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Oct 30
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Answer engines and what they mean for your careers website

By Careers websites, Content marketing

Search is shifting into something new. Analysts predict that by 2028, 25 % of people will use AI Assistants as their first point of search. Not Google, not Bing, but tools designed to give answers instantly. We’re already seeing this play out. Traditional search engines still dominate, while answer engines like Google’s AI Mode, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Bing Copilot are gaining traction by cutting straight to the response.

For career platforms and recruiters, this means the old playbook of optimising solely for clicks and page views is under pressure. This broader move towards answer engines is reshaping how people find information – and how employers need to think about visibility, attribution and measurement in a world where a click is no longer guaranteed.

What are answer engines?

Unlike traditional search engines that serve up a list of links, answer engines provide a direct response. Ask Perplexity a question, and you’ll get a conversational answer with sources. Use ChatGPT, and you’ll get a summary or solution, often without ever clicking a link. Even Bing and Google are shifting from ‘ten blue links’ to AI‑generated answers – all with the ability to refine your query on the spot.”

For example:

Google’s traditional search engine
Here are 10 pages about entry‑level software engineer jobs in London.

Google AI mode
Here’s a curated list of entry‑level software‑engineering roles in London, plus a summary of each company.

The appeal for job seekers is clear. Speed, simplicity and less digging around on websites. For careers platforms and employers, it’s trickier because fewer clicks mean fewer chances to capture that all‑important visit.

Why answer engines matter to careers sites and job seekers

Google’s widespread introduction of AI‑generated summaries signals just how mainstream AI‑driven results have become. Google’s AI mode is rapidly expanding, too. It has rolled out in 12 countries, been activated by more than 80 million users, and is delivering billions of impressions in just six months.

On the competition front, other answer engines are reporting strong engagement and much longer session times than traditional search, indicating deep user interaction. If people are getting instant answers without clicking through to your careers site, it doesn’t mean your vacancies disappear. It means you need to think differently about visibility and impact.

Some answer engines cite sources, while others may paraphrase content without a link. Either way, measuring the value of your recruitment campaigns becomes harder when the traditional click‑to‑visit path is broken.

This is where analytics and attribution come in. By tying together multiple touchpoints throughout the candidate journey – from the first search to the final application or call – you can still prove the role your efforts play, even if the journey looks less linear than before. Call‑tracking and conversation‑analytics tools, for example, let you see which campaigns are driving honest conversations with candidates, not just clicks, helping you close the gap between what happens on an answer engine and what happens on your careers site.

How careers platforms can adapt to answer engines

In response, careers‑site managers are turning to AI‑optimisation practices – from structured markup to llms.txt files – to be cited in AI‑generated answers. Here’s how to make sure you’re still showing up:

Be present in answer engines and AI overviews

It’s not just about ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs) anymore. You need to look at ways your website and resources can actively appear in answer engines and AI overviews when candidates ask questions about roles, salaries or interview tips. Also, keep an eye on emerging opportunities, such as answer‑engine ads, while competition is still low.

Make sure your website is answer‑engine‑ready

Answer engines need structured, trustworthy content to appear for queries. Focus on:

Content: Write pages that directly answer job seekers’ questions, in clear language. Think FAQs about roles, application processes and career advice. Keep your pages updated and refresh them regularly.

Tech setup: Use schema markup and semantic tags, keep your site fast and consider implementing an llms.txt file to guide AI crawlers (it’s important to note that it’s still early days for this and not being formally picked up by the major answer engines).

Authority: Show expertise with author profiles, up‑to‑date research and information, and citations from high‑authority sites in the career‑development space.

Understand the whole candidate journey

Clicks aren’t disappearing completely, but they’re only part of the picture now. Many enquiries will come through ‘dark’ routes, where someone sees your answer in an engine and calls or applies without visiting your site. Call tracking, marketing analytics and attribution are key here. They let you link enquiries to the channels and touchpoints that influenced them, even when there’s no obvious digital footprint.

How to track and analyse performance from answer engines

The rise of answer engines doesn’t mean traditional SEO or PPC stops mattering – far from it. But it does mean you need to adjust your tracking and measurement. Some practical steps are:

Monitor visibility in answer engines: Track when your brand or job postings are cited in AI overviews or answer‑engine results, even if you don’t get the click.

