A recruiter with significant credibility and is considered an authority in the recruitment industry is more likely to attract the attention of potential clients. After all, candidates and employers usually trust those with established reputations and are proven to be reliable sources of information.

For this reason, you must include link building in your overall digital marketing strategy. When there are a significant number of websites linking to yours, it tells Google that you’re an authority in your niche and a trusted source of recruitment information. This encourages the search giant to give you a better search ranking. The higher you rank on Google, the more likely your audience will trust you and visit your site. 

Mistakes to Avoid When Building Links

Having quality backlinks is indeed crucial to your success. Research showed that of all the ranking factors Google uses to determine a site’s search ranking, backlinks have the most impact. However, it can be easy to commit errors when building links, especially for recruitment SEO beginners. To get better results, therefore, make sure to avoid the following link building mistakes: 

1. Not removing bad backlinks

After Google launched its Penguin update a few years ago, all websites can no longer build unnatural or irrelevant links. Otherwise, it could result in a penalty. Therefore, make sure that you remove bad and spammy backlinks from your site. Before you link to another website or blog, see that it is trustworthy and has ties with the recruitment industry.

Removing bad links can be time-consuming. Fortunately, many tools can help you with this task, such as Google’s Disavow tool. 

2. Relying on only one kind of backlinks

Never make the mistake of building only one kind of backlinks. Otherwise, you’re putting yourself at a significant disadvantage. More importantly, you’re asking Google to give you a penalty since only building either dofollow or nofollow links is considered a blackhat SEO strategy.

For instance, suppose you’re building only dofollow links. While nofollow links don’t deliver link juice to your site, they still help with your SEO. This is particularly true when you leave comments on blogs and receive nofollow links from other relevant websites. Therefore, make sure to focus on both types of links. Not only will this help you avoid a Google penalty, but it can also help boost your site’s search ranking. 

3. Using optimised anchor texts

Using optimised anchor texts with keywords in them is one of the biggest link building mistakes you should never make because it is considered blackhat SEO. However, not many marketers are aware of this. As a result, they keep using this strategy and placing themselves at risk of receiving a penalty from the search giant.

As such, make sure to avoid utilising optimised anchor texts when building links. Also, it would be best if you didn’t use the same anchor text repeatedly. To avoid a potential penalty, try to vary your anchor texts. It also helps to use different combinations of words to make your anchor texts look and read more natural, especially to Google’s search bots. 

4. Building site-wide or footer section backlinks

Before, to obtain higher search rankings, marketers and website owners build links from the footer, sidebar, and other sections of websites. However, after Google found out that this strategy was easy to abuse, it quickly banned the practice and penalised anyone who was caught doing it.

Instead of obtaining site-wide links, you should build natural links. Link to relevant webpages and make sure that you use them seamlessly on your web content. This will help you obtain better results and, at the same time, minimise your risk of receiving a Google penalty. 

5. Linking to irrelevant websites

Just because a website is popular and has many visitors, it doesn’t automatically mean that you should link to it. You still have to ensure that its content is related to recruitment or employment. Otherwise, it could harm your search ranking.

However, you can still link to a site from another niche or industry provided that the web content you’re linking to is relevant to the one you have or are currently making. For example, let’s say there’s a popular website about architecture. If you want to obtain link juice from this site, make sure that you link to a piece of content that discusses the benefits of being an architect, how to land an architecture job, and other employment-related topics. 

It’s Better to Build Links with the Help of Experts

Indeed, link building can go a long way towards improving your search ranking and building your site’s authority and credibility. However, if you’re a complete beginner at this vital SEO strategy, it could be easy for you to make mistakes that could lead to a Google penalty. For this reason, it’s worth considering seeking the help of SEO experts.

At Recruitment Traffic, our goal is to help recruitment agencies make the most of the opportunities Google can provide. We provide bespoke SEO solutions to boost the performance and online visibility of your recruitment site. With our help, you can avoid common link building mistakes that could hurt your business. Please speak with us today, and we’ll create a custom plan for you.

Meta tags are essential on-page elements of your recruitment website. While search engines, such as Google, don’t use them directly as a ranking factor, meta tags have a hand in improving your site’s search ranking by helping boost your click-through rate or CTR. In search engine optimisation, having a high CTR is crucial to your website’s. Not only does it increase your chances of landing on the first page of Google, but it also helps you obtain more leads.

Of all the meta tags, meta descriptions are among those who give your SEO efforts a great push. They can help you attract more clicks and visits, mainly when they are well-written. 

