Sajjad Masud | Mashable
You might be familiar with how search engine optimization, or SEO, can help search engines like Google and Bing discover your website. Using keywords, linkbacks, social media and page ranking can help your site gain the added exposure you need to turn clicks into customers. But, can SEO also help you find the right candidates for your open positions?
A little search engine optimization can go a long way toward getting your jobs out in front of the candidates your company needs to meet its growth objectives. Companies of all varieties understand the role of SEO in bringing traffic to their sites, but many are ignoring the importance of using SEO for their talent acquisition strategy. If your startup has recently acquired funding and you want to hire the best, SEO can be an important and affordable part of your recruitment marketing campaign. Here are some tips for how to optimize your talent acquisition strategy to find the people your startup company needs to thrive.
Do a Little Digging
Before you start developing your talent acquisition SEO strategy, take a step back and figure out what kind of candidate you need for your company. Give some thought to the work experience, attitude and skills your ideal employee will need to be successful.
Once you know what your company is looking for, think about what your ideal candidate might be looking for. Discover what industry-specific terms, programs or buzzwords candidates matching your requirements would typically search for to find their dream job. Armed with your list of ideal candidate attributes, look at similar job descriptions and even use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool for inspiration.
Be ready to roll up your sleeves and do a little research. Understanding the needs of your ideal candidate will go a long way toward helping you nab the talent your company needs.
Key Into Your Keywords
At this point, you should have a list of keywords both relevant to your company’s needs for which talented candidates are likely to be searching. Next, you need to include the keywords in your job description.
For example, if you are hiring a digital marketing position for your newly-funded startup, you should not only include obvious keywords such as “marketing” and “digital,” but you may also want to sprinkle in more specific job requirements such as “social media,” “SEO” or “content management.” Additionally, remember the importance of location. Most talent is looking in a specific geographic area, so include location-based keywords to let candidates know whether the job is based in San Francisco or New York City.
Finally, it is important to be as specific as possible with keywords in your job title in order to find the best candidates. For instance, do not bill your opening as a “web developer” if it is really a “Java front-end developer” you are looking for. It might seem counterintuitive, but the more specific your keywords, the more likely you are to hear from qualified candidates.