Use trackable assets: Use attribution tools and call tracking to understand where leads really start. UTM tags, trackable phone numbers, dedicated landing pages and QR codes, for example, give you clearer attribution.

Optimise beyond the click: Create content that answer engines can surface (clear, authoritative, well‑structured), but make sure you’re tracking the outcomes that matter, such as calls, applications, hires and return on investment.

Analyse ‘direct’ traffic and offline engagement: Combine web analytics with conversation analytics tools to uncover the real intent behind candidate enquiries and measure the uplift from AI visibility.

Bring it all together: Marketing attribution tools can connect fragmented journeys – from an AI mention to a direct call or application – giving you a clearer picture of performance and ROI.

Stay flexible: Tools like Google’s AI mode are evolving quickly. What works today may not work tomorrow.

Some answer engines automatically add ‘UTM Source tags’ to the links they display. These tags allow you to see exactly where traffic is coming from. By including these parameters in your tracking setup, you can continue to monitor the source of enquiries, ensuring your attribution data stays accurate even when traffic comes through new channels like answer engines.

In short

The search landscape isn’t vanishing – it’s transforming. Answer engines are shortening the journey from question to answer, which means careers websites and recruiters need to measure success differently. If you can adapt your tracking, analytics and attribution to follow the outcome – not just the click – you’ll stay ahead, no matter which engine your candidates are using. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to share more thoughts around SEO, AEO and something we’re calling XEO. Everything Engine Optimisation.

Need a little help?

We hope you’ve found this article helpful. If you need help, support, or just a chat about your employer brand or talent strategy, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Between you and me, much of our best work has started with a cup of tea, a chocolate Hobnob and a video call.

Jun 01
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That Little Agency - Employer Branding - Careers Websites - Content Marketing - Social Media Image

Building a business case for content marketing

By Content marketing

You know that little voice in your head saying, “We should really be doing more with our content”?  We hear it too. Especially when it comes to using content marketing to build your employer brand. If you’ve got the urge to get moving but need to convince the powers that be, whether it’s your HR Director, a budget holder, or a sceptical stakeholder, this blog’s for you. Let’s talk about how to put together a simple, solid business case that’ll help get your content marketing dreams off the ground and into action.

Start with why (and be real)

Here’s the truth: whether you like it or not, your employer brand already exists. It’s out there, being shaped every day by Glassdoor reviews, LinkedIn comments, and whispered messages in DMs. People talk. Especially online. So, your real question is: Do we want to be part of the conversation, or let others define it for us? Content marketing gives you the chance to take control of your story. To share what it’s really like to work for you. And to attract people who’ll actually thrive in your culture.

A few useful statistics:

  • 75% of job seekers check out a company’s reputation before applying. (Glassdoor)
  • 70% are more likely to apply to companies that share stories about their people and culture. (TalentLyft)

Set a realistic goal

Content marketing won’t magically solve all your hiring problems overnight. And that’s okay. Your goal here isn’t to fill every open role by Tuesday. It’s to build momentum. To strengthen your reputation as a great place to work. To help the right people find you and feel good about clicking “Apply.” Keep it high level, but real. Something like “We want to use content to build awareness of our culture, grow our reputation, and attract better-aligned candidates.” That’s a lot more convincing (and achievable) than promising a 50% spike in applications within a week.

Pin down some clear objectives

Now you’ve got your big-picture goal, you’ll want to break it down into a few things you actually want your content to do.

Here are three good starters:

Raise awareness: Put your name out there as an employer people want to work for.
Show what it’s like to work with you: Use real stories, behind-the-scenes moments, and insights to help candidates imagine themselves on your team.
Encourage better applications: When people understand your vibe, values, and expectations, they’re more likely to apply for the right reasons.

These are the kind of things content does best. Not just filling roles, but helping the right people feel excited about joining you.

Add some proof (because numbers talk)

Now’s the time to back it up with a few facts and stats that show content marketing works. Not just for clicks, but for real business results. Try these on for size:

  • Companies with strong employer brands see a 28% lower turnover rate. (LinkedIn)
  • 92% of recruiters say employer branding improves their hiring efforts. (LinkedIn Talent Solutions)
  • Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing, and generates about three times more leads. (Demand Metric)

That’s a whole lot of value. And far more efficient than expensive job ads that get ignored.

