SEO and recruitment might seem like an unlikely pair, but in today's digital landscape, HR professionals need to develop their SEO skills just as much as digital marketers. There are numerous areas where HRs can apply their SEO expertise, particularly when it comes to recruiting new employees. This guide will explore how SEO for recruitment can revolutionize your hiring process and help you attract top talent.
Recruiting new employees requires effective marketing efforts, and the most cost-efficient way to market anything today is via the internet. However, online competition is fierce, and to increase your visibility, you'll need to put in considerable effort. Search engines have established specific rules and requirements for ranking each recruitment post, determining how visible it is to prospective candidates. Following these guidelines is what we call SEO, or Search Engine Optimization.
If you're new to HR SEO or SEO for recruitment in general, this simple guide will help you. We'll discuss the basics of SEO, the need for SEO in the recruitment process, and SEO tips to reach more candidates.
When you search for something on Google or any other search engine, you'll see links appearing on the search results page. The ones on the first page have a higher chance of getting visitors than those on subsequent pages. So, how does one website manage to get to the top while others don't? It's not magic; it's a strategically planned and well-executed SEO strategy that leads to this first-page ranking.
Search engines have a method for finding web pages and ranking them. If you design your website in a way that gives you a higher ranking, your page will sooner or later appear on the first page. Optimizing your website for a particular search engine to get a higher rank in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is what we call SEO. The ads you see on Google are not part of your SEO strategy. SEO strictly involves unpaid and organic efforts to increase your rank.
There are three different parts of an SEO plan:
1. Technical SEO: Deals with the back-end optimization of your website. Things like image size, loading speed, and responsive designs are taken care of by your technical SEO team. Developing technical SEO skills is crucial for HR professionals looking to improve their job posting visibility.
2. On-Page SEO: This refers to the content on your webpage. The keyword, keyword density, images, graphics, etc., are some things to consider here.
3. Off-Page SEO: These are things you do outside of your website and its structure and design. For example, creating backlinks. These links are usually trusted to SaaS link-building services.
Now, let's tackle an important question: How is SEO going to help us in recruitment? Do you know how most people look for a job? Of course, LinkedIn and Indeed are popular platforms. But more importantly, people use Google to hunt for new jobs.
As we're all aware, there are ample ways of reaching out to your prospective candidates. For example, you can create a page on your website, post on social media, and use job-finding portals like indeed.com. There's no doubt that you should be using all these methods, but the way you use them should be favored by Google. The words you use should be meticulously chosen keywords that will help you rank higher. There are numerous other things you can do to ensure your job vacancy posts are SEO-optimized.
Why do this though?
Most people don't sign up on different job portals and pay for using their filters and tools to find the job they're looking for. Instead, they Google it. When you enter something like "copywriter jobs in Mumbai" in the search bar, you'll find a section on the SERP dedicated to job listings. If you look closely, you can see some listings are marked "via Cutshort" or "via LinkedIn".
Google scans through every possible website and webpage to show users relevant jobs. There are many filters that people can use without paying a penny to find a job they're interested in. So instead of searching for a job on 10 different platforms, people can just use Google and make their search easier. This is exactly where SEO for recruitment comes into action. Your recruiting offer is more likely to appear on the first page of search results if your descriptions on these various portals and pages are optimized for Google.
Another important aspect we need to discuss is using SEO to directly reach out to your audience. Job portals are fantastic for people looking for a job, but you need to get a chance to talk directly with your prospective candidates.
Your website, specifically your career page, is where you can effectively communicate with your candidates. Other than the specific job-related information that goes on the job portals, you can communicate your work culture and try to give them a glimpse of working for you. This particular page, which has all the information for candidates, should be optimized so well that when the related query is entered, your website will flash on the first page of the search results.
Before we get into some awesome tips and tricks that you can implement to reach more candidates, there's one very important thing you need to know: SEO Audit. An SEO audit helps you find the gaps in your SEO plan. Just like a doctor conducts multiple tests to find the current state of a person and the actual problem that needs to be solved, HRs need to conduct an SEO audit to analyze the current state of their career page and recruitment posts. Once you have this data, you can figure out a plan to rank higher on search results.
One thing you should remember is that an SEO audit will not give you an SEO strategy to implement; rather, it will point out the fundamental mistakes and flaws that you can rectify and work on to improve your SEO game. Performing an SEO audit is not something that can help you throughout. You should conduct an audit at regular intervals to figure out the issues early on.
There are ample SEO audit tools available that you can use to conduct this very essential research before applying any strategy. For instance, Google Search Console is a powerful tool that can provide valuable insights for your SEO efforts.
There aren't any differentiated types of audits. Based on what aspect of your online presence you are inspecting, you can come up with your own names, like keyword audit, backlink audit, mobile SEO audit, and more. However, we can segregate all these different audit types into 3 major categories.
Remember, we talked about technical SEO? A technical audit also inspects the back-end performance of your website and other web pages. You will get a clear understanding of mistakes in your website’s structure and design.
Content audit deals with all on-page content. The major focus is on keywords, keyword density, and keyword stuffing. However, it also highly depends on the type of company; for law firm marketing, it is essential to have a more profound content plan and keyword research, as they are providing content on legal issues and legislation.
Off-page SEO will give you an analysis of how things outside your website are contributing to your SEO efforts. Checking the quality and quantity of your backlinks is an important aspect of this audit.
