Content is King

Recruiters everywhere are beginning to understand that adding search engines (Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to any advertising strategy is essential. Whether they are looking for active candidates, trying to attract passive candidates, or even running a branding campaign, many potential employees will start at the search engines to follow through/research on the advertisement that spurred their interest.

While the ways to properly leverage the search engines vary (from classic Search Engine Optimization techniques to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) keyword buys to advertising on a content network), one universal truth becomes more evident every day: it's all about the content of the pages you are driving people to. If the web page that you send a user to after they click doesn't speak directly to their need or deliver on the promise you made in the advertisement, the result is not only a lost candidate but a future negative effect on all of your search engine placements.

Why?

It's simple - it is in the search engine's best interest to provide only the best and most relevant pages to their users when they conduct a search. Keep in mind all of the factors search engines consider when deciding where to rank your site and/or how much to charge for a top ranking:

• How much you are willing to pay (if you are bidding on PPC)
• How has your ad performed to date (how many people have clicked on it)
• Relevancy of the page you are linking to:
  • Is the content unique?
  • Do other respected sites link to you?
  • Do you link to other sites?
  • How long are candidates staying on your site (if the search engine can track it)

Bottom line: ensure your advertisements link to content-rich, specific web pages. Don't link back to your general careers home page where they have to search again. Not only do you risk losing the candidate, you risk the search engine making the decision that your site is not relevant - and your rankings will suffer.

Question? Comments? Email me at matt.lamphear@tmp.com.

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