Share what success could look like

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just paint a picture of what good could look like. For example, we’ll move from vague job posts, little social activity and candidates who ghost after interviews. To a library of stories from your people, engaging posts that spark conversation, and applicants who “already feel like they know us.”

The best content helps candidates self-select, so you’re not wasting time interviewing people who don’t fit. And here’s a bonus: people love working somewhere that’s proud of its culture. So, this isn’t just about recruitment. It’s about retention too.

Think multi-channel, not one-hit wonder

This isn’t just a blog here, a LinkedIn post there. Great employer branding content works across platforms:

  • Social media: Behind-the-scenes reels, day-in-the-life stories, culture spotlights.
  • Your careers site: Interviews, testimonials, videos showing off your space (even if it’s remote).
  • Job descriptions: Clear, human language that matches your tone and values.
  • Email campaigns: Warm up cold candidates with content that feels personal.

And don’t forget employee-generated content. It gets eight times more engagement than company posts. (Social Media Today)

Make your money talk

Alright, the big question: “How much is this going to cost?” Here’s your answer: not much, if you do it right. Content marketing is one of the most cost-effective tools out there. Think of it like this. A blog costs less than a big recruitment ad. And it keeps working for you long after it’s published. Plus, companies with strong employer brands see 43% lower cost-per-hire. (LinkedIn) So yes, there’s some time and effort involved, but the return? Totally worth it.

Build it with what you’ve got

Don’t wait for the perfect plan. Start small.

  • Ask your people for stories.
  • Share a team photo with a simple caption about what you’re celebrating.
  • Film a short video walking around the office (or on Zoom!) and let someone explain why they love working there.

This kind of content is authentic, engaging, and way more effective than polished-but-sterile corporate fluff.

In short

When you’re making the case for content marketing in employer branding, hit these key points:

  • People are already talking about you. Content helps shape that conversation.
  • Candidates want to know what it’s really like to work with you.
  • Good content attracts the right people and makes your hiring process more efficient.
  • It’s cost-effective, measurable over time, and great for both recruitment and retention.

Want some help?

If you’re thinking “Yes, this all makes sense but I still don’t know where to start”, that’s where we come in. We’ve helped businesses big and small get their employer brand out there with real, relatable content that people actually want to read, watch, and share. Drop us a message. We’re always up for a chat. And the kettle’s already on.

Apr 17
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That Little Agency - Emploter Branding Agency - Careers Websites - Content Marketing - Glassdoor Icon

How to encourage your people to leave a good Glassdoor review

By Content marketing

In today’s competitive job market, businesses are always looking for ways to attract top talent without breaking the bank. So, ensuring your business has a good online reputation should be high on your list of priorities. When we buy products online, who doesn’t check the reviews first? It’s a simple way to ensure we’re getting the value we expect, and the same goes for job hunters. Before jumping into a new role, candidates want to be sure it’s as great as advertised. After all, switching jobs due to unmet expectations doesn’t look great on anyone’s CV.

That’s where sites like Glassdoor come in. As more candidates turn to workplace review sites to make informed decisions, employers have a huge opportunity to showcase what makes their business great – without needing to spend a fortune.

But how to encourage your people to leave reviews without feeling like you’re begging for approval, or that you’re applying pressure on them to say positive things about your business and your culture when they might feel differently? Here are 10 steps you can take to get your employees on board with sharing their experiences, without it feeling like an extra chore or an uncomfortable ask they’ll try to avoid.

1. Ensure yours is a positive working environment

You can’t expect glowing reviews if your workplace isn’t glowing. A supportive, engaging environment is the foundation for authentic, positive feedback. Happy employees are naturally more inclined to share their great experiences. To foster this, make it a habit to regularly check in with your team, seek their feedback, and, most importantly, act on it. Then they’ll be much more likely to share their positive experiences with the world.

2. Introduce Glassdoor and its value

If you want employees to leave reviews, help them understand why it matters. Take time to explain how Glassdoor impacts your company’s reputation and attracts top talent. When employees realise their feedback contributes to the bigger picture, they’ll be more invested in sharing their honest experiences. Make them feel like their voice truly counts.

