Businesses must have more online presence than ever, and your staffing agency has probably done what’s due. You’ve set up a company website, opened a handful of social media accounts, and created processes in case potential hire and clients would like to reach out to you, perhaps through email or direct messaging. You’ve got it covered when it comes to being connected to the ‘Net.
But fierce market competition recently felt on the web shows the need to stand out amidst it all. By this time, your agency may have caught wind of the fundamentals of SEO (search engine optimization) and infused these in your online spaces; if you’ve started imbibing SEO into your website or social media, congratulations! But we have some bad news for you: this isn’t enough.
Let’s look at some SEO secrets staffing agencies that you should know to get ahead in the game and climb Google searches additional notches above the competition. Get ready to dispel some wrong notions you may have about your SEO strategy and lead traffic to your website as naturally yet effectively as possible.
We insist: staffing agencies need to rank well with Google.
In a recent LinkedIn event, Founder and CEO of Allied Insight, Jeff Pelliccio, gave a rundown of basic SEO knowledge for staffing agencies to employ SEO techniques and develop a good SEO strategy. Pelliccio shared important information essential to rank well with Google, the SEO authority.
Managing over three billion pages daily but still providing simplified yet better results than its competitors. Google remains to be the best search engine out there. Google can also match proximity with user search intent, making each search both potent and relevant in finding what a person is genuinely looking for. Can you imagine how this feature will drive traffic to your agency’s website?
Sure, as long as job seekers and companies need recruitment help, your staffing agency will always have a business. Some might even argue that your face-to-face client interactions and referrals from successful hires would suffice as effective marketing. However, consider the power of your online branding, especially with Google’s prevalence, as explained above.
72% of staffing leaders believe that their brand directly impacts their business. Furthermore, with access to the rich resources of the internet, clients and 75% of prospective applicants will most likely do a Google search for staffing agencies.
We recently sat down with Tousif Ibtasham, SEO Specialist, and Rattan Lal, Development Team Lead at Allied Insight, to gather SEO secrets for recruitment agencies in their pursuit of raking in more clients and candidates through a strong online presence. Both SEO experts agreed on several points of what to utilize and avoid when it comes to effective SEO.
Point 1: Keywords, don’t just use them willy-nilly.
When it comes to beginner SEO, keywords are the easiest to employ. Adding relevant keywords in website content may appear like child’s play at first. Still, both Ibtasham and Lal remind everyone to curate keywords thoughtfully and not get into overusing or underusing them:
- Keyword stuffing is a no-no. The more keywords you include, the better you’ll rank in Google; this misconception is called keyword stuffing or the overuse of keywords. Some websites would have too many keywords in their blogs, while others would hide such words using the same font and background color or setting the font size to zero.
- Ibstasham gave a reminder of how intelligent Google’s algorithm is and compared it to a person surfing the web. Google values relevant content above anything else and labels a keyword-stuffed website as giving a negative user experience. This causes the website to plunge into lower search rankings.
- Keywords and content should match. Speaking of content, many website owners think that keywords can align with the content. Lal emphasized that if users find that content isn’t what they’re looking for, they’ll exit the site immediately. This causes an increase in the number of site visitors who leave immediately without any further action. In other words, the bounce rate plummets, which could affect the SEO.
- Significant content partnered with the right keywords leads to your website’s increased topical authority. When Google sees that your website provides visitors with exactly what they need, your topical authority increases, and so does your Google ranking. An effective topical authority tactic, like the Hub and Spoke model, will boost your website’s credibility in the eyes of Google.
- Furthermore, Ibstasham encourages using long-tail keywords or lengthier yet more specific keywords. Instead of “interview tips,” why not make it “interview tips for tech professionals”? The former is a common keyword that will take a lot of work to rank in. Also, the latter provides better focus on your content and will lead users to the more specific information they need.
- Lal also spoke about using both high and low-volume keywords. While ranking in high-volume keywords would be quite a worthwhile pursuit, doing so in low-volume keywords adds authority and credibility to your website. In other words, have a variety of appropriately chosen and used keywords.
Point 2: There are alternative placements for your keywords.
Aside from blogs and static pages in your websites (i.e., homepage, About Us page, blog landing page, etc.), Ibstasham and Lal also suggest looking into how to include the following into your SEO strategy:
- Title tags and meta descriptions: A title tag is the HTML code that gives your website a title. Meta descriptions are snippets of text appearing on a Google search to give users an idea of your website. Putting in the right keywords in these two will help in increasing your ranking.
- Alternative text: These are texts used to describe visual elements within a website. Alternative text is mostly used for web visitors who may rely on assistive technologies to use your content, like website readers for the blind. Since Google will also check out these texts, including keywords in them will be helpful.
What are other lesser-known SEO secrets?
Aside from harnessing the power of keywords, Ibtasham and Lal also commented on other SEO components that should not be ignored:
- Prioritize your website’s mobile version as well. Last 2019, Google introduced mobile-first indexing. Since most users now use mobile devices for their search, they will check the mobile version of a website first for ranking purposes. Can your staffing agency’s website be accessed through cell phones and tablets? If not, take this as a sign.
- Do a site audit. Keywords are one of many means to rank well with Google. The ease of navigation within a website also indicates how well your site can rank. This is the primary concern of technical SEO, or the overall composition of a website, and how easy it is to maneuver.
- Conduct a site audit to ensure your website won’t send visitors and search engines into a tizzy. Have a site map that properly lays out the contents of your website, and see if links are working. Remember also to evaluate overall site performance. Is the site loading at a quick speed? Do images load up correctly? Are there links to other sites, and do these work as well?
- And speaking of other sites, make sure to be linked to websites with good domain authority. It is a score between 1 to 100 that predicts how well a site will rank in Google searches. You can keep the link if the website has a good domain authority score (50 – 60 is good, and above 60 is exceptional).
- Strike a balance between on-page and off-page SEO. The linking of pages within and outside of your website is equally important. Make sure to give time to check both, as Google will also take time to evaluate these.
- Keep an eye out for Google algorithm updates. Simply put, keep your ear on the ground for possible updates regarding Google algorithms, so your staffing agency can prepare for them promptly.
Let Allied Insight guide you further in marketing your brand.
SEO secrets and fundamentals are only the tip of the iceberg when building a positive brand for your staffing agency. Allied Insight is your best choice in achieving brand consistency as you weather changing corporative initiatives. Hop on a call with us so we can figure out how to take what is unique about you and make it your value proposition!!