What We’ll Cover

• We’ll touch quickly on a few SEO fundamentals

• Recent changes in how search engines evaluate websites

• Discuss what these changes mean to companies & their SEO strategies

• Tips in increase your SEO 3.0 visibility.

SEO vs. Paid Results

Most SEO Products Follow the Same Strategy

So Far, This Approach Has Been Successful

Company results are able

to compete with the ‘big

boys’

BUT…..

The latest search engine

updates have changed the

SEO game

Google’s Latest Updates - “The Panda Updates”

Filter designed to identify what Google believes to be ‘low quality websites’ & decrease their visibility online.

Unique vs. duplicate content

Was the site designed solely for SEO

Does the site provide valuable content that is updated frequently?

Uses visitor behavior data to determine quality

Google also announced additional signals they pay attention to including………

Universal Search – Distribute Your Assets

• Search engines display more than web results

• Not new – but much more important. Google rewards sites that distribute their brand assets.

• Under utilized in recruitment

• SEO is out – DAO is in

Social Search Signals POLL: Does Your Company Block Social Sites?

• Google now factors social signals (tweets, likes, +1s) into how they rank sites.

• Content created/shared by people in your social circle, will likely appear in search results.

• Who you are matters! Authoritative people lend their authority to pages they share.

• Social media participation is extremely valuable – blocking access means missing a HUGE opportunity.

Quick Note About URL Shorteners

Using URL shorteners like bit.ly and tiny URL are not a problem in terms of SEO. Google will give you credit and pass on authority.

However the platform may have their own rules. Twitter

puts ‘no follow’ tags on all outgoing links which prevents page rank from passing.

**Don’t worry about whether a link is passing authority.

Shared content encourages links from other sources

Do You Have a Local Listing?

• Targets a specific geographic area. Also works for company name searches.

• Appear above the SEO results, can include images, videos & links.

• Each location can have a page.

Visitor Interaction Impacts SEO Performance

Visitor behavior impacts SEO visibility – Pay attention to your analytics.

» Time on site

» Return visitors

» Number of pages viewed

» Bounce Rate

Note: Don’t rely on reports from vendors – It’s your data, go directly to the source.

User experience & engagement

just got a whole lot

more important

Easy Ways to Improve Visibility in a 3.0 World

LinkedIn – Edit website ‘other’ links to link to your company. Be sure to use keywords!

Example:

***If I was a recruiter for Hirecast Consulting. I might use the following keywords in my link: Minnesota IT Recruiter or Find IT Jobs

Add Google +1 Button To Your Website

• Let visitors recommend your content on to their social circle.

• Each +1 is a vote for your page

• Super Easy! Start Here - www.google.com/webmasters/+1/button

Build Your Twitter Authority

Tweeted content by profiles with authority are much more valuable.

Authority Factors

• Number of followers

• Authority of followers

• Regularity of updates

• Profile age

• Follower to following ratio

• Amount of re-tweets

• Authority of accounts re-tweeting

Keep Your Website Content Fresh

Search engines reward sites that have fresh content. Analytics can give you ideas.

• Interactive elements – polls

• industry news, events

• Employee profiles

• Add a blog and link it to your main website.

Blogs are great for getting your jobs SEO visibility!!

Every Website Has Images – Optimize Them!

Google Images drives a surprising amount of traffic to your site, yet it’s often overlooked.

• Architecture - All Images should go in an image directory

• File Names - Descriptive and contain keywords where it makes sense, it helps search engines understand what the image is about.

• Image Alt Text - Good alt text would include the words used in the file name. Text should describe the image and be no longer then a few words.

Example:

Image File Name: dairy-queen-employee-volunteers.jpg

Alt Text: dairy queen employees volunteered their time packing food.

Claim Your Local Listings – It’s FREE!

Google - google.com/places

Bing - bing.com/local

Yahoo - local.yahoo.com

Process • Go to the link above

• Fill your listing w/content – be sure to add a link to your careers site.

• Verify the listing. A post card is sent to the business address.

• Use the pin number to confirm and publish your listing.

Video Help - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ttx9BGV1is

Image SEO - Flickr Optimization Flickr is a powerful SEO tool as the results are heavily indexed.

• Image assets can be optimized around employment/work culture searches.

• Upload: create a descriptive title, provide tags, a description that includes a link to your website

• Join related groups, add relevant contacts and comment on other users images.

HOT NEWS: Google Plus Pages Went Live

Claim a profile to interact with and engage their customers and fans.

Own more results. Pages are already showing up in the results.

Notes From My Test Drive

1) Personal G+ account required to set up a business page.

2) Can’t add people into your circles until they have added you.

3) You can't +1 anything as a business page.

4) Multiple business pages are allowed.

Sign Up Here - www.google.com/+/business/get-started.html

SEO 3.0 Requires a More Holistic Approach

• Everything you do on the web can impact your SEO.

• Provide content in multiple formats that resonates with candidates is key.

• Don’t let people overly complicate SEO. Create a content rich, user-friendly website. If it works well for people, it will work for Google.

Thank You!