3. Get your company’s Glassdoor profile ‘unlocked’

Unlocking your company’s Glassdoor profile is a small investment with big returns. It allows you to showcase richer content like photos, job postings, and videos, giving potential employees a real taste of your company culture. Plus, your current team will appreciate seeing a Glassdoor page that reflects the company they know and love. It builds pride and connection.

4. Make reviews part of the employee experience

Integrate review opportunities into key moments of the employee journey:

Onboarding: New hires are full of excitement, so ask them about their first impressions.
Work anniversaries: Reflecting on growth and milestones is the perfect time to gather feedback.
Promotions and milestones: Celebrate career progress while gathering insights into their journey so far.
Exit interviews: Even departing employees can share balanced, thoughtful feedback.

This approach keeps your Glassdoor page fresh and active.

5. Simplify the process – offer a clear “How to” guide

Make leaving a review a breeze by providing clear, step-by-step instructions. Not everyone’s familiar with how Glassdoor works, so guide them through the process. Offer simple, easy-to-follow steps to ensure they feel comfortable sharing their feedback without stress or confusion. The simpler you make it, the more likely they’ll take the time to write a review.

6. Encourage open and honest feedback

Let your team know that honest feedback is not only encouraged, but it’s genuinely valued. Make it clear there’s no pressure to leave only positive comments – authenticity is key. Whether they’re sharing praise or constructive criticism, giving employees the freedom to be open creates a culture of trust. Plus, potential candidates can spot fake reviews a mile off, so be upfront about the good and the bad.

7. Make it more fun – gamify the process

Glassdoor doesn’t allow incentivised reviews (and rightfully so!), but you can still make the review process fun and engaging with a bit of healthy competition. Create a friendly leaderboard, showing which departments have the most Glassdoor engagement. Give shout-outs to employees and teams who actively participate. This approach will help encourage everyone to join in without feeling forced. Who doesn’t love a bit of friendly competition?

8. Respond to reviews

Actively monitoring and responding to reviews on Glassdoor is essential for creating a transparent, open dialogue with your employees. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, showing you’ve engaged with it lets your team know you genuinely care about their opinions. By acknowledging reviews in a meaningful way, you’re reinforcing the idea that employee feedback drives progress and contributes to a better workplace for everyone.

9. Feature reviews in your internal communications

If you want your team to leave reviews, show them what happens when they do. Feature positive reviews in your internal communications; think company newsletters, all-hands meetings, or even on your social media pages. You could also use employee testimonials as part of your recruitment strategy. Why? Because doing so creates a culture of recognition. When employees see their peers being celebrated for sharing their experiences, it encourages them to do the same.

10. Make reviews a catalyst for change

Glassdoor reviews aren’t just for external branding – they should drive real change. When employees see that their feedback leads to improvements, they’re more likely to leave reviews in the future. Hold regular town halls to discuss common themes in reviews and outline steps you’re taking to make change. When feedback translates into action, employees will be even more motivated to share their thoughts.

In short, keep it real!

The key to encouraging positive Glassdoor reviews is to create an environment where your people genuinely want to share their experiences. By making reviews a regular part of your company culture, recognising employee contributions, and ensuring that feedback leads to meaningful change, you’ll be building a stronger employer brand – one authentic review at a time.

Need a little help?

We hope you’ve found this content helpful. If you want help, support or even just a chat about this or any aspect of your employer brand or talent strategy, drop us a line. After all, much of our best work has started with a cup of tea or a Zoom call.

Oct 01
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Careers websites vs. LinkedIn company pages

By Careers websites, Content marketing

So which is best? Well, there is only one way to find out…

Or we can just discuss the pros and cons.

In today’s competitive job market, businesses need to leverage every tool available to attract top talent. Two of the most popular platforms for this purpose are company careers websites and LinkedIn company pages. Both serve as powerful recruitment channels, but they offer distinct advantages. Understanding the differences between the two can help you create a better talent acquisition strategy. So let’s compare the benefits of having a dedicated careers website versus using a LinkedIn company page for recruitment.

