With
over millions of job searches each month on major job boards like
Naukri, Monster, Indeed, and Career Builder, Dice are you doing
enough to make sure your job posting stands out? When you think
of Search Engine Optimization (or SEO), you probably think it
pertains to online marketing and websites, right? You wouldn’t
automatically associate it with job postings, but it’s just as
important.
Here’s
how you can better optimize your job postings for better search
results in three simple ways:
Keyword
Research
When
writing your title and job description, it’s important to pick
phrases that are relevant to your job posting. Phrases that are too
general come with more competition and put you at risk for showing up
at the bottom of the results page or delivering unqualified
candidates. For example, instead of using basic phrases like
“software developer” you should specify “Application
Developer,” “PHP Developer,” or “Java Developer.” The goal
is get as specific and relevant as you can to reach the most
qualified audience (so you don’t have entry-level candidates
applying for an upper level position). If you’re stumped for
keyword ideas, try out free keyword research tools like Google
Adwords Keyword Tool to
get keyword ideas.
Common
Job Title
When
creating a job title, you want to choose something that is simple and
concise. Be careful not to use this an opportunity to “sell” your
posting or get creative (ex: “Top Performers Wanted!” “Rare
Opportunity with Great Company!”) because that makes your posting
potentially unsearchable. To better optimize your title, include the
job description with career level or job type (part-time, full-time).
including the acronym to a job title along with writing out the job
itself is also important. For example, if you’re hiring for a
Registered Nurse, write out “Registered Nurse (RN).” By doing
this, you’ll likely catch people who are searching out both of
those common phrases.
Optimization
of Job Description.
The
job description is the meat and potatoes of your posting. A search
engine populates the results of listings that have the most relevance
and relevancy begins in the description of your job posting. So how
can you accomplish this? Using the results from your keyword
research, pick 3 phrases and use those throughout the copy in your
description. By using your keywords frequently, your posting will
become better optimized and likely to appear more often. It’s also
important to note that while you want to be relevant, make sure you
don’t over-stuff your description with keywords so frequent, it
starts sounding unnatural.
Optimizing
a job posting can be time consuming. If you need help with writing
one or not sure which keywords are the best for your posting, you can
always consult with your marketing department for optimization help.
They’ll be your best resource for helping you craft a searchable
and creative job posting.