subject: Search Engine Optimization for Recruitment Websites [print this page] Search Engine Optimization for Recruitment Websites
Search Engine Optimisation refers to the process of optimising a Web site so that it appears prominently in search engine results for specific keywords. Search Engine Optimisation may involve modifying the markup of a site to make it more Search Engine Friendly, which is free, or it may involve paying search engines or directories for inclusion. Some Search Engine Optimisation techniques are frowned upon because they involve trying to 'mislead' the search engines into believing your site is more relevant to a search term than it really is.Many recruitment firms do not maximise the sales potential of their website. This is despite the huge growth of online recruitment; spending on online job advertising has grown to records highs and the best job board websites attract hundreds of thousands of new job seekers and employers each month.
Realise the power of your website as a tool that can make your firm more money. If you do not have a web presence you are missing out new clients, new candidates and a new way of working says Henry Chuks of Carrington Blake ICT. An effective website allows a recruitment agency to advertise their clients vacancies and find candidates for tehse vacancies. Back-end solutions can also help management track the performance of consultants and keep a track on client activity.
There are three main ways that people arrive at websites - direct navigation, web referrals and search engines.
Direct navigation:The best way of generating web traffic is to make sure you include your web address on all printed material - business cards, letters, flyers etc. Choose a simple web address (URL) which avoids hyphens or other punctuation as it will be easier for people to remember. If you operate exclusively in the UK, choose a .co.uk address. If you trade abroad, consider a .com or .euaddress as well.
Web referrals:Web referrals are an important means of attracting visitors to your site. There are a number of ways you can generate these.
Include your web addressin all email footers.
Email marketing - targeted electronic newsletters and offers to customers can be very effective. If the offer is interesting it is easy for people to pass the email on.
Online advertising - the use of banner and pop-up adverts on other websites to drive people to yours, see the page in this guide onadvertising and sponsorship.
Reciprocal marketing - finding sites with complementary content and agreeing to have links or banners to each other's sites.
Forums - you can set up your own, or monitor others, join the discussion and point people towards your website, see the page in this guide oncommunity building.
Search engines:While search engines are far outstripped by direct referrals, they can still prove useful for attracting customers. Competition for a high ranking on the major search engines is intense because few web users look beyond the second page of results. If you are expecting your website to generate significant commercial returns, it will be well worth spending the time and effort to ensure you get the most out of your search engine placement.
Points to note:
Assess your current website's performance
Note areas of improvement -better copy, job advertising
Accessibility - make the site more search engine friendly
E-Marketing -advertise your website. Try know marketing techniques such as reciprocal linking, Pay-Per Click advertising (like Google AdWords)