Customisation and branding

Careers website

A careers website gives you complete control over how you present your company. You can fully customise the design, layout, and content to reflect your company’s culture, mission, and values. A well-designed careers page is more than just a place to list job openings – it can be an extension of your brand that showcases your workplace culture through employee testimonials, videos, and other engaging content.

LinkedIn company page

LinkedIn offers some customisation, but it’s limited by the platform’s uniform template. While you can add a company description, logo, and banner image, it doesn’t allow the same level of creativity in layout or interactive features. However, since LinkedIn is a professional network, job seekers already associate it with job opportunities and professional development, giving your LinkedIn page a strong, built-in credibility.

Winner: Careers website

When it comes to branding, a careers website offers much more flexibility to craft a unique and memorable candidate experience.

Reach and visibility

Careers website

Your careers website’s visibility is largely dependent on your SEO efforts and how well it’s integrated into your overall digital presence. For example, optimising job descriptions for search engines and promoting them through social media can help increase traffic. However, your careers website primarily reaches people who are already aware of your brand or are specifically searching for job opportunities.

LinkedIn company page

LinkedIn has over 900 million users globally, giving your job postings access to an enormous pool of potential candidates. With LinkedIn, you benefit from the platform’s sophisticated algorithms that recommend your job postings to the right people based on their skills, experiences, and location. In addition, LinkedIn allows you to build a community of followers who will automatically be notified when new roles are posted.

Winner: LinkedIn company page

For sheer reach and targeted visibility, LinkedIn’s vast network and algorithm-driven recommendations give it a significant advantage over a standalone careers website.

Candidate experience

Careers website

A careers website allows you to create a streamlined, user-friendly experience specifically tailored to job seekers. You can offer an intuitive application process, provide additional resources (such as FAQs or company benefits), and integrate with applicant tracking systems (ATS) for a smooth, end-to-end process.

LinkedIn company page

LinkedIn provides a familiar platform for candidates, and many job seekers appreciate the convenience of applying directly through their LinkedIn profiles. However, the experience is more standardised. While this can be efficient, it doesn’t offer as much room for personalisation or branding. Additionally, some candidates may prefer to apply via a company’s dedicated portal, which may feel more formal and professional.

Winner: Careers website

A well-designed careers website offers a more tailored and comprehensive experience for candidates, from learning about your culture to submitting applications in an intuitive way.

Employer branding

Careers website

A careers website gives you a dedicated space to highlight your company culture in a meaningful way. You can share detailed stories about your employees, showcase team events, or dive into the values that make your workplace unique. This gives candidates a deeper sense of your company beyond the job description, which can be a deciding factor for many job seekers.

LinkedIn company page

LinkedIn allows you to share posts, company updates, and employee stories, but the presentation is more limited. It’s ideal for quick updates and posts but lacks the depth and personalisation a careers website can offer. That said, LinkedIn’s professional environment makes it easy for potential candidates to view mutual connections, get recommendations, and engage with employees.

Winner: Careers website

For companies serious about showcasing their employer brand and work culture, a careers website offers the depth and flexibility needed to leave a lasting impression.

Cost and resources

Careers website

Building and maintaining a careers website requires time, effort, and budget. You’ll need to invest in web development, content creation, and potentially ongoing SEO efforts. If integrated with an ATS, there may also be associated costs. However, these upfront expenses often pay off in the long run, especially for larger companies with frequent hiring needs.

LinkedIn company page

A LinkedIn company page is relatively low-cost to maintain. While posting jobs on LinkedIn may come with fees, especially for premium listings, creating and updating the company page itself is free. It’s also less resource-intensive since LinkedIn handles the technical infrastructure. Additionally, you benefit from LinkedIn’s built-in network and professional focus, which can save costs on advertising and SEO efforts.

Winner: LinkedIn company page

If cost and resource efficiency are priorities, a LinkedIn company page requires less investment and ongoing maintenance than a fully customised careers website.

Data and analytics

Careers website

When candidates apply through your careers website, you can gain deeper insights into their journey. You can track how visitors navigate the site, which pages they visit, and where drop-offs occur during the application process. These metrics are invaluable for optimising the candidate experience. You can also leverage this data to fine-tune your recruitment marketing strategy, from SEO to engagement with different types of content.

