The Importance of SEO in Recruitment

By Aleyx Perks

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Recruiters can no longer ignore the power of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO); when done properly, SEO can bring many benefits to any recruitment business. In a crowded market, recruitment brands must do everything in their power to stay one step ahead of the rest.

What can SEO do for your recruitment business?

In such a competitive market, an SEO strategy is crucial for recruitment brands that are looking to stay ahead of their competitors. There are two main ways to drive traffic to your website: Search Engine Optimisation which is the process of gaining organic (free) traffic to your website, and Pay-per-Click (PPC) which is placing adverts on search engines like Google.

Both strategies are very effective and recruitment brands should be implementing these to maximise their exposure. We will discuss SEO in this article but the key to both of these strategies is to be very targeted. If your website is ranked for specific keywords in your industry, you can prove your value to clients, gain vacancies and attract unique candidates.

Ranking for niche keywords

Your website will already be found in Google when you search for your company’s name, but unless someone has heard of you and is specifically searching for your company, then it does not help you. You need to be found for specific keywords within your niche market.

Many recruitment agencies try to rank for their niche followed by the term ‘recruitment agency’, however, few people search for ‘recruitment agencies’. Most people are searching for jobs, so it is important to rank for your niche and the term ‘jobs’.

For example, if you are a construction recruitment agency in York, you may choose to rank for ‘Construction Jobs in York’; just envision the results you could get from this – what would ranking for these keywords do for your business?

Unique candidate attraction

I would say that the current economic climate has affected SEO strategies. With many industries experiencing growth and many more jobs coming to market, recruitment companies need to think outside the box to attract unique candidates. It’s all about finding the right talent before their competitors and ensuring their website appears for relevant search terms will help to achieve this.

We are all becoming a lot savvier when it comes to searching for jobs. A Google study found that 88% of candidates begin their job search on Google, after that they will visit numerous websites and job boards which appear on the first page of Google for their chosen job search.

Imagine if you could catch these savvy candidates before your competitors, instead of trying to attract them on a job board full of adverts from your competitors, in the vain hope that your advert is the one they choose to pursue.

Catching these unique candidates before they go to mainstream job boards is important because they are far less likely to have been contacted by other recruiters, meaning you are sending through candidates which your client may never have seen.

Impressing clients

We all want to impress our clients and prove our value to their business.

Instead of telling your client what everyone else does:

‘I’m a specialist’

‘I have a database full of the candidates you need’

‘We head-hunt’

‘We advertise on popular job boards’

Prove to them you have an edge by showing them your website ranks high for certain keywords, highlighting you are different from your competitors and are working hard to make sure you deliver the best results.

It also lets them know that you can find those unique candidates they desperately need.

As you all know there is a talent shortage in many industries and by reassuring clients you can deliver the right talent, they will see the value and award you with more business – which is what we all want.

So there you have it. The key factors why SEO is important for every recruitment business. Candidates and clients, that’s what you need, and that’s what good SEO can deliver. These days you need to be doing more to stand out from your competitors and SEO can really help you to achieve this.

In part 2 we will show you how all of this is possible, bring you some great tips to implementing an SEO strategy so keep your eyes peeled for that one. 


About the Author

Aleyx Perks is the Head of Digital at JobFruit, a company which provides specialist job boards for recruitment companies. For more insights, follow us on @JobFruit

 

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