How can keywords make my job posting more searchable?

Millions of job-related searches are conducted each month on Google, Bing, and all the other search engines that are available to online job seekers. With so much traffic up for grabs, job-related searches can have huge implications on applications for your job listing.

Monster is constantly making enhancements to ensure that your job listings are searchable in major search engines, but it’s you, the employer, who has the most influence on whether your job is returned in the top of search engine results with the correct keyword phrases.

In order for your listing to be relevant to search engines, you will need to select the right keyword phrases for your job title and description.  This process will also help your listing perform better within Monster’s internal search engine as well.

Keyword research is key
In order to make your job posting search engine friendly, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What phrases are relevant to your job listing? 
  • What terms might a job seeker search for in order to find a job like yours? 

To find the answers, brainstorm as many phrases as possible, look at competitor listings and use free keyword research tools such as the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to expand the list of relevant keyword phrases for your listing.

The more common a phrase is, the more competition there will be for it.so your keyword phrases should be specific, not general. ‘Sales Job’ may describe the job, but ‘Financial Services Sales Job’ would attract a better, more targeted audience.

Other types of keyword phrases to consider including throughout your job advert include:

  • Brand terms – If you have a recognisible name then select phrases that you use in your marketing campaigns that will be familiar with job seekers.
  • Location specific terms – Where people work is just as important to them as what they do so many seekers search on location as well as job title.
  • Industry specific terms – Consider including some of the tools, software or acronyms that are important to the job and your area of business
  • Alternative job titles – People with different job titles can perform the same role so look at whether you should target 'Office Junior' as well as 'Office Assistant'
  • Abbreviations – Many functions are more commonly written as acronyms but job seekers may search for both so use the term 'Human Resources' as well as 'HR'

Using this ‘pool’ of keyword phrases, you should then select the most popular and relevant phrases to use in the creation of your job listing. Test your keyword phrases by seeing if they you answer “Yes” to the following questions:

  • Can I determine the intent of a job posting and of the jobseeker simply by looking at the keyword phrase?
  • Will my job listing satisfy the intent of the job seeker if they search this phrase and land on my listing?

The Job Title Rules
The Job Title is the most important part of your job listing for two reasons:

  • It's the first thing that job seekers will see
  • It's the phrase which search engines first assess for relevance

Your job title should be compelling and relevant so that jobseekers click on your job listing over others. Here are some guidelines to help you pick your job titles:

  • The job title you choose should be a simple, concise title that job seekers actually search on, not a creative hook or title that is only known within your organization. ‘Sales Star Needed!’ is not an effective job title. Instead, choose ‘Sales Executive ’.
  • The job title should be as specific as possible. ‘Sales’ is not an effective job title. Instead, choose ‘Pharmaceutical Sales Executive’. 
  • Indicate the career level of the job in the title if possible. ‘Online Media’ is not an effective job title. Instead, choose ‘Director of Online Media’. 
  • If a skill is essential to the job then be sure to include it. ‘Customer Support Representative’ is not an effective job title. Instead, choose ‘Customer Support Representative – Spanish Speaking’. 
  • Include the job type if appropriate.  ‘Security Guard ’ is not an effective job title. Instead, choose ‘Security Guard – Part-time’. 

Search engines (and job seekers) are very well adapted to spotting deliberate attempts to generate more traffic and will punish listings that include:

    • Deceptive or inaccurate titles 
    • Cryptic questions in job titles 
    • Keyword 'stuffing' in titles 
    • Inappropriate CAPITALISATION

Using keywords in the job description
Search engines are only concerned with text, so your job description is your best chance to have your job posting appear in search results is to integrate keyword phrases throughout your job listing.

Along with the job title you've chosen, select 3-5 related terms to use throughout the copy to increase the relevance of the page. Do not overuse any keyword phrase. To test for overuse, read the description out loud. If it sounds awkward, reduce the number of instances for that phrase.

Here are some additional tips to help you integrate your related keyword phrases:

  • Use bullet points to make the description easy to read
  • The length of the job description should be between 150-600 words.
  • Use brand, industry, and occupation-specific phrases
  • Avoid using internal company jargon or abbreviations that will confuse the reader

Since you’re company’s boilerplate is usually present on all of your job listings, be sure to optimise the keyword phrases used in this copy in a similar way to your job description. Avoid typical marketing 'fluff' and focus on keyword phrases that explain and demonstrate your business and industry.