LinkedIn company page

LinkedIn provides valuable analytics about your audience and job applicants. You can see the demographics of people viewing your page, the number of followers, and engagement metrics. Additionally, LinkedIn Talent Insights offers more granular data on the job market, skills in demand, and competitor hiring trends. However, the data is limited to what LinkedIn provides, and you have less control over customising your insights.

Winner: Careers website

For companies looking to build detailed, proprietary insights into their recruitment funnel, a careers website offers more control over data and analytics.

In short

Both a careers website and a LinkedIn company page play vital roles in modern recruitment strategies.

  • A careers website offers more control over branding, candidate experience, and detailed data, making it ideal for companies that want a comprehensive and tailored recruitment platform.
  • A LinkedIn company page provides broad reach, lower costs, and a ready-made audience of professionals, making it a great tool for quickly connecting with potential candidates.

Ultimately, the best solution may involve using both. A careers website can serve as a deep branding hub, while LinkedIn can amplify your reach and connect you with passive job seekers. Combining the strengths of both platforms can create a holistic and effective hiring strategy that drives results.

Need a little help?

If you’d like some help, support, or even a little chat about LinkedIn and your careers site or any aspect of your employer brand and talent attraction strategy, just get in touch. After all, much of our best work has started with a cup of tea and a Zoom call.

Sep 11
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Employee advocacy

Employee advocacy – the secret sauce to attracting talent to your LinkedIn page

By Content marketing

Here’s something every recruiter should know… While LinkedIn is about personal profiles and connections, 40% of users also engage with LinkedIn company pages each week. And active pages receive up to 5 times more engagement. (Source: Hubspot).

This should make your LinkedIn company page a vibrant hub to promote your culture and all that’s great about working for you. But the secret is to get your people engaged with your content. With their help it can have huge reach – and that’s what employee advocacy is all about.

Last year we wrote what has turned into one of our most read articles, ‘Promoting your employer brand on LinkedIn.’ This is a kind of ‘part 2’ to that earlier article. In this one we are going to cover why your people should get involved (employee advocacy) and share some tips to maximise your company page.

And, while there are LinkedIn careers features that come at an additional cost, all of this relates to the free company page that all organisations can and should own and develop.

Why employee advocacy works

  • Getting your employees engaged as advocates can make a big difference to your content reach. Click through can increase by 50% when employees share company content via their networks. Source: LinkedIn.
  • And perhaps this explains why… On average, an employees’ network is at least 10x larger than a company’s follower base. Source: LinkedIn.

A quick takeaway from all of this… company pages get a lot more visitors than perhaps you thought, and employees have the reach you need to share your content.

So, what is employee advocacy?

It’s when your people feel engaged and excited by working for you to the extent that they are happy to share company news, careers content, vacancies – in fact any positive aspect. Often this includes your culture, values and CSR activities. In a LinkedIn context they’ll be happy to share this via their personal profiles to their networks and their reach is often far greater than the organisation enjoys.

Some employers leave their people with a free reign to share what they want which can be perfectly fine. However, those that put a little strategy into employee advocacy may find that it pays off in terms of consistency and encourages more to get involved.

Our tips to make employee advocacy work

Engage and motivate your people

Often seeing the leadership team talking about what the business is doing on LinkedIn sends a message to others to get involved. But it’s not just high-profile LinkedIn users like Sir Richard Branson who can benefit. It’s worth explaining that everyone can win from employee advocacy. Employee advocacy helps them build their professional reputation and personal brand and networks in the process.

Show them how

While acknowledging those who already do it, show others how it can be done. Give them examples and ideas, run workshops and training sessions, but don’t make it a one off. It has to be something that’s ongoing, whether you do a big session, a monthly catch-up or it’s part of a team meeting.

Give them the tools

One of the great things about LinkedIn is that you don’t have to create new content to take part. Sharing what others have written is a very good way to participate – just as long as they know what’s there. So, don’t forget to let them know what’s been published on your company page – or indeed what career stories on your own carers page could make great LinkedIn posts. Why not recommend posts to your employees that they could be sharing? And, if they want to write their own, share what a well-structured post looks like.