8 Simple Ways to Improve Your Meta Descriptions

Your recruitment meta descriptions serve as an advertisement of sorts on Google. As such, you must write them in a way that would convince your prospects to click and visit your webpages. Here are some tips you should consider.

1. Put a 160-character limit on your descriptions

A few years ago, Google increased the number of characters you can use for your meta descriptions to 300. Although the search giant has given you the freedom to create longer descriptions, it’s still best to stick to a 150 to 160 character count.

While it can be challenging to convey your message with a limited character count, it encourages you to keep your descriptions concise and straight to the point. At the same time, it ensures that your descriptions will show up correctly and not be cut off in Google search result pages.

2. Showcase your value proposition

Tell your audience what’s in it for them when they visit your webpage. By showcasing your value proposition in your meta descriptions, your prospects are more likely to click on your search result listing.

If you’re having a hard time identifying your webpages’ value proposition, here’s a quick tip. Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and ask yourself these questions:

• Why should I visit this webpage?
• What can I get from it?

Try to make your value proposition different from those of your competitors. To make better descriptions, take a look at the competition and compare your descriptions with theirs. Then, make the necessary improvements.

3. Create warm and friendly descriptions

Always ensure that your recruitment meta descriptions sound warm and welcoming. This way, the members of your target audience are more likely to click on your link. Also, make sure to check for grammar and spelling errors. There’s a risk that your prospects won’t check out your webpages if they see poorly constructed meta descriptions.

It also helps to create descriptions that are coherent and easy to understand. When adding keywords to your descriptions, make sure you do it sparingly, or it would discourage your audience from clicking your link.

4. Don’t forget your call to action

As mentioned earlier, your meta descriptions can serve as your advertisements on Google and other search engines. To ensure that they would attract as many clicks as possible, you should always include a call to action. If your prospects know what to do, they are more likely to visit your webpages.

5. Do some name dropping

It helps to add names of former clients and suppliers, as well as certifications you have received previously, to your meta descriptions. This could make your company more trustworthy and credible. However, pay attention to your character count. Also, ensure that you’re using only alphanumeric characters since Google usually removes descriptions with double quotations marks.

6. Pay attention to Google Ads

When it comes to placement in search result pages, you’ll notice that Google often prioritise paid ads more than organic search results. Therefore, you have to ensure that your organic search listings are of high quality so they can compete with paid ads. Monitor the ads that are being displayed along with your search listings. Then, tweak your descriptions so they wouldn’t look too “sales-y”. This should help you gain an advantage over Google Ads.

7. Support your descriptions with quality content

Don’t let your recruitment meta descriptions do all the work. They still need the support of well-written content. Therefore, ensure that quality content awaits your prospects when they click on your search listing on Google. By backing your meta descriptions with quality content, you can: 

• Establish yourself as a recruitment authority
• Build trust
• Increase your search ranking
• Improve your bounce rate

8. Keep track of your descriptions

Because SEO is an on-going process, you should keep a close eye on the performance of your meta descriptions. Create more than one description for each webpage and conduct tests to see which of them works well with your audience.

Keep Your Meta Descriptions Optimised

Similar to the other essential parts of your recruitment website, your meta descriptions contribute to your SEO efforts. By optimising your meta descriptions for search engines, you can help improve your search rankings, attract more traffic, and generate more leads.

At Recruitment Traffic, we provide a wide range of SEO services tailored for recruitment firms, including optimising your meta descriptions for Google. Contact us today to obtain the solutions you need.

The last couple of years had been a challenge for many of us. Because of the global pandemic, we have faced many difficulties and are still facing challenges as we adjust to the new normal. Despite all of this, there are silver linings that motivate and inspire us to continue moving forward. 

For us here at Recruitment Traffic, our silver lining comes in the form of recognition from a highly prestigious international award-giving body. We are proud and delighted to inform you that we have been recognised for providing the best recruitment lead generation in the UK yet again at the 2021 AI Business Excellence Awards. The “Recruitment Lead Generation Specialists of the Year – UK” award was presented by Acquisition International (AI), a UK monthly magazine with more than 100,000 readers in over 170 countries. 

What Is the AI Business Excellence Awards?

For those who didn’t know, the AI Business Excellence Awards is an annual award-giving programme. It recognises businesses, companies, and enterprises in different parts of the world for their resourcefulness, innovation, and determination to excel in their sector despite the various challenges they are facing. This year’s award ceremony was the eighth of its kind. 

