The biggest challenge for online recruiters is ensuring that the right candidates are the ones reading their job postings. However, you will probably be well aware by now that the post-and-pray strategy is unlikely to work. Instead, what recruiters need to do is focus on relevant SEO strategies that will attract both job candidates and clients.

Therefore, it is important to create engaging job advertisements that will increase the chances of candidates reading about your vacancies. If done correctly, your reputation as a successful job recruiter will grow. However, you first need to put in place an effective SEO campaign.    

 

 

What do you know about SEO?

This is the process of making your website organically visible on the search engine results pages (SERPs). This means ranking without resorting to paid ads. The primary objective is to appear on the first page to boost your chances of attracting more visitors. If your website is on page two or three, it is unlikely that many searchers will find you. After looking at the first page, users often type a new search term and start again.

This is why it is vital to appear at the top of the search engine results pages. If your site ranks on the first page, jobseekers will easily be able to find you.  

 

Learn how SERPs work

First, you need to understand how search engines rank websites. For example, Google uses an algorithm that involves more than 200 parameters to determine the relevance of your website to the search terms.

Fortunately, while it is virtually impossible to account for all these parameters, you can focus on only four.

 

 

1. Page Title 

 

Page Title image

 

The webpage title is the primary parameter in Google’s algorithm. This is the first line of text (coloured blue) that you will see in the search results. If your page title matches the search term used by the job candidate in their query, then it is more likely that it will appear on the SERPs.

For example, if a candidate types the search term ‘senior accountant’, Google will begin searching webpage titles which feature this phrase. If you are on page two or below, consider optimising your titles to match your prospects’ search queries. 

 

2. Page URL 

 

Page URL image

 

On the SERPs, the URL is the second line of text (coloured green) below the title. Google uses the URL to verify whether the search term also appears in the web address. For example, if the phrase ‘senior accountant’ is also included in your URL, Google will increase your ranking on the SERPS.

 

3. Keyword Density 

 

Keyword Density image

 

 

Google will then see how many times the search term appears in your web content. It determines the density by using a method called contextual ranking to see whether the page is relevant to a particular search term or keyword. In our ‘senior accountant’ example, you will notice that the final texts (coloured black) highlight any matching words.

By now, you should be able to see a pattern emerging. It is important to ensure that your website is an excellent match by making the search term appear in the title, URL and content.

 

4. Inbound Links 

Links from popular websites can increase your authoritativeness in the eyes of Google. In addition, the search engine’s algorithm will push your site higher on the SERPs, making you credible to searchers. For this reason, you should consider sharing your job ads with other sites such as: 

  • Facebook  
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Search for websites that the majority of job candidates visit and ensure that you share a link with them to boost your recruitment SEO efforts.

However, linking ads is only half the battle. You need to include strong call-to-actions (CTAs) in your posts. For example, adding words such as ‘Click here to apply’ can encourage candidates to visit your website.

 

Beware of bounce rates

 

 

bounce rate image

 

 

Reports can inform you that your website’s engagement with visitors is poor; either it is not providing the correct information or it is not interesting enough. By understanding why your bounce is rate is high, you will be able to make improvements.

One way to encourage people to stay on your site is by providing a pleasant user experience. For example, although you may have the requisite information, if your website is difficult to navigate, users will not hesitate to leave. In addition, you should keep the loading time to a minimum. Ensure that your website loads in less than five seconds as otherwise people may decide to take their custom elsewhere. Furthermore, your site should also be designed for mobile platforms as Google has given priority to sites optimised for mobile viewing.

However, not all bounces are necessarily bad. For example, let’s say a visitor has found and read your blog post. They then close it. Google interprets this as a bounce. Meanwhile, someone else lands on your blog post, doesn’t read it, but does open another page on your site. This won’t be interpreted as a bounce. To remedy this problem, consider consulting with a reliable SEO specialist.

 

Conclusion

The goal of every online recruiter is to land their job ads on page one of Google’s SERPs. To achieve this objective, you will need to research and incorporate relevant keywords in your website’s title, URL and content. This technique will ensure that your site ranks well with the search engine’s algorithm. However, remember to use keywords as naturally as possible; if you overuse them, you may be penalised for keyword stuffing. Also, based on experts’ recommendations, ensure that your keyword density does not exceed 5% (1 in 20 words). Furthermore, sharing your ads with authoritative websites and social media platforms will also help your ranking with Google. 

If you need any advice on how to increase the traffic to your recruitment website, or about other SEO techniques you should implement, feel free to contact our team at Recruitment Traffic.

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