If search engine optimization is a process you are considering or have already attempted, odds are you have consulted more than a few resources that are ready to educate you on what exactly SEO is. As consultants for SEO specifically within the recruiting and staffing industry, we constantly engage with clients who are eager to improve their rankings and increase their visibility; however, we inevitably connect with numerous business owners who somewhere along the way have picked up bad SEO habits or have been misinformed about how a search engine optimization strategy would best be incorporated. Recruiter website SEO is especially unique as each firm’s message is slightly altered by the industries they serve and the audience they are trying to reach.

Following is a short list of a few of the things we have identified as common misconceptions about recruiter website SEO. Each item should be preceded by the phrase “SEO isn’t…”:

...a tool for self-search.

More often than we should, we hear “I want to rank higher for my name.” The primary idea surrounding recruiter website SEO is that you are trying to become more visible to clients and/or candidates who don’t know you. People searching your name are most likely already aware of who you are and the business you represent. Optimizing a page to focus on one’s name is more than just a wasted effort. It’s also a wasted opportunity for a more relevant search term that would be more beneficial to driving users to your website. When thinking of the best search phrases to optimize for, ask yourself the likelihood of someone typing that phrase into their search engine of choice. If you are approaching SEO as a better way to find yourself, maybe consider taking a pilgrimage to Tibet or Burning Man instead.

…an event.

“Make me show up at the top of search engine results.” This is a bold request, and I can’t fault anyone for demanding it. Can we or anyone else (beyond Google and Bing themselves) absolutely deliver on this? If we are speaking in terms of organic SEO, of course not. Can we greatly improve your ranking, probably get you to the front page and possibly take you to the top? You bet. But this is where we get honest. There is no magic switch that we flip and instantly improve your visibility. Recruiter website SEO is not a single event or action but rather a process that must be continually monitored and maintained. If someone is promising to take you to the top, remember that even if they do deliver (they probably won’t) your success will last as long as it takes for another competitor in your space to tackle the same keyword phrase.

…a replacement for the phone.

No amount of technological assistance will replace the deeply personal work that is recruiting. Connecting with clients and candidates on a human level is the foundation for a successful recruiting and staffing organization. Efforts such as recruiter website SEO should be viewed as ways to maximize and enhance the work you do on a day-to-day basis. If you are approaching SEO as an equivalent alternative to hitting the phone and reaching out, then you are setting yourself and your recruiter website SEO efforts up for failure.

There aren’t shortcuts to success and there certainly aren’t shortcuts to improving recruiter website SEO. The cliché that “anything too good to be true probably is” is as relevant as ever. A successful recruiting firm and successful SEO efforts require commitment to the process and objectivity when concerning the metrics and best practices. If you are committed to success, then it only makes sense to partner with a firm that values the honesty and tenacity required to achieve that success.