Once the audit is done, you are left with a lot of information on how well your website is performing and the areas it needs to improve. Your task now is to come up with a good strategy. Below are some of the best SEO tips for HRs to attract more candidates. Make sure you use these tips in your strategy to get better results.
Crafting job titles is the most important part of job posting optimization. The job posting's headline dictates if applicants can discover it on search engines. Moreover, it determines whether they decide to click on the title to learn more. This makes it necessary for you to take the time and effort to create the ideal job title.
Keep it crisp and to the point. Avoid adding too many details to the description, like the location. You want to use the job title to draw in your viewers. If you give away too much information in the title, the chances of them clicking on your job title are far less. Avoid adding any unnecessary words like, "This is your chance to …" No! Nobody needs to know what ultimate chance you are offering. Just tell people what it is that you are looking for in 4-5 words.
Add relevant keywords to your job title. Do your keyword research and add a relevant keyword to your title. Here are 3 things you should consider adding to your job title:
The actual job: The applicants need to know what they would be doing in this job if they get selected. Your description will certainly have a lot of details, but make sure your title also reflects what the employees will be doing in the company. For example, graphic design.
The position: If you think naming the position would work better for describing the job of your employees, then you can skip the previous option and just put the name of the position. For example, a Senior Visual Designer or a graphic design intern.
Area of expertise: If you need expertise in certain areas, you should mention it to reduce your bounce rate. Bounce rate is the percentage of people who click but leave the page after spending a very negligible amount of time going through it. So, for example, a candidate read "Jr. Graphic Designer" on the title and clicked on it. But the description reads 2-3 years of experience. Now, before reading anything else, the person will click on the back button and look for other options. This is what we refer to as bouncing, and the percentage is called the bounce rate. For example, a Graphic design intern - CorelDRAW.
Keywords are one magical thing that can help you rank. However, adding too many keywords (also known as keyword stuffing) to your career page or job post is a big no-no. Use keywords like you add salt to your dishes. Just the right amount. Not too less, not too much.
The keywords and other things can help you rank higher, but after that, it is the content on your page that needs to do its job. Make sure that the career page is easy to navigate and that all the details are clearly visible. Use creative graphics to ensure that things are easily readable.
Most people don't use their laptops to search for jobs. They like to browse while they are on the go. You have to make sure that your webpage has a mobile-friendly design. Here is something you probably don't know. Say your webpage ranks #1 for certain keywords when searched on a laptop or computer. But it is very much possible that it would rank 3rd or 4th on a mobile device. Why so? Your webpage probably got a low score on mobile friendliness. Hence, the results for a desktop device are different from a mobile device. Then consider implementing effective mobile SEO strategies to make your website mobile-friendly.
If your SEO audit reveals that your website is not very mobile-friendly, then you should certainly work on optimizing it.
The process of optimizing your website for a particular local location is known as local SEO. So if a specific location is your concern, then you should focus on Local SEO. You don't need to put in efforts that help you reach the world when you want to hire people from a local city only.
It can be tempting to copy-paste a beautiful job description written for a similar job post, but don't. Even if your job description is not the most beautifully written piece of material, it should be sufficient, provided it is original. Plagiarism is a major red flag when it comes to SEO. A poor copy could receive a higher grade than one that is flagged by a plagiarism checker. In the worst situation, plagiarism would result in the entire disqualification of your webpage.
Make use of your own social media platform. Post about your vacancy. Ask people to share this post with relevant people in their social group. You can even try targeted ads to make your post more visible.
Google can rank you higher if there is a video on your website. The video should make it easier for the candidates to understand what you are looking for and why you need them.
Mastering SEO for recruitment is becoming increasingly important for HR professionals. By developing your SEO skill set, you can significantly improve your job posting visibility and attract more qualified candidates. Whether you're an SEO expert in HR or just starting out, implementing these strategies can help you optimize your recruitment process.
Remember, the role of an SEO marketing manager isn't limited to the marketing department anymore. HR professionals who understand and apply SEO principles can greatly enhance their recruitment efforts. By focusing on job posting optimization and overall HR SEO practices, you can ensure that your job listings reach the right candidates at the right time.
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, staying up-to-date with SEO best practices will be crucial for successful recruitment strategies. By incorporating these SEO techniques into your HR toolkit, you'll be well-equipped to navigate the competitive world of online recruitment and attract top talent to your organization.
1. What is SEO for recruitment and why does it matter?
Candidates and HR professionals often want to know how SEO applies to job postings, career pages, and talent acquisition. A clear answer explains how SEO boosts job visibility in Google search results and helps attract qualified applicants organically.
2. How can HR professionals optimize job titles and descriptions for SEO?
This is one of the most common queries. People search for best practices on writing job titles with the right keywords, avoiding keyword stuffing, and ensuring clarity to improve ranking and click-through rates.
3. What are the best SEO strategies for career pages?
Searches around this topic focus on how to design a career page that ranks well. This includes navigation, mobile responsiveness, keyword placement, structured content, video integration, and highlighting company culture.
4. How does local SEO help in hiring?
Many organizations recruit for specific locations, so “local SEO for recruitment” is a frequent search. Users want to know how to target candidates in a certain city/region and optimize job postings accordingly.
5. What tools and audits should HR teams use to improve recruitment SEO?
Queries often center around “SEO audit tools for HR,” “how to audit a career page,” and “best tools to track recruitment SEO performance.” This ties back to Google Search Console, keyword audits, backlink audits, and mobile SEO audits.
About Author:
This article is written by our marketing team at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding and to save you valuable time!