SEO is a powerful recruitment marketing tool which can generate tangible business results without requiring the same long-term effort as other areas of marketing.
But if you've never really tackled SEO before ... where would you even start? Here are some beginner-friendly ideas.
1. Keywords and Keyword Research
What do keywords do for SEO?
Keywords are the common words, phrases and questions that people type into online search engines when they want to know something. They range from the very short “recruitment agency” to the more specific “IT recruitment agency for SMEs in Sydney”. These days they’re also commonly questions: “Do I need an IT recruiter for my Sydney SME?”.
By building your website content around these key phrases, it helps tools like Google see that your website is relevant to those topics. The more relevant you are, the more likely you are to rank highly in search results.
Quick keyword research tips for recruiters
Key to finding, well, keywords, is good research. By identifying the most common terms and phrases used by your audience, you can target your web pages, Google Ads and blog posts to those phrases – ensuring search engines see you as relevant to search users.
Brainstorm a list of relevant topics. If you were searching for your own agency and its services, what would you type? Write this down somewhere and generate as many ideas as you can think of.
Add common FAQ. Consider the common questions asked by your audience – if it’s a question someone’s asking, chances are they’re also typing that question into Google.
Look at Google’s own search suggestions. Start typing some of your keyword ideas into Google and look at its ‘People also ask’ and ‘People also search for’ suggestions. Google won’t suggest to you things which people aren’t searching, so this will give you a quick idea as to how people are phrasing common questions.
Bonus tip: You can use a tool like AlsoAsked to quicken this process.
Use a keyword research tool. A dedicated keyword research tool may help you find keywords related to those from your brainstorm, and give you new ideas. Examples include Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush.
2. Optimise On-Page Elements
What are ‘On-Page Elements’?
When optimising a recruitment website for SEO, generally you’ll be optimising three things: on-page elements, technical elements and off-page elements.
‘On-page SEO’ is everything you can change on your website that isn’t IT stuff in the back-end. Keywords are a good example, but so are page titles, the images you’ve used, descriptions of pages and so on.
For your context, ‘technical SEO’ refers to the tech stuff, like the load speed of your website. ‘Off-page SEO’ we’ll come back to when we talk about backlinks below.
On-page SEO elements to optimise
Page titles, headings and subheadings. Is the copy clear and compelling, and does it include a keyword or phrase?
Images. Do they relate to the relevant pages, and have you included image alt tags?
Meta descriptions. These will show up in search results. Is the copy clear and compelling, and does it also include a keyword or phrase?
Copy. This is all the words on your website, including pages and blogs. Ensure each page is clear, provides value to users and includes use of keywords/phrases.
Internal links. These are links from one page of your recruitment website to another. It’s good practice for pages and blogs to link to one another – it helps users navigate to similar, relevant pages, and Google uses them too.
URL structure and navigation. Concise, logical URLs do make a difference – and you can include basic keywords here, too.
Basically, good on-page SEO is clear, compelling, includes the use of keywords/phrases and is easy to navigate.
Think this is getting too technical? If you need help, contact us and let’s talk about your website needs.
3. Create Engaging, Relevant Content
What makes content ‘engaging’ in the recruitment context?
You’ll find this step one of the easier tips – it’s less technical, and more about providing value, something you already strive for in your role as a recruiter!
Engaging, relevant content is content which answers users’ questions. Imagine you’re writing blog copy (or other types of content) that directly answers the search terms someone has typed into Google. The better you answer those questions, with less fluffing around, adding buzzwords or going off-topic, the ‘better’ the content.
Google likes good content, just like people do.
4. Strong Backlinking
What are backlinks and why do they matter for SEO?
Backlinks are links from someone else’s website to yours. Google and other search engines make the assumption that if someone has taken the time to link to your website, you must be fairly reputable – or else they wouldn’t do it. This signals to the search engine that you’re trustworthy, helping to boost search rankings.
Backlinks are also a core part of good ‘off-page SEO’.
Quick tips for getting backlinks
Write articles for industry websites, online magazines and other people’s blogs, linking back to your website.
Participate in online community forums relevant to your industry or audience (e.g. answering recruitment questions on Quora).
Try to get guest spots on relevant podcasts and online interview shows.
Collaborate on joint projects with other businesses.
Do something PR-worthy or share-worthy, so other people share and link to your content naturally (e.g. releasing a unique industry report).
5. Optimise for Mobile
Why is mobile optimisation important for SEO?
Mobile optimisation is vital for any modern recruitment website because more and more people are searching for content online via their devices, not their desktops.
By optimising for mobile, you’ll better capture all that audience sitting on a bus, reading on their lunch break, scrolling social feeds or job hunting while they do other tasks.
6. Monitor Your Results and Improve Over Time
Why does SEO require continuous improvement?
SEO evolves like any other aspect of technology. As platforms change and grow, and the requirements of SEO adapt to suit, the elements which help your website rank may change. By monitoring your recruitment marketing results over time, you’ll be able to check your performance, learn what has worked or not worked, and spot any trends forming – modifying your strategy to suit
Bonus tip: An analytics tool such as Google Analytics will help you out here.
