Search Engine Optimization

(Career Site Optimization)

Important considerations and questions to ask yoursel and possible vendors prior to investingin this important part o your interactive recruiting strategy.

Developed by:

Dr. Douglas BergFounder & Chie Innovation OcerJobs2Web Inc.

Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 2Why should you take this topic seriously? ...................................................... 4

Employers who have SEO/CSO as a part o their interactive strategy will have a distinctcompetitive advantage in the recruiting marketplace.

How candidates search or jobs on Google ..................................................... 5

Learn how candidates use Google to search or jobs and what the top searched “job” relatedterms are. Also learn the dierence between SEO and SEM/PPC.

Can candidates nd your career site (or jobs) on Google? ............................ 6

Most employers have nicely designed career sites that are good or candidates, but they arenot optimized or search engine users to nd them.

Using SEO to attract talent to your career site and jobs ................................ 7

Learn how top companies are launching SEO strategies to optimize their career site and jobcontent to attract candidates directly to their career sites.

Rankings and SEO optimization process ...................................................... 10

See where you need to rank in order to make SEO a success or your recruiting, and theprocess you need to go through to get online.

Measuring your SEO/SEM results ...................................................................12

Tracking results and justiying your ROI with any interactive recruiting campaigns andprograms.

Key questions to ask any SEO/CSO vendor ................................................... 14

Picking the right SEO/CSO vendor will make the dierence between whether your Web 2.0eorts will succeed or not.

Glossary o terms and requently asked questions ...................................... 18

Web 2.0 buzzwords you need to know, and commonly asked questions employers have whenconsidering SEO as part o their strategy.

Introduction: SEO vs. CSO

FACT:

There are more than 124 million “job”-related searches every monthon Google.

PROBLEM:

Yet most employers’ jobs are completely hidden rom candidates online.

SOLUTION:

Smart employers will utilize search engine optimization (SEO) to drivethese job seekers directly to their own career site, which then plays a major role indecreasing their job board spend.

Terms Dened:

To help avoid conusion with the new world o Web 2.0 marketing, here are denitions o two conusingly similarterms to help you as you read this report. This white paper primarily ocuses on Search Engine Optimization (sometimes mistakenly reerred to as Career SiteOptimization), along with other ways to drive job-seeker trac to your online career site.Please also review our Glossary o Terms at the end o this paper to learn about other buzzwords that are oten usedin the “Web 2.0” recruiting world, so that you can keep yoursel on top o the rapidly changing world o interactiverecruiting.

Candidates areshiting wherethey search or jobs, and yourstrategy shouldollow them.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO):

The optimizing o job content or career sitecontent, and the creation and submission o site maps daily so that the major search engines(Google, Yahoo, MSN-Live) can correctly indexand rank your job and career site content highlywithin the “organic” search results. The desired end result is that when candidatesperorm logical keyword searches on the searchengines, your jobs and career site would behighly ranked within the search results (organic,NOT paid results), and job seekers would thenbe able to link directly to your career site to viewand apply or jobs -- at no cost to you or visitorsor clicks.

Primary Goal o SEO:

Drive increased trac to your career site andreduce your dependency on expensive paid jobboards.

CAREER SITE OPTIMIZATION (CSO):

The optimizing o your candidates experiencewhile on your career site. This could include theintegration o any o these technologies into yourcareer site:

• Live chat between candidates and recruiters• Simplied job search process• Creation of rich job proles or improving the

look, eel, and layout o job content

• Adding streaming video or other rich

media online

• Providing RSS feeds or other content-sharing

tools

• Allowing candidates to easily set up email

job alerts

• Enhanced visitor tracking and reporting tools

Primary Goal o CSO:

Maximize your candidates’ experience andincrease the conversion or capture rate o candidates that visit your career site.