Free search has become a critically useful application of the Internet. Search engines are commonly known for their ability to organically index and then rank the “homepage” of your company Web site, funneling targeted traffic that numbers in the millions to the company homepage. The ability to be found - combined with a concerted effort to optimize - is a crucial strategy for just about any business in today’s world. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies are about your ability to be found by those that are searching for you.

The benefits of “Internet search” have proven elusive to HR related goals of the company. This is because the jobs or careers page of your company has evolved to become embedded somewhere behind the company’s home page, making it difficult for search engines to find, index, and then rank it. Put another way, you are invisible.

.jobs unlocks the value of search by allowing your www.companyname.jobs to act and be “seen” as a homepage by the major search engines. When you are seen, then you are indexed. All of the benefits of Optimization are then at your finger tips.

Some proven methods to begin the Search Engine Optimization process for your www.companyname.jobs are as follows:

• Make sure your www.companyname.jobs domain is hosted on your company's server.
• Make sure your home page links to your new, standalone www.companyname.jobs site.
• If you want to “redirect” your www.companynmame.jobs to an existing jobs or careers page, make sure this is a 301 redirect. Your Webmaster will know exactly what this means. If you ask for a simple “URL forward”, then you can expect the same lack of enthusiasm from search engines that you get today. If it is to be a redirect, make sure it is a 301 redirect.
• Carry the mindset that your www.companyname.jobs is its own homepage (because it is!). Search engines “match” the relevancy of your site partly based on the words that it “sees”. Think of the target audience that you want to find you, the keywords they are searching for when using a search engine, and cater your site design to these folks so that they will find you first.
• The more pages, the better. Don't be afraid to use your www.companyname.jobs site. Add pages talking about your culture, benefits, favorable press, etc. Search engines have proven to favor “homepages” that are deep with quality content.
• Your jobs can be your best weapon for content. Don’t make them invisible to search engines! Work with your Web team or applicant tracking solutions provider to create search engine-friendly job listings.

If you have acquired your www.companyname.jobs, have established it to act and be seen as its own homepage on the Net, then proven SEO strategies are – for the first time - at your finger tips. For additional information on optimizing your .jobs site for search engines, contact Joel Cheesman (joel@goto.jobs) or visit www.hrseo.com.

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