How Can I Make My Online Job Ad Search Engine Friendly?

Reaching a wide pool of strong candidates for your vacancy requires getting online job ad in front of the right eyes. Posting to Monster gives you visibility across our extensive partner network, but you can also help us make your job ad work harder by implementing some simple SEO tactics.

SEO (or ‘Search Engine Optimisation’) is the art of ensuring a web page appears within results when a user searches for a certain keyword or phrase. This applies to job listings too.

Search engines take into account how relevant the main content of the page is, in part by counting the number of times keywords appear. There are hundreds of other page elements that go into deciding how well your job listing will rank, but there are some quick steps you can take to improve your ranking.

Why the Job Title Matters

The main thing people look for in search results (and the link they will hopefully click on) is the title tag, i.e. the title of the job your advertising to fill. When you post a job on Monster, we apply an automated title tag that follows the format of <Job Title> Jobs <Location>.

But that <Job Title> is up to you, and how you choose that is important. Put yourself in the shoes of the jobseeker. What words would they search for if they were looking for the job you’re advertising? If you use terms that job seekers would actually search for, you increase the chances of them being spotted.

This means, do your research. If you have access to a keyword research tool you can use it to find out what people are searching for. If you don’t have these tools, try searching for jobs yourself to see what other employers are using as job titles and which ones show up most often.

The key is often to keep it simple. For example:

Don’t use something like ‘Tier 2 Policy Implementation Architecture Strategist’
Instead, use highly relevant titles like ‘Senior Policy Advisor’

While adding company structural information and unnecessary jargon is unhelpful, adding a key skill to your job title can appeal to a more specific audience. Such as:

Don’t use ‘Web Developer’
Do use ‘Java Web Developer’

Steer clear of using job titles that are cryptic or simply not job titles at all. They won’t come up when someone is searching for your job type and they can dissuade users from clicking. For example,

Don’t use ‘Want to work in a bank?’
Do use ‘Bank Cashier’

Use Targeted Locations

Along with the job title, the location in your online job ad combines to make up the ‘page title’. Never be tempted to enter the location within the job title field otherwise you will end up with a title tag that looks something like this: ‘Sales Manager – Docklands, London Jobs Docklands, London’. Not only does it look unappealing, but it may be considered by search engines as keyword spamming and push your job lower down in the rankings.

Instead, when prompted on Monster to tell us where you job is located provide two key bits of information to improve SEO:

The postcode (to sync with our Google Maps feature)
The nearest town or city (with county where appropriate)

Long title tags creating by too much location information can change how your listing appears. Although the search engines can still read long tags, they will cut off for your job seekers, making click-throughs less likely. So, remember:

Don’t use things like ‘Reading, Berkshire, M4 corridor, Thames Valley, South East’
Do use short, clear locations like‘Reading, Berkshire’

You can be more specific about the location within the actual job description, but for the purposes of SEO, you want to rely on one key location that will match the area in which you expect most candidates to be searching. If your job vacancy is remote you can add that as the location.

Make a Good First Impression

The first paragraph of your job description is highly important for the success of your job posting. Rather than launching into a description of your company, take this opportunity to provide:

A short overview of the role
Use the job title once
Use the location once
Mention a couple of other related key skills

If you can also fit in another instance of keyword variations (another combination of your job title) this can give your online job ad a boost.

Above all, search engine’s reward quality content that is relevant to what users are looking for. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that your all-important first paragraph forms a coherent sentence rather than a keyword list.

Here’s a good example of an SEO-friendly introduction in an online job ad:

“We are looking for a Sales Executivewith experience in the pharmaceutical industry to join our specialist sales team in Warrington, Cheshire.”

Use Keywords Strategically

The remainder of your job description should also contain your keywords in a variety of ways. Since your job title is your most important keywords, this serves as your ‘primary keyword’ and should appear in your job ad at a density of 0.6%.

To work out how many times to add your keyword use this simple equation: Total job ad work count x 0.006. For example, if your listing totals 400 words, you should add your job title two to three times (400×0.006=2.4).

Sentences such as “The responsibilities of the Marketing Manager…” or “As you will have proved through previous Marketing Manager roles…” are good ways of fitting key terms in without them looking forced. You may also use keywords alongside qualification requirements such as “Marketing qualification” to add variety.

Don’t be tempted to overdo your keywords, in SEO less can be more. Keyword spamming is a practice heavily discouraged by search engines so trying to increase your ranking by simply listing related job titles, skills and locations is likely to see you disappear from the rankings.

Reach the Right Candidates on Monster

Get your online job ad in front of more of the right people is to post a job on Monster. Our extensive network combined with your SEO-friendly practices means your jobs reach candidates best suited to help your business thrive. Choose from our Monster+ plans or let us take care of things for you with our tailored recruiting solutions.