SEO Essentials for Recruiters

How to maximise leads and get the best quality candidates signed on fast are essential recruiter goals. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key factor to strategically placing your client’s job vacancies on the web so that potential candidates are reached quickly and that they will know also that your ad link is secure.

Starting out

Any URLs which do not carry an HTTPS designation will be rejected by the server as unsafe. A candidate searching and then finding an HTTP rather than an HTTPS lead out on a URL will most probably be put off from searching your site any further. Security is a main concern, especially when a potential candidate will be sending personal information via a web application or initial inquiry. Negating their interest and trust from the get go is not going to get you the leads that you want.

Importance of keywords

There are several common mistakes that recruiters make when adding keywords to a website. First, selecting keywords that are too commonly used does not ensure that your position ad is set out from the rest. The candidate will be led to more websites in their search and yours will just be part of a large pile of similar jobs. The URL should be as specific as possible when adding the job description and position number in order that the candidate will see your job post early in their search. In addition, “keyword stuffing” happens when a recruiter lists a position using too many keywords and thus too many choices will appear to the candidate in their search which ultimately compete with the listing. Another problem with this is that you may entice a whole lot of candidates, but more qualified individuals will search for specifics.

Remote capability

It is also important to make sure that your ad is mobile-friendly. Most job candidates today are utilising their mobile phones for remote searching rather than their computer. If your site is not set up to present information clearly on a mobile phone, then candidates will be again turned away.

Outside links and social media partnering

Effective SEO also includes providing outside links that are relevant to your posting and social media tags, which promote your listing that will instantly backtrack to your URL. These are often overlooked. Fixing any broken links should also be done promptly so that candidates aren’t stopped in their tracks while searching for more information.

Originality

Another major concern is the use of “borrowed” content. Candidates are aware of job posters who repeat descriptions and present unoriginal copy sometimes directly from other recruiter’s sites. Your job ad is exclusive and so your content should be also. It’s just not right anyway.

Roadblocks

Pictures or video that don’t load or become unavailable will need to be eliminated so that a candidate does not stumble upon a dead zone on your website. Providing alt-tags can help with this malfunction. Social media pages which are no longer relevant, in use, or appropriate for your needs, also need to be eliminated for SEO.

SEO backchecking

It’s smart to use available analytics to see how your website is doing. Services exist to do this for you. Check in periodically and modify keywords, see how outside links are performing for you and how related searches are ranked. Awareness of this can help you to revamp your website accordingly for optimisation.

Presenting relevant, correct, and easy-to-find job listings and SEO reduces some of the complexity of recruiting and increases its effectiveness.