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7 Practical Reasons Why Staffing and Recruiting Firms Need SEO
Updated: Jan 17, 2022
The world was blindsided by an unforeseen pandemic and the staffing and recruiting industry was brought down to its knees. The unemployment rate rose and a lot of businesses discontinued operations.
Therefore, we know that everyone is facing 2021 with reservations and a tight budget. And though marketing plans are usually the firsts to receive a cut, this is not the time to do so. Now is the perfect opportunity to strengthen your marketing efforts, specifically, your SEO.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the strategy of dominating the search engine results by using keywords, content, and delivering an excellent user experience through your website. It is a worthy investment because both clients and candidates are now found online.
To show you better, we have created a list of the top reasons why website traffic is crucial if you want to keep generating revenue. And as we have mentioned, we are aware of the on-going adversity so, we only included the factors that will be most beneficial.
1. SEO targets the clients who are “ready to buy”
SEO is commonly treated as a foreign language that makes non-technical people take a step back so, we’ll put it simply – SEO brings sales. The key is to attract the proper audience. Now, to understand this better, we need to learn about the keywords that are used for each stage of the buying process. In the image below, you will see the search funnel for organic traffic, the type of keyword that is used for each stage, and their search volume.
The top of the funnel is the awareness stage. During this phase, the user searches for generic and single-worded keywords known as short-tail keywords. The intent is to gather a general idea about a certain topic. The middle of the funnel is for research. At this stage, the user is already informed about the idea of the topic. He is more interested but he is not yet ready to sign-up. He uses 2-3 keywords that are more specific than short-tail keywords. These are called medium or mid-tail keywords. Lastly, the bottom of the funnel is called the purchase stage. This is when the user chooses very specific phrases called long-tail keywords to look for the exact results, making him a high-quality prospect who is ready to purchase. Long-tail keywords have the lowest search volume yet their conversion rate is higher compared to short-tail keywords. This is how SEO helps generate leads, by using long-tails that help highly-qualified prospects find you at the time they are ready to take action.
2. SEO is affordable
Organic search is all about using a cohesive strategy to get your website to the top of the search engine results pages (SERP). It is different from a pay-per-click (PPC) ad, the ones that commonly occupy the first 3 spots, where you have to pay to get attention. PPC has its strengths but SEO is more affordable in the long-run. According to WebFX, small and medium-sized businesses spend about $9,000 to $10,000 on pay-per-click ads in a month. This is an overwhelming amount that can be spent somewhere else. On the other hand, SEO is more affordable and, in addition, ranking organically creates an authoritative image for your business. We have SEO packages for as low as $299 – exclusively for staffing and recruiting firms.
3. If you are not on top, you’re invisible
With SEO, patience is key because no one ranks for a specific keyword overnight (unless you belong to the chosen ones who were destined to break the internet).
It may take 3 to 12 months to see the results which may sound like a huge inconvenience but, if you weigh the pros and cons, you will see that not being on top of the SERPs will hurt your business.
Based on a HubSpot data collection, 75% of users never go past the first page of Google. After browsing and not seeing the result they like, they are more inclined to do another search using a new keyword than to go to page 2. This means that if you are not on the first page, your chances of getting visitors and eventually generating inbound leads through your website is as good as nothing.
On the contrary, an effective SEO strategy is your opportunity to be seen. If your website occupies one or multiple spots on the first page and you offer valuable content and a good user experience, you will own portions of the aforementioned 75%.
Let’s put that into perspective. According to data gathered by Search Engine Journal, 28.5% of users click on the number 1 result. 15.7% click the second, and 11% for the third. Now, try searching for the key phrase “construction staffing agencies phoenix az” and you will generate 579,000 pages. Out of those results, only about 10 links will be clicked – the ones on the very first page. The rest are invisible.
Now, let’s say that the volume search for that keyword is 10,000 and you occupy the first up to the third positions. 5,000 of those clicks will be yours. In reality, you will be using multiple keywords. Some will work and some won’t but the ones that do will bring your business a ton of opportunities.
4. Easy-to-measure performance and results
To easily track the performance of a website and its SEO, digital marketing experts have developed tools to measure and calculate results.
Some of the most important aspects to track are keywords, usability, performance, social, and security. If you would like to see your website’s current standing, you may use our free SEO and website audit.
5. SEO can be outsourced
Understandably, very few staffing and recruiting businesses have in-house SEO teams. SEO requires a lot of time and attention and more often than not, everyone’s already overwhelmed with the workload. Also, the tools to execute and track SEO is an added cost to the company. Hence, most staffing and recruiting firms outsource.
Aside from convenience, hiring an agency for your SEO provides advantages such as:
- The agency is under contract and is required to produce results.
- SEO packages are flexible. You can select which one fits your budget and needs.
- A third-party offers an outsider’s perspective and is free from a possible internal conflict of interests.
- Experts use special tools to execute SEO plans.
- The agency can identify the areas for improvement in your whole website and provide solutions.
No matter what you choose, make sure that you assess the present standing of your website to make the right decision between an in-house and outsourced SEO.
6. SEO is a brand-builder
An exceptional SEO strategy cannot be separated from trust and credibility. SEO’s main goal is to generate more ROI and that is only possible once your website gains credibility by acing the rating factors like desirability, performance, usability, and security. And though we have mentioned this in our past blogs, we’ll say it again: it all comes down to the value of your content and if your audience can find you. Remember, you cannot build a brand without trust, and you cannot gain trust if you the users are unaware of your business. SEO will get you in front of your desired audience and with strategic planning and execution, brand-building will follow.
7. You can push out your competition
If it’s not you on the number 1 spot, then it’s someone else. Frankly, it’s plain common sense that most businesses still don’t pay attention to. As we have mentioned back on number 3, 75% of users never go past Google’s first page and if you’re not there, you’re invisible. But if you occupy those spots, it means that your competitors are pushed down to lower rankings and the traffic goes to your website.
To Wrap It Up
After a difficult year, simply having a website and being online will not bring you the returns you desire. You need to be in front of your audience when they are ready to get your services. SEO generates high-quality leads by raising brand awareness at a fairly low cost, all while pushing out the competition.
With SEO, your investment is easily quantifiable through performance-tracking tools. Let’s do it now. Assess your current website and SEO performance and see what you can do. It’ll only take a minute to see the results.