Create LinkedIn ‘Champions’

This can be an effective way to bridge the gap from wanting to do it actually taking part. Encourage your champions to share content and talk about what they’ve done on LinkedIn and what reaction they got and the impact or a new opportunity that they found.

Optimise all personal profiles

It goes without saying but everyone who shares content needs to have a profile that is as well set up as possible. This includes being able to see what they do in your organisation. While not everyone wants to carry their employer’s branding, it does look consistent if you provide a branded banner. Candidates and customers will be looking at your people – make it a good first impression.

Enhancing your LinkedIn company page

Now that your people are up and running to share all that’s best about working for you, you’ll want your page to be as good as it can be.

Make it about your people first

The difference between a vibrant LinkedIn page and those covered in ‘digital tumbleweed’ is the people content. If you want potential employees to see themselves working for you, you need to show them people just like them. That means content about your people – like events, career profiles or appointments and promotions. Don’t fill it with sales and marketing info and expect your people to want to share that. The best LinkedIn company pages are about people and values and then shared by individual profiles.

Talk about your culture, commitments and CSR

77% of candidates are actively searching for examples of an organisation’s culture according to Glassdoor. This is a powerful stat and should influence your page content. Showing this through activities such as volunteering and community engagement brings it to life more convincingly than merely telling it.

Adding a paid careers page

All of the above are tips to help your people get engaged with your free company page. But should you, as a recruiter, invest in some of LinkedIn’s paid for careers features? There are certainly advantages – users can search for job opportunities, register their interest in working for you and, by adding a life tab, you can create a window into your culture and commitments. In fact, we think this is a topic all in itself – which is why we are going to cover the pros and cons of a LinkedIn careers page and compare it to having your own careers page in our next blog.

In conclusion

We believe that every employer should be able to benefit from the exposure a well-run LinkedIn company page offers their employer brand. But, while more LinkedIn users visit a company page than you might have been aware, the real magic happens when your people become advocates for working for you and sharing your content and stories. Getting them onboard with your page is the key to benefiting from the 10x reach they have compared to the organisation itself.

Need a little help?

If you feel that you’d like some help, support or even a little chat around your LinkedIn recruiting activity or any aspect of your employer brand and talent attraction strategy just drop us a line. After all, much of our best work has started with a cup of tea and a Zoom call.

Thumbnail image by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Apr 19
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SEO friendly Employer branding

Top tips for SEO friendly employer branding content

By Content marketing

You want to reach your target candidates so they engage with your employer story. Good content can help you do this and enhance your employer brand, particularly if it’s SEO friendly. You might be thinking this is something that only so-called SEO experts can help with. Not so. The good news is that you, the busy recruiter, can become your own SEO superstar. And that’s a great skill to have.

SEO – or ‘search engine optimisation’ to give its full name isn’t rocket science – but there are a few tactics you’ll need to know. We’ve shared our top tips and ideas to give your very own articles, blogs and other content an SEO friendly boost.

1: Write good content and tell compelling stories

The first rule of good SEO is to produce content that people will want to read and share with others. That’s how you really boost content reach. If it fails on this count, it’ll fail no matter what else you do. So, have a plan for who your readers are and what you want them to know. If you are writing about a particular topic or area within your business, what makes it interesting? How do you do it differently? How does it align with your values? What would a candidate find really interesting?

Asking the right questions will help you discover much of this. And it just so happens that we’ve created a guide on how to do this. It’ll help you capture the authentic voices that reflect the vibrant spirit of your business – just what you need to create really great content. So check out ‘Blog-writing – how to turn a great conversation into a remarkable story’.

2: Research relevant keywords

This is where you need to put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Good SEO is all about making sure your readers and candidates are able to find what they’re looking for. So, what words would help them find your content? What terms, acronyms etc. would that be? This will give you the keywords to use in your text and also in the SEO plugin on your site – more of that later.

There’s no shortage of tools purpose-built for keyword research and some are more complex than others. The Moz Keyword Explorer is one of the best all-around free SEO keyword research tools. Simply enter your term and the country in which you are based. You’ll get a handy list of keywords – and short phrase suggestions. And you’ll be able to see whether they are popular or not. But don’t be too put off if a very specific keyword has a low ranking. If they are niche terms your intended audience will be looking for, then you’ll still need to use them.

