Industry Insights

When looking to add to your team, you want to attract the best candidates with the top skills and knowledge. For companies in the digital world, and especially in the digital marketing realm, that means search engine optimization (SEO) is king.

You want to get your job postings in front of the most qualified people — SEO can help ensure your information is landing in front of savvy searchers and getting their interest. You want your information to be the top result in a search — SEO tagging makes or breaks your success here.

Social media can reach even more people than just a post on a website — SEO follows and uses algorithms to make the best matches possible.

Here’s why SEO can be your biggest source of untapped potential when looking to hire new employees.

1. Keyword searches can keep your name in the spotlight. People looking to work in the digital world will have an understanding of SEO and will likely use that to look for job opportunities. Properly tagged and keyworded job posts and websites will rank higher in searches than those that aren’t specifically written with SEO in mind. The higher quality keywords and longer “legs” your post and website have, the stronger the SEO matching will be and the more prominent your company, and your positions, will be ranked, making it easier for job seekers to find you.
2. Don’t forget to optimize for mobile. An estimated 89% of people looking for new career opportunities will be using their smartphone, not a laptop or desktop computer. When you’re getting ready to post a position, make sure you bring the page up on a phone browser, not just a larger screen. Ensure the page is easy to read, that it’s properly designed to load on a smaller window without images or links breaking — these little details will optimize your reach for mobile searches and can keep those high-quality candidates coming your way. Responsive design — the ability of a website to adjust to the size of a screen seamlessly — should be a key part of your SEO strategy and recruitment efforts.
3. Understand your audience and their expertise. Keep in mind that candidates will be scrutinizing your website, your social media presence and your job description presentation when they’re considering whether to apply. If your page isn’t optimized for search, it might not show up in their very focused search query, or just as bad, they might question your familiarity and strength of knowledge with digital tools. If more than half of job candidates research and review a company’s website before they apply, you want to make sure you’re hitting all the right keys (pun intended) when it comes to an effective, high-quality search and a website that provides all the information they need to know. Poor use of SEO, or not trying to incorporate it at all, will result in fewer high-quality candidates.
4. Branch out. Google rewards companies featured in external links, driving people back to their page from other locations. The more external sites linking to your website, or your job description, the higher ranking you’ll be. A good way to incorporate that is to leverage your social media platforms for recruiting and hiring practices to help get the message out to additional corners of the internet. Give your company an additional boost by making your social media posts easy to “like” and “share” with other users with similar interests. Understand, too, that tone can change from one platform to another: You might not “sound” the same on LinkedIn as you do on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or whatever other services you’re utilizing.

When looking to add to your team, you want to make sure you’re putting your best digital foot forward, and that means doing your homework and incorporating a strong, varied and high-ranking SEO strategy.

Reach Out to Method Recruiting Today

Ready to learn more on how to incorporate SEO into your hiring practices? Contact Method Recruiting today and we’ll gladly show you how to take your search to the next level.