the likelihood of your visitors seeing the images, you should put them higher up the webpage. 

1. Indicate the dimensions of each image

Specifying the height and width of each photo will let web browsers know beforehand how big it will be. This will help minimise the amount of time it would take for the entire page to load. 

Always Prep Your Images

Photos make your website more attractive and engaging. However, you need to prep and optimise your images before using them on your site. This will help ensure excellent web performance and a better user experience. 

If you need help optimising every part of your recruitment site, not just your images, we at Recruitment Traffic are happy to assist you. Please speak with us today, and we’ll prepare a bespoke SEO strategy for your recruitment agency. 

Whether you’re running a seasoned or a newly established recruitment firm, you must continue building brand awareness online to ensure your growth and success. The more online visibility you have, the more likely you are to attract potential clients and candidates. This is why besides investing in paid ads and standard SEO, you should also consider utilising local SEO for recruiters. 

What’s the Difference between Standard SEO and Local SEO?

Both standard SEO and local SEO can improve your search rankings, which can help boost your online visibility and generate web traffic and leads. However, what makes them different from each other is the audience they are targeting. 

Standard SEO is made up of various on-page and off-page optimisation strategies that make it easier for employers and job hunters in the UK or even certain parts of the world to find you online. Local SEO works the same way. It utilises the same strategies, such as keyword research, link building, and content marketing, to get the results that you want. 

However, the difference between the two is that local SEO targets employers and candidates on a much smaller search radius. It enables you to pinpoint audiences in specific locations, which is more effective and cost-efficient if you’re a small or medium-sized recruitment firm focusing on prospects from a particular city or region. 

Why is Local SEO Vital to Recruitment Agencies?

Any small to medium-sized businesses and enterprises, such as recruitment agencies, can benefit from local SEO. If you want to gain the attention of employers and candidates from a specific area, here are some of the reasons you should optimise your website for local search. 

1. Local keywords get more visibility and higher search rankings

Most people tend to search for information or services near them, especially these days where government restrictions hamper our movement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Studies showed that a staggering 93% of people use the internet to find local businesses. Also, research by Google showed that 76% of people who looked up nearby businesses on the internet visited their physical location within the day. 

If you’re targeting local employers and job seekers and you have an actual business location, it makes sense to utilise local SEO instead of standard or national SEO. Using local keywords in your web content and other online marketing campaigns enables you to better position yourself where your prospects are looking. This increases the chance of potential clients and candidates noticing and finding you online. 

2. There is less competition

One of the most significant benefits of local SEO for recruiters is less competition. With national or standard search, you’re not just vying for the attention of thousands of employers and job seekers. You’re also competing with every recruitment firm in the UK. 

While your audience may be much smaller with local SEO, you don’t have to deal with dozens of competitors. Also, the employers and candidates you can attract are more targeted and of higher quality, which significantly increases your chances of receiving more enquiries. 

3. You can enjoy bigger savings

Optimising your recruitment site for local search offers a more cost-effective way to promote your services. You don’t need to spend a significant amount of money to use online platforms that can help you spread the word about your recruitment firm. For instance, it won’t cost you to create a Google My Business page or post on online business directories. You just need to exert a bit of time and effort. Through local SEO, you get to save more money, which you can use to grow your business or explore other marketing channels. 

4. You can build better relationships with clients and candidates

Besides using local keywords and posting on online directories, local SEO for recruiters involves building local backlinks. One way to get quality links back to your recruitment site is to sponsor or participate in community events. When you host a charity drive or join a local job fair, the event’s organiser will link back to your site. 

Quality backlinks from event organisers are just the icing on the cake. One of the most significant benefits of sponsoring or joining local events is that you also get to interact with job seekers and business owners personally. This allows you to gain their trust and build better relationships with them, which could translate to more clients and enquiries down the road. 

5. You can greatly improve your conversion rates

One of the challenges many recruitment firms face is successfully converting web visitors into clients. Fortunately, this is something local SEO can help you with. Research showed that 80% of local searches end up in conversions. This means of the ten people who visited your recruitment site, eight of them are likely to sign up for your services or join your talent pool. Because local SEO drives more targeted web traffic to your site, it is much easier for you to keep your conversion rates high. 

It’s Time to Optimise Your Recruitment Site for Local Search

With stiff competition these days, it is your job as a recruiter to boost your online visibility to make it easier for your prospects to find you. This is why if you haven’t optimised your recruitment site for local search, now is the best time to do so. By attracting and driving high-quality and targeted local traffic to your site, you are more likely to convert visitors into clients or members of your talent pool. 

