Dan Briody of msn.com recently wrote a great article on how to make your web advertising more effective.  As the internet is such a relatively inexpensive way to promote your products and is quickly rendering other forms of marketing obsolete, I thought that he offered a valuable tip on how to get your website to pop up on a search engine more often than your competitors.  He says,

“Realistically, the chance of a potential customer randomly stumbling across your site is, well, one in a trillion. That’s why Internet marketers talk about search engine optimization, which is simply a fancy term for ways to increase your company’s chances of being found by search engines.  Fortunately, it’s not as hard as you think. Search engines are not complicated. They like two things: 1) content, and lots of it, the fresher the better; and 2) links, either to or from your Website.

First, I want to talk about content. Your Web site may have flash animation, the finest design and a really great shopping cart. But if it sits there for years, unchanging, offering the same 12 static pages, the only search terms that will bring it up are “boring Web sites that add no value to anyone.” So start updating your content, and keep updating it if you want search engines (and customers) to find you!

Search engines look for dynamic, active sites. They want content that changes frequently and builds on itself. They want blogs, commentary, feeds, polls and user-generated content. A blog is the easiest way to start generating relevant content. Be sure to blog about things your customers care about. For example, if you run a real-estate firm, blog about mortgage rates and refinancing options. If you run a restaurant, blog about food. Offer advice, link to interesting articles, record a podcast, film a video.”

About 22% of hiring managers say they look for job candidates’ profiles on social networking sites, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder. That’s up from 11% who said they did so in 2006.

Also, 9% said they’re probably going to start using the Web to help in hiring decisions.

How are they using the information candidates post? Of the managers who check the sites, 34% said they’d found cause to remove an applicant from consideration. Most of the time, it was because the candidate talked about drinking or using drugs, posted inappropriate pictures or had noticeably poor communication skills.

Among the disqualifying profile content:

• 41% of candidates had information or photos of them drinking or using drugs.
• 40% of the profiles had provocative or inappropriate photographs or text.
• 29% of those profiles revealed the candidate’s poor communication skills.

On the other hand, roughly one quarter of those managers found info that solidified their decision to hire someone, such as background supporting their qualification for the job, creativity, diverse interests and a general professional appearance.

Among the positive content that got candidates noticed:

• 48% of the profiles showed that the candidate had the background that qualified them for the job.
• 36% of the candidate sites conveyed a professional image
• 31% of the profiles had glowing references posted by others
• 24% of the profiles showed great creativity.

Any problems?

Of course, the big question on Workforce Solutions’ HR mind: Are there any legal dangers or other problems to worry about?

There is the possibility of a manager learning about a candidate being in protected class, which could result in a bias claim if the person isn’t hired.

Beyond legal concerns, there’s also the danger of mistaken identity, especially if the candidate has a common name. Also, some argue that what someone posts online won’t necessarily have anything to do with their job performance (even if they were dumb enough to put questionable items online in the first place).

What do you think? Have you as an HR manager ever checked out applicants on the Web? Do you think it’s a good idea, or a terrible one? Let Workforce Solutions know by leaving a comment below.

Not very, say some of the people using them. When asked if most online job boards provide a “quality service” to candidates and companies, more than three quarters of HR pros answered “no” in a recent survey conducted by recruiting expert Matt Peterson of Workforce Solutions, Inc.

What are the biggest problems? The boards’ pricing strategy was a big  one, as well as the difficulty of searching through resume databases:

• More than 65% said paying for each post failed to get good results at a decent value. Most would prefer to pay only after they found a hire.
• About 55% “strongly disagreed” that resume searching uncovers quality candidates (another 20% “moderately disagreed”).

Get the most out of job boards

If satisfaction is so low, what are companies doing instead? Many companies have started posting to free job or classified sites (like Craigslist and KSL.com) or using niche sites that cover only specific industries, job types or geographic areas.

That said, the general boards are still popular. When the survey respondents were asked what they do when they have to advertise an opening, the top choice was — you guessed it — “post on general job boards.”

So what can companies do to get more value out of those tools? Avoiding these common mistakes should help:

• Writing a laundry list of “requirements” — Hiring managers sometimes fail to distinguish between skills employees can learn on the job and the qualities and experience they must already have in order to succeed. If the list isn’t whittled down to the necessities, a crop of great talent could be turned away before they even finish reading your ad.
• Being too general — The reverse is also true: Writing a job description with too few qualifications will only result in a flood of undesirable candidates. Help the manager find a balance between keeping too many people out and letting too many in.
• Putting zero thought into titles – To help job seekers find your listing, it’s important to choose an appropriate title. It should include variations on the key words that candidates are likely to search with. For example, using both “registered nurse” and “RN” in the heading of an ad will help increase your search engine exposure.

What has your company done to improve its online recruiting? Let Workforce Solutions know by leaving us a comment below.