As a recruiting pro, you already understand the importance of keywords in job descriptions. Unless you use the right ones, your JDs will plummet to the bottom end of search engine results – and no one wants that to happen, ever.
The real question is: How do you determine the best keywords to use and then apply them in the most effective manner?
Start by doing some research.
Start by writing a job description the way you would if keywords didn’t matter. This is Step One in researching the best ones to use. From here, approach your keyword research like a marketer – because that’s what you are: a marketer for the right candidates.
- Look more closely at your JD and highlight specific words and phrases most relevant to the position. Then, make a list of terms you think candidates might use to find the job. The bottom line is that you need to make both sides match up.
- Check out your competitors’ job listings. Make another list, this time of the keywords they You can use an online word cloud generator to do this: the most prominent words, aka keywords, will be the largest in the cloud.
- From here, you can select the best keywords for your job description. In addition those that are relevant to your position, they should also be as specific as possible. For example, instead of using a general term like “Account Executive,” opt for something like “Digital Marketing Sales Manager.” Also, try and use company-specific terms and your location if they help your case.
- Shoot for a short list of three to five of the best keywords that match both your position and the likelihood of being searched. More than that may actually hurt your search engine results.
Write a rock-solid job title.
Job titles are important from a search engine perspective. Search engines use algorithms that assign weight to words used in specific ways on a page. So, you want to position your keywords in such a way that the algorithm bumps them up to the top of search engine results. In short, be sure to use your primary keywords in your job title. A few more tips:
- If your job title appears in the text of a description a few times, it helps search engines understand the importance of those words when they look at a page as a whole.
- Hyperlink your keywords back to the JD itself or to the listing on your career site.
Keep up the momentum throughout your job description.
Along with your job title, incorporate your keywords into the text of your JD. Since you’ve already written a first draft, this should be just a matter of substituting them in where you think appropriate.
- Be mindful of keyword density. This is the number of keyword instances divided by the total words in the text on a page. There are free online tools for this, too.
- Longer job descriptions generally rank higher than shorter ones. Aim for 250 words or more.
There’s a lot involved in crafting the perfect job description – and this is just one of many aspects in excelling as a talent acquisition pro. For additional tips, guidance, contacts and resources as you build your career, contact Search Wizards today.
