SEO stands for search engine optimization and is a common practice in the internet and online marketing space.  With more than 88 billion google search engine searches each month, a company’s recruiting and HR teams can use SEO tactics to elevate their career page, job posting, and to increase their employment brand online.

6 Ways to Search Engine Optimize Your Recruiting Efforts

Each month, there are more than 185 million searches on Google that contain the keyword “jobs.”  SEO tactics and strategies involve a clear yet combined approach focusing a HR team’s time and efforts to drive web traffic to their prime positions and job openings.  Because the job seekers are out there actively looking for work, and making it easy to find job openings is what SEO job postings are all about.

– Keyword Research. This is the first step of any SEO strategy whether you are an HR blogger, SEO agency, or corporate recruiting department.  This includes keyword combinations that your target audience is using as well as the keyword combinations that your competition.  Words that have a medium level of search and low levels of competition are best.

– SEO Reporting and Analytics.  As a blogger, I rely on Google Analytics and Google Webmaster tools to help me determine how website visitors are finding me using search engines, the number of page views, and the pages where they are spending their time.  Using analytics are essential for making your case to leverage SEO in your recruitment and job posting efforts.

– Linkbacks.  These are key to any effective SEO recruiting strategy.  For bloggers, credible websites that link to your blog or page can increase your placement within a search engine.  Properly placed link backs can elevate your article, job posting, or web page ahead of the competition.

– Going Social.  Social media platforms offer an unique opportunity to increase your social presence, build your employment brand, and piggy back on a social network’s quality search engine rankings.  Google your name, and by name I mean your personal name first and last.  What websites comes up first in the search?  LinkedIn, Flickr, or YouTube?  These sites (as well as others) have excellent page rankings that you can take advantage by posting and linking to.  Social networks offer great SEO while also providing instant and real-time engagement with your current and future candidate pool.

– Links.  As an HR blogger, linking to websites are just as important as link backs to your site.  These links can be as simple as posting your job using a social network or listing the link to the job posting placed on your career page within a Monster or Careerbuilder job posting.

– SEO Optimized Job Description.  Company websites, career pages, and landing pages offer hundreds possibly thousands of opportunities to leverage the power of social media.  Include keyword combinations not just on job postings, but within your company website.  While job descriptions traditional serve a compliance purpose, they also offer the opportunity to elevate your company’s page within a search engine.