Award winners are chosen from a pool of nominees submitted by AI’s magazine subscribers, clients, web visitors, and social media followers. They may also come from those nominated by interested individuals who want to honour and recognise third-party enterprises or someone from their own company. Awardees are selected based on merit and announced following an investigation and vetting process conducted by AI’s in-house research team. 

Best UK Lead Generation Specialists for the Second Year Running

After being lauded for offering the best recruitment lead generation in the UK last year, our team is ecstatic and genuinely honoured to receive the same recognition, especially in light of our current situation. As you know, many people have lost their jobs or businesses due to the various restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a company specialising in providing tailored digital marketing services to recruitment companies and individuals, we are happy to have the opportunity to help members of the recruitment sector weather the challenges that many of us are experiencing today. 

Being recognised for offering bespoke search engine optimisation (SEO) and Google Ads services amidst these trying times is undoubtedly a huge source of inspiration and motivation to us. It underscores our hard work and dedication to helping recruitment companies in the country make the most of the opportunities search engines can offer, especially now when people have come to rely on Google more than ever. 

A Vow to Continued Excellence

According to Acquisition International, Recruitment Traffic have “demonstrated excellence and commitment” to providing top-notch lead generation services. Similar to all of this year’s winners, our company has continued to show everyone what it means to deliver quality digital marketing solutions and provide our clients with services they can count on amidst the rapidly changing economic and social climate. 

As part of our commitment to excellence, we at Recruitment Traffic will continue to do our best to provide “all-inclusive” solutions that enable UK recruitment agencies to attract more client and candidate opportunities. We vow to offer only the best lead generation services that help drive highly targeted traffic and leads to recruitment websites. 

Do You Need the Help of Lead Generation Experts?

Being recognised as the best in recruitment lead generation in the UK certainly inspires us to continue improving our craft so we can lend our expertise to recruitment companies, such as yours. If you require our assistance, you can talk to us anytime. Our team of SEO and Google Ads experts will create a digital marketing plan tailored for your business so you can make the most of client and candidate opportunities Google and other major search engines can offer. 

Please speak with us today and let us show you what makes our services one of the UK’s best! 

With how the global pandemic changed how many of us do business in 2020, it is now more critical than ever for recruitment agencies to continue strengthening their online presence. As more and more people rely on the Internet to find the goods and services they need, online competition amongst business owners, including recruiters, has become tougher. Therefore, it makes sense to do everything you can to meet your SEO goals this year to ensure the continued growth and success of your recruitment business. 

Here are the top SEO tips you should consider to improve your search rankings, build better brand awareness, and attract more traffic and leads for your business. 

1. Continue building quality backlinks

Acquiring backlinks from authority sites remain a core part of SEO, as indicated by Google’s latest algorithm update. This is why if you haven’t obtained many excellent backlinks in the first quarter of 2021, you should spend the next few months improving your link building game. Here are a few strategies you should consider: 

• Submit guest posts to online publishers or websites with high authority and popularity.
• Use authoritative author profiles for your guest posts to help establish yourself as a recruitment expert.
• Build niche-relevant backlinks to your site.
• Hire experts who can help you build quality backlinks, like us here at Recruitment Traffic.

2. Create content that supports your site

Content is another integral part of SEO besides backlinks. After all, if you don’t have web content, Google’s search bots won’t be able to crawl and index your recruitment site. Your prospects are also less likely to trust you. 

For this reason, you should create content that supports your target pages. Doing this regularly can help you attract more visits to your site. At the same time, it can help you minimise traffic volatility. Here are several pointers you should keep in mind when creating web content: 

• Ensure that each piece of content has a purpose.
• Develop a content plan and a posting schedule to make it easier for you to keep track of your content marketing efforts.
• Research related searches to identify topics you can use to expand or support previously written content. This should help you generate a steady flow of traffic over time.
• Link related posts to each other. This will enable Google to understand the relationship between relevant posts, helping you obtain more SEO juice.

3. Speed up your recruitment site

It cannot be stressed enough how vital it is to speed up your site’s loading times, especially with Google set to add core web vitals to its list of ranking signals this year. Besides preventing your prospects from switching to the competition, having a fast recruitment site can offer you many benefits, including: 

• Better search ranking.
• Improved conversion rates and return on investment.
• More traffic and leads. 

You can improve your site’s page loading times by using plugins, such as ShortPixel and WPRocket. If you can afford it, it is also a great idea to obtain better hosting services. Whatever your decision may be, consult your web developers to ensure that it won’t take longer than three seconds for your recruitment site to load. 

