Search Engine Optimisation (also known as SEO) has become a pivotal area of investment for recruitment businesses in recent years. Why? Because it possesses the power to skyrocket your inbound leads and drastically increase your visibility in relevant job searches.

What is SEO?

In simple terms, SEO is used to improve the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs). The primary goal of SEO is to increase organic (non-paid) traffic to a website by optimising various aspects of your site, making it more appealing to search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

But how does SEO work?

Search engines use algorithms to find webpages and decide if and what keywords these pages rank for. Search engines work by crawling, indexing, and ranking websites and content:

Crawling: This is the discovery session for a search engine, where search engines like Google or Safari send out web crawlers. Their job is to find new web pages and scan existing pages for any updates.

Indexing: This is where a search engine decides whether or not it is going to use the content that it has crawled. When a webpage is indexed, it is stored in a database where it can later be retrieved.

Ranking: This is when a search engine determines your site’s position for certain keywords and terms by considering hundreds of different factors.

What’s the result? When a person searches for a particular topic or question, search engines will present what they deem to be the most relevant, reliable and useful results.

The Three Pillars Of SEO

If you’ve ever delved into the world of search engine optimisation before, you would have likely come across the three most important considerations search engines consider when ranking webpages:

Authority: Authority refers to the perceived trustworthiness and credibility of a website.

Relevance: How closely a webpage’s content matches the user’s search intent and the keywords they used in their search query.

Experience: The overall user experience on a website, including factors like page load speed, how easy it is to navigate a website, and the quality of content a page displays.

Why should recruiters invest in SEO?

When you’re a busy recruiter, SEO can fall to the bottom of the list of things to tackle. So what is the benefit of investing your time and money? Read on below:

The ability to hire more quality talent, with less effort!

You would be surprised by the number of people who find their next job role simply by searching for a job title they like the sound of.

By optimising your online presence, a company can draw the attention of top-tier job seekers who are actively looking for opportunities or passively exploring options.

When a business ranks higher in search engine results for relevant job-related keywords and phrases, it gains an advantage in the talent acquisition landscape. This increased visibility not only streamlines the recruitment process but also helps reach a wider pool of qualified candidates.

Organically increases your inbound leads

SEO attracts highly engaged traffic. When your content is optimised for specific keywords related to your niches, the visitors who arrive at the site are more likely to be genuinely interested in the services you offer.

Prospective clients often associate higher search rankings with industry expertise and reliability, resulting in increased conversions for your recruitment business.

Cost-Effective Marketing

While SEO does require an investment of time and resources to implement effectively, the results are often long-lasting. Once you’ve achieved high rankings for your target keywords, you can maintain that visibility with ongoing optimisation efforts.

In contrast, paid advertising like pay-per-click (PPC) requires continuous spending to maintain visibility, and when your spending halts, so does your visibility. Keep in mind that SEO isn’t free, but the long-term investment has the potential for significant returns.

Be the recruitment company of choice

How often do you click through more than one or two pages of search results on Google? Your clients and candidates will usually go for the first few results suggested to them.

Securing the top position for your targeted keywords in search engines signifies your credibility and industry authority, qualities that will resonate with both search engines and prospective leads!

Your Guide to On-page SEO for Recruitment

Not sure where to start with your SEO Strategy? Below we’ll explain the basics and what your recruitment business can do to get started:

Your website’s health

Your user’s experience plays a huge part in SEO. If users find it difficult to navigate, so will search engines crawling your site.

Technical issues, such as broken links and duplicated content can affect the crawling process. Search engines prioritise websites that offer a positive user experience, and may even penalise sites with poor site health.

A website with good site health also allows search engines to efficiently index its content. This helps search engines understand the structure and relevance of your pages, making it easier to rank them for relevant keywords.

Keyword Research

Identify relevant keywords and phrases that job seekers and employers looking to hire use when searching for recruitment services.

Focus on words that they would search for and terms you would hope to rank for, like the roles in the industry you hire for. Don’t ignore those long-tail keywords! These are highly specific search queries that have lower search volumes but more refined intent.

Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can help you find relevant keywords.

What is search intent and why is it important?

When we mention intent, we mean the reason why a person is searching for a keyword. Types of search intent include:

Informational: When someone wants to find information on a topic
Navigational: A person wants to find a certain site or page
Commercial: When a person wants to find a product or service
Transactional: Searchers want to complete an action, like making a purchase

The top goal of search engines is to provide relevant results for users. Understanding the intent behind a search term is one of the most effective ways to target your keywords. For example, if you’re looking to increase your client base, using keywords relevant to your industry with commercial intent would be most beneficial to target.

Optimising Your Website & Job boards

Next, use those keywords identified to optimise your website and job boards to rank higher in search results. This involves ensuring all your pages are optimised with strategically placed keywords that will increase visibility and rankings.

Ensure you’re using your keywords in the page titles, meta descriptions (what people see when your website appears on search engines), header tags (H1, H2, H3), and throughout your content.

We would recommend 1-2 main keywords per page, and up to 3 secondary keywords so you can target those long-tail keywords too.

Internal Linking:

Internal linking is where you create hyperlinks within your website’s content that connect one page to another within the same website. When one-page links to another, it can improve the ranking of the linked page. This helps search engines understand the importance of pages on your site and can make the user journey on your site a seamless one.

SEO Reporting

After you’ve integrated your selected keywords for ranking and incorporated internal links within your pages, now is the time to track the changes in your ranking.

You can use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor your website’s performance. We would recommend tracking key metrics such as organic traffic, CTR, and keyword rankings. This will give you a data-driven guide on what works (and what doesn’t) for your website.

When should you consider hiring an SEO expert?

SEO is ever-changing, and having someone well-versed on your side can ensure you’re following best practices, without the cost of a permanent hire. Additionally, if you or your marketing team are time-bound and don’t have the resources to fully commit to SEO, outsourcing can alleviate the pressure of learning, implementing and sustaining your SEO efforts.

Halt’s SEO key tips

SEO takes time! Try not to be demoralised if you don’t see instant results. Indexing, crawling and ranking take time.

Don’t make too many changes at once. If you change lots of things at once, it will be hard to track what has made a positive or negative impact.

Avoid keyword stuffing. It can be tempting to try and use as many keywords as possible, but Google has confirmed that spamming keywords across your site contributes to a negative ranking factor.

SEO Outsourcing Solutions

Whether you’re looking to attract inbound sales leads, job seekers, or your next star recruiter, we’ve got the experience and capabilities to make you stand out from your competition.

At Halt Agency, our SEO Service is designed to turbocharge your recruitment efforts. Explore how our Search Engine Optimisation solution can enhance your website and rocket your inbound organic leads.