The job advertisement is an essential part of the recruitment process for companies. It gives applicants the opportunity to obtain all useful information about the job at a glance and, if necessary, to apply with just a few clicks.
By placing a job ad, employers pursue the goal of reaching not all potential candidates, but thecandidate who fits the company. For this reason, it is important to prove yourself and stand out from the competition. Many companies swear by professional SEO for this, while others are very successful even without SEO measures.
So is SEO for job ads an important success factor or just a waste of time? In our article we will guide you through the topic of search engine optimization in connection with job ads.
What is SEO?
The abbreviation SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization" and describes the process of adapting the content of a website to the search engine algorithm. Translated into simple terms, this means that Google follows a strict system according to which the ranking, i.e. the order of web pages in a specific Google search, is determined. Therefore, if a company follows the associated rules, the website has a much higher chance of appearing in the first places of the Google search.
What are the advantages of SEO?
Basically, SEO serves the goal of achieving more reach through a higher ranking in Google search. Since this depends on the algorithms and not the monetary input, companies using SEO have the advantage that they can generate free reach, i.e. organic traffic. So the cost-benefit factor is huge. Apart from this, it has been found out that the target groups of various companies focus more on the organic results within Google search than on web pages that are marked as ads. If a company does not operate SEO, it gives away potentials and possible turnover.
So far, running SEO sounds really worthwhile, right? But what about job ads? Is it important for companies to adapt the job ad to the search engine algorithm or unimportant, since it is not the job ad that is the decisive point for the applicant, but possibly the company itself?
The table you see here shows the number of new hires generated by companies based on the recruitment channels. From 2017 to 2019, the two most popular channels by far were "Internet job board" and "Own company website". This makes it clear that employers should clearly focus on these recruitment channels when it comes to job advertisements.
"Insert table (See words from blogposts) - with source: recruiting channels by share of new hires 2019 | Statista
Let's summarize:
SEO has the advantage of generating more reach for the respective website. Job ads are the preferred means for employers to attract new employees in today's digital world and the graph above shows that internet job boards and the company website generate the most new hires.
We can thus conclude that due to the popularity of online recruitment channels as well as job ads and the meaningfulness of SEO, companies can tend to achieve greater success with the implementation of SEO measures both job ads.
The question of whether SEO in job ads is a success factor or just a waste of time can therefore be answered in the end. With SEO, companies can increase the reach of the job ad enormously, which increases the likelihood of addressing the potential employee who is within the target group.
To give you an overview of the basic measures of search engine optimization, we have summarized four measures for you briefly and succinctly.
4 free SEO measures to generate more reach for your job ad
1. Perform keyword research
Be clear about which keywords you want your job ad to rank for. Use a keyword research tool, such as Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest, to check how often the keywords are searched for. Based on this, you should think of alternative phrases for the title, for example, and see how often the respective keyword is searched for in this context. So compare different formulations and determine which keyword suits you best. Keep in mind: "The greater the search volume, the more people you can reach with your job ad."
Even if a large search volume sounds suitable at first glance, you should also use keywords with a low search volume in order to reach exactly the right people for the job. Because if a search volume is small, the keyword describes the content much more detailed and precise. In this way, you address exactly the potential employees you want to address.
A short example: The keyword "personnel" has a much larger search volume than the keyword "manage personnel". The first term is searched for by users who want general information about personnel. However, the search could also be performed by users who are interested in the areas of activity in personnel. What the user really wants to know is therefore difficult to say with the simple keyword "personnel". The second keyword, as described above, covers a small target group and exactly those people who are looking for information about human resources management. So you reach exactly the users who are interested in the topic.
So in summary:
The larger the search volume of the keyword, the more likely Google will NOT know the exact intent of the user's search.
The more precise the keyword, the greater the likelihood that Google search will return the exact results the user is hoping for.
So you should cover both types of keywords within your job ad.
2. insert keywords in the right places
In SEO, it strongly depends on where the keywords are placed. Basically, they should be listed in the following areas in any case:
- In the URL
- In the meta description
- In the respective page title
- In the title of the job ad
- At least 1 time in the text
3. use SEO tool
So that you don't have to hire a professional company right away, there are SEO tools integrated in various softwares. These give you precise instructions on which components within your job page or your job ad should be changed so that they are better adapted to the Google algorithm. Examples of such tools are the Yoast SEO plugin within the WordPress software or the SEO tool from Wix. But also external tools like Ubersuggest or www.keywords-tools.org are a perfect support for the "SEO optimization" of your job ads.
4. make free SEO checkup
We hope that we have been able to show you the importance of SEO for job ads. If you would now like to optimize your job advertisements in line with search engines, you have the opportunity to take a free SEO check for your job advertisement on our homepage www.talentic.de. In a video call we discuss together the strengths and weaknesses of the job advertisement in terms of search engine optimization. We will go through everything together step-by-step and you will learn which adjusting screws there are so that your job advertisements will also be listed on the first search results page on Google or on an online job board in the future.
Sources:
SEO for Job Ads: Better applicants through strategic job postings (t3n.de)
How important is SEO in companies ? -SEM Boutique Magazine (sem-boutique.de)
HRSEO: Skillfully optimize job ads (web-netz)
Recruiting channels by share of new hires 2019 (statista.com)
SEO for job ads: Easier than you think (talention.de)
Images:
Source: Statista (2022)