4. Consider user intent when prioritising keywords

Here’s one of the top SEO tips you should always remember: choose keywords based on user intent. It is common for marketers and business owners to prioritise keywords according to search volume. They think that targeting these search terms will generate more web traffic since most people use these keywords in their online queries. 

However, the rules of the game had changed significantly when Google started focusing on the quality of its search results to provide users with more relevant and accurate information. Indeed, choosing keywords to target based on search volume can help you attract more visitors. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean what each visit would lead to a conversion. 

Therefore, you should always consider user intent when choosing keywords to target. Find out what motivates employers and job candidates to conduct an online query. What do they want to achieve with their online search? Finding the answer to this question will help you develop content and even services that would help you secure more leads and conversions. 

5. Measure your SEO strategies

It certainly helps to try new SEO strategies, especially with the ever-changing online environment. However, whether you want to try a new link building, landing page creation, or keyword research strategy, you should measure your tactics to identify which of them provides you with the greatest value for your time and money. 

Audit your recruitment site and SEO strategies every three months or so. Identify which of them needs more time, money, and energy to carry out. Then, measure the return on investment each of them can provide your business. This should help you identify the strategies you should continue, suspend, or delegate to others. 

Build Better SEO Strategies

Because we cannot precisely predict the future, all we can do now is take actionable steps that will help us prepare for whatever it may bring. Consider the tips above so you can build better SEO strategies that will help you survive and thrive regardless of the business climate. 

Do you need help with SEO? At Recruitment Traffic, our team of Google experts can provide you with digital marketing solutions to help you generate traffic and leads for your recruitment business. Please talk to us today and let us show you how we can assist you.

For many recruiters, providing relevant and high-quality content consistently is an SEO recruitment strategy that helps them stay competitive. Search engine giant Google treats recruitment sites differently since most of your pages are composed of job postings. Other than that, your website will need to follow the standards set by search engines. You need to convince Google that your web pages are worth visiting.

What kind of content format works for you?

You can employ a variety of content ranging from blogs to how-to articles. The primary purpose of producing content regularly is to prove your expertise and authority. A website is a convenient platform for publishing content and showcasing your knowledge with the aid of SEO. 

However, for many website owners, the tricky part is deciding what to write. There are several formats you can choose, such as:

• Long-form writing pieces – Usually well-written and thoughtful articles
• Short-form – blogs
• List of items – listicles
• How-tos – offers advice on a specific topic

Listicles and how-to are easier to write. Blogs and articles, however, will require research and must conform to some writing standards.

How to come up with content ideas

Deciding what to write can be a challenge, but the best way is to start the ball rolling. First, think of a general topic and write it down. Next, provide your insight by looking it at another angle.  Here are some examples:

General theme: London firms are hiring more accountants this year compared to last year

Angle: Is the booming economy the reason why many London companies are hiring accountants? 

General theme: CFOs see bright career paths in the banking sector

Angle: Three major industries competing with banks for talented CFOs

Each example started with a general approach that was seen from another viewpoint. However, how can you come up with such topics? Here are some techniques you can apply:

Take into consideration any conversations you had in and around the workplace. It may lead you to an issue that has never been talked much about.

What do people discuss during their breaks? Not all of them will be idle chatter. Some of them are probably serious issues that many will discuss in depth. For instance, there is much talk about the lack of candidates for specific job positions in a particular industry. As a recruiter, you can find out

• Why is it happening?
• What’s the reason for the lack of interest?
• What could encourage candidates to consider the position

Another excellent place to look for relevant topics is through social media. You’ll need a few moments to discover the latest trends on Facebook or Twitter. It’s similar to your interaction at the office but with a bigger audience. Pay attention to the conversations and topics that are generating significant interest. Even if it’s not related to recruitment, perhaps there’s a way you can link it to your content?

However, don’t forget that any content you write should appeal to your target audience. Don’t waste your time writing about the top ten uses of cheese if it has nothing to do with your recruitment service. You’ll unlikely generate interest from potential clients or candidates. Instead, find or stick to your niche and discover who’s reading your content.

Essential content tips to remember

One crucial SEO recruitment rule is never to repeat the same content. Many recruiters see copy-pasting bits of previously published material as a quick and effective way of increasing their content volume. However, Google can detect such actions and the penalty is often reduced ranking. If you have two or more pages with the same content, re-word them to make them different in Google’s eyes.

Write new content that’s different from the usual recruitment topics. 

If you visit other recruitment sites, you’ll notice that most have the same material, blog and article themes, such as:

• How to write a resume or CV
• How to prepare for your job interview

While you’ll likely write the same topics on your website, you can present them in a different but better manner.