3: Structure your story – and remember WIFM

WIFM? What’s in it for me. It’s what any reader wants to know. If they can’t see what you are trying to say or find the value, they won’t give you five minutes of their valuable time. So, don’t make it hard – tell them what you are going to tell them. Start with an introduction (your topic and what they’ll learn), move onto the body of the article (where you’ll cover the main points) and end with a conclusion (the main point you want them to remember). Then, create a ‘call to action’ (what you want them to do or go to next). 

4: Think layout – paragraphs, subheadings and visuals

Your ideal blog length might be 600-800 words. That’s a lot of text. It’s important to break this up but in a way that makes sense and helps both the reader and your SEO. It’s a good idea to mention the main keywords in the opening paragraph but not excessively so. And paragraphs work well when they have their own topic or theme. Clear subheadings help your reader to work out the structure and perhaps where to head to if they are skimming for relevance. In a recruitment / employer brand context you might talk about your culture and values, types of roles in a function, the benefits on offer and maybe links to other information which could be a video or perhaps how to apply.

And why not add a visual – this will certainly help the content to display with more interest when you link to it from LinkedIn for example. Content with visuals receive vastly more views. From an SEO perspective, Google doesn’t just search for keywords in text, it also searches for how image files are saved and titled. If your post uses an image and you’ve called it ‘Image1’ when you load it to your site, that won’t mean anything or help your SEO, but ‘Women in IT image – Data Science Jobs – (Company Name) Careers’ will.

5: Link to other internal content

You’ve probably already produced other related content. Don’t forget to link to it from within the new article, like we did in the first section above. It helps readers find other things of interest, it keeps them to stay on your site for longer and it helps SEO. Google likes it because it helps them manage your content and understand relationships between different content on your site. What’s more, it will make your new and existing content stronger, because you show your authority on the subject. For example, if you are reading this article about creating SEO friendly employer branding content, you might also be interested in our related article ‘How to improve the SEO of your careers website.’ So, we’ve included a handy internal link for you to find it. Now, isn’t that user friendly and helpful? Oh, and we also mentioned the article’s main keyword phrase again too.

6: Keep publishing new content – it’s good for your SEO

There’s no doubt you have plenty going on in your business. New projects, new people joining, important work being done in your sector and of course new roles being created. You probably have more to cover in new content than you think. Adding fresh content helps your SEO as it tells Google that your website is alive and well. If you stop or slow down your rate of publishing, Google will crawl your site less often and that will have a detrimental effect on your careers site ranking.

But please don’t compromise on quality just to keep adding content. It all has to capture the real essence and personality of your business and your people. Yes, AI is a tempting option, but it can only use the information it pulls from the web. It might be able to write about a certain type of role, but it can’t capture the human stories that create your culture.  This point takes us full circle back to where we started. Good SEO depends on content that people will want to read and share with others.

For more guidance on what goes into creating good content and how to promote it, please read our article ‘Content marketing for recruiters. Engaging candidates with your employer brand.’

7: Use your SEO plugin

Every website, whatever the platform it’s built on will almost certainly have some form of SEO module or plugin. For example, in WordPress sites this is often called Yoast. They cover a number of aspects of good SEO. They can check your content to make sure your chosen keyword is optimised and used in the right places. They also check on related key phrases and the quality of the readability of your text. The SEO plugin will also enable you to set up your content to display properly when shared in social media and ensures an image is loaded which will create visual interest. It’s really worth investing a little time to get this right, you’ve worked hard on producing great content so give it the SEO juice to help it fly.

Conclusion

While there are a number of things you should do to maximise the SEO of your content, most of them are manageable and shouldn’t put you off managing your own careers site SEO. However, the best rule of SEO is to invest the time and resources to create the kind of content that your audience will want to read and engage with. That’s what will lead to more links, shares via LinkedIn and returning visitors to your website.

Need a little help?

We hope this article on careers content SEO has been helpful. If you feel that you’d like some help, support or even a little chat around this or any aspect of your employer brand and talent attraction strategy just drop us a line. After all, much of our best work has started with a cup of tea and a Zoom call.

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