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By Rick Maré, Founder & CEO, JXT    Connect with Rick on LinkedIn >>>

In the first part of this article I shared on the reasons on doing your keyword research and finding out your website’s ranking. Here we further expand into getting your basics and optimising your important pages to boost your website.

1. Get the SEO basics right

When it comes to SEO, getting the basics right is paramount. To start making a positive impact on your website ranking, optimise the basic SEO elements in your existing content. To do that, it’s recommended that a target keyword or phrase appears at least four times throughout the page URL, page name, meta description, copy, and images.

Having a page title and URL optimised for SEO is essential for every page, and the character length of these page elements can have an impact on their performance. Page titles need to be under 55 characters to avoid being cropped in Google’s search results. URLs, however, have a slightly higher limit at 115. Page titles should also contain a suffix which includes your organisation’s name, and location when necessary.

For your website’s main copy to be search-ready, it will need to contain your target keywords or phrases in their exact format at least four times throughout. To include your keywords without negatively affecting readability, it’s a great idea to spread them out in the text. That said, you should try to include a keyword in the introductory and closing paragraphs. Heading tags are used in your webpages to show Google important content, so include your exact keywords and phrases in them where possible. An obvious call to action should also be included on certain pages to encourage conversion of website traffic into business leads.

When formatted correctly, images play a pivotal role in the performance of your SEO. To enable your images to aid your webpage’s search-readiness, avoid saving images under random file names and instead, use your keywords to create names that best describe the content. As an example, if you’re uploading an infographic on the increasing time it takes to fill a role, consider naming it “Time-to-fill-Accounting-Roles-Is-Increasing-Graphic” rather than “blog-graphic1”. The same practice should be adhered to when writing image ALT tags throughout pages as well.

Whilst meta descriptions no longer have an impact on how well your SEO performs, they’re still important. This description is what Google displays under the page title in their search results, providing an opportunity to include a sales pitch to improve your conversion rate. Meta descriptions must be under 160 characters to avoid Google cropping them on their search results.

2. Optimise your homepage & landing pages

Your homepage and its optimisation is crucial for your website’s performance. When deciding on your homepage title, revise your selected keywords and highlight those that describe what you do best. A good example would be your specialisation, location, and company name, such as “Construction Recruitment Australia | ABC Recruiting”.

The main copy of your homepage should aim to showcase your Recruitment expertise to captivate clients and candidates. With that in mind, your primary text should be between 150 and 300 words and optimised for two or three keywords and phrases. When you write your page content, include these keywords without sacrificing quality and ensure it doesn’t mirror your social media channels or any other websites.

Your website’s landing pages should focus on your specialisations such as recruitment solutions, industries, and specific job markets, whilst also including any key locations. Recruitment landing pages will discuss the different hiring services your Recruitment Agency provides, such as Temporary Recruitment, Permanent Staffing, and Contracting Services.

Industry specialisation pages are used by larger Recruiters who want to showcase the different industries they recruit in. As an example, a separate page for Construction Recruitment and Human Resources Recruitment would contain their own individual keyword optimisation.

If you’re a Recruitment Agency who operates in various regions, location pages can provide a great boost to your SEO and exposure for each branch of your operation. Every location page however, will need at least one paragraph explaining a little about the area, the branch’s contact information, and a snapshot of their latest vacancies.

MAIN TAKEAWAYS

“To ensure the core basics of SEO are satisfied, include your keywords throughout all page elements including the page URL, page name, meta description, page copy and images”

“Possessing a homepage that has been optimised for a keyword or phrase that best describes what you do is crucial for to your website’s SEO performance“

Essentially you can build your SEO strategy by staging the critical bits progressively. It’s a simple process yet so powerful to help you go that much further. In my final installment to this topic, I hope you will enjoy reading it as well. See you on that page!

About the author

Rick Maré is the founder and CEO of JXT, the number one provider of cloud-based digital marketing solutions for recruiters and corporate recruiters. Rick has coached thousands of recruiters, empowering them to take their businesses and careers to the next level. Connect with Rick on LinkedIn.