It’s a disservice to write topics and content that’s already common knowledge to your readers. Instead, act as a friend offering exceptional and insightful advice to your audience.

Take Away

Successful recruitment sites share many things in common. One of them is the regular update of their web pages with relevant and unique information. Remember, content will not only boost rankings but also establish your brand as a leader in the industry. To achieve such status, make sure to provide relevant and helpful advice. It will convince clients and candidates that your brand has the expertise and experience for helping them.

Writing regular and relevant content is one way to improve recruitment SEO ranking. However, it’s also essential to select a suitable content format and type for your website. If you need insight on how to proceed forward, consider contacting us at Recruitment Traffic. Aside from optimising your content, you can also obtain valued advice in other areas of your SEO campaigns.  

Creating content is a must-do if you want to attract the attention of both candidates and employers. It allows you to showcase your recruitment expertise and, at the same time, improve your online visibility.

Creating excellent and top-performing written content, however, is easier said than done. Since there is no magic formula for crafting highly useful and engaging blog posts, you have to resort to trial and error to identify precisely what your audience wants.

Despite these challenges, creating highly useful and engaging content is not impossible. Various studies have shown that tweaking certain elements of your articles and blog posts can significantly boost their performance. 

4 Elements to Consider When Creating Recruitment Blogs

Having high-performing recruitment articles can help you enjoy good online visibility. It also results in higher audience engagement. When crafting articles for your recruitment site, make sure to pay attention to the following content elements: 

1. Content length

Writing long-form content requires a significant amount of time and effort. However, the benefits it offers are undoubtedly good for your recruitment business. A recent study showed that articles longer than 3000 words receive three times more traffic than shorter posts. They also get 3.5 times more backlinks and four times more social shares. Therefore, you should create in-depth articles about topics you think will help both job seekers and employers.

Creating longer and more in-depth blog posts can also protect your website from no-click searches. No-click searches happen when a person doesn’t visit your site because he has already found the information he needs on the search result page of Google. By creating content that is too long to be read on search result pages, you are encouraging your audience to visit your site to receive more information.

Indeed, it helps to have longer content on your site. However, this doesn’t mean you should stop creating short-form blog posts since they also have their uses. When deciding on content length, you should think about your audience’s search intent. You should also consider the type of content you’re creating. Certain content types, such as listicles and infographics, perform better when they contain fewer words. 

2. Headline length

Headline length has an impact on content performance, as well. Blog posts with headlines with 14 words or more get two times more traffic and social shares than those with fewer words. Also, they are five times more likely to get backlinks.

Longer headlines also help create better user engagement since they contain more context words. Context words are words that have more emotional impact on us because they give more meaning to sentences. By using longer headlines, therefore, you can significantly improve the performance of your content.

High-performing recruitment articles also utilise specific types of headlines. In particular, articles with list headlines (for example, “Top 10 Jobs in Northampton”) get two times more traffic than other headline types. The same thing is also true for those with the words “how to” in their titles.

Articles with list headlines look easier to digest. This makes them more attractive and shareable on social media. On the other hand, “How-to” headlines promise your audiences more substantial and comprehensive information, which are perfect for people looking for more detailed recruitment resources. 

3. Subheadings

It isn’t enough that your blog posts are relevant and thoroughly researched. It’s also vital that they are correctly formatted. Even if your article is well-written, your audience is less likely to read it if it contains large blocks of text.

Therefore, you should structure your content correctly. Break it down into smaller paragraphs. Don’t forget to use subheadings because 36% of articles that incorporate subheadings receive more traffic, backlinks, and social shares. Using subheadings also help improve user experience because they make your blog posts more readable and easy to follow. 

4. Lists

Adding lists to the main body of your articles is also something you should consider. Research showed that written content with five lists per 500 words gets four times more traffic, and two times more social shares than one with no lists. The more lists you have, the better the performance of your content.

If you want to enjoy the benefits of having high-performing recruitment articles, you should carefully consider the topics you will write about. Choose topics that promote the use of lists so you can generate more traffic and social shares for your content. 

Quality Content is King

It cannot be emphasised enough how crucial it is to provide your audience with quality content. By creating well-researched and well-structured articles and blog posts, you can provide your audience with highly valuable and useful information. This helps you build trust and establish yourself as an expert in recruitment. At the same time, it enables you to attract more traffic for your website.

At Recruitment Traffic, we are dedicated to helping recruiters leverage the power of Google to attract more traffic and generate more leads. Contact us today to get the expert assistance you need.