If you don’t know when or how to start with local SEO, we at Recruitment Traffic are happy to help. Specialising in providing recruitment agencies with tailored online marketing solutions, our team can offer you the expert assistance you need to build better brand awareness and generate quality traffic and leads. Please speak with us today. 

As a recruiter, content marketing should be part of your overall digital marketing strategy. Search engines mainly rely on web content to determine how relevant and valuable a site is. And when used correctly, web content enables you to establish credibility and authority and build better relationships with your target audience. 

But what exactly is considered good content marketing ideas? 

Content Marketing Strategies for Attracting Clients and Candidates

Content marketing comes in all shapes. As a recruiter, it’s vital that you know which of them is suitable for the type of audience you have to obtain the results you’re looking for. To help you out, here are a few content strategies that you can use to engage your audience, build better relationships with them, and even encourage them to enlist your recruitment services. 

1. Infographic

Infographics have the benefit of being digestible. Combining text with attractive and colourful illustrations, they provide your web visitors with a quick and effective way to consume your content. What’s more, they contribute to your recruitment site’s SEO. Research showed that articles with infographics generate 178% more inbound links and attract 72% more views. 

To make your infographics more effective, keep the following tips in mind: 

• Always consider your audience when creating infographics.
• Keep them short and concise.
• Avoid using too many colours.
• Choose the appropriate imagery and font style.
• Don’t stuff your infographics with too much information.

2. Quiz

If you want something more fun and interactive, quizzes provide an excellent way to keep your audience engaged. For instance, you can create questions that would help job seekers determine if they are suitable for a particular job placement or company culture. As for employers, you can make one that would help them define the qualities they are looking for in a candidate. 

3. FAQs

Here’s one of the most effective content marketing ideas for recruiters: frequently asked questions or FAQs. FAQs are a great source of information for both employers and candidates as they enable them to find what they need in just one place. In addition, they help optimise your recruitment site for SEO. FAQs allow you to incorporate long-tail keywords into your web content. They also make your recruitment site voice search-friendly. 

Here are a few useful tips on creating a FAQ page: 

• Gather all the essential questions you receive from your web visitors. Conducting a survey would greatly help.
• Provide clear answers for each question.
• Utilise a navigation system, such as a table of contents or collapsible windows, to make it easier to view the answers.
• Make sure to update the page when necessary. 

4. Blogs

Keeping a recruitment blog is a tried-and-tested content marketing strategy that can help you generate traffic, build backlinks, and engage your visitors. Also, it allows you to keep your recruitment site updated, which can help you obtain better search rankings since Google loves fresh content. Finally, it enables you to demonstrate your expertise and establish yourself as an industry expert. 

However, writing and posting blogs consistently is easier said than done. Fortunately, you can always hire someone to do the job for you, like us here at Recruitment Traffic. If you prefer to do this task on your own, make sure to follow these tips: 

• Write about topics that your audience finds useful and valuable, such as recruitment tips and pointers on passing a job interview.
• Incorporate relevant keywords into your content, but make sure you don’t overdo it.
• Use catchy headlines.
• Add relevant images to make your articles more attractive.
• Use subheadings and bullet points.
• End your post with a call to action.

5. Podcasts

Podcasts offer an excellent alternative to blog posts, particularly if you don’t have the time to sit down and write a lengthy article. They also make it possible for employers and candidates to consume your content even if they are busy doing something else. For instance, they can tune in to your podcast while they are driving to work. 

When creating podcasts, make sure to: 

• Keep them short. People are less likely to listen to a one-hour podcast, especially if they are busy.
• Ensure they address your target audience’s concerns.
• Consider posting a transcript of your podcasts on your site for SEO purposes. 

6. Videos

Videos are perhaps one of the best content marketing ideas for recruiters because they are both interactive and engaging. Also, they are now relatively easier to make. All you need is a smartphone with an excellent camera, internet connection, and video editing software to get started. You can upload your video on YouTube and other video hosting sites then post it on your website. 

Here are some pointers to help you get the best results from your videos: 

• Use an interesting title.
• Incorporate relevant keywords into your video title and description.
• When uploading a video on YouTube and other video sharing sites, always ensure you have a link back to your recruitment site.
• Choose a relevant thumbnail. 

Dazzle Your Target Audience with Excellent Recruitment Content

Whether you want to attract more potential clients or members of your talent pool, you can’t deny how advantageous having a good content marketing strategy is. By creating quality content, you can build better brand awareness, improve your search ranking, and establish yourself as a recruitment expert. More importantly, it allows you to drive targeted traffic and leads to your website. 

At Recruitment Traffic, we know how challenging content marketing can be. This is why it is our pleasure to take this task off your hands so you can focus on running and growing your recruitment business. Please speak with us today and let us create a bespoke content marketing and SEO plan for you.