Physician recruiters understand the importance of attracting qualified candidates, but they don’t entirely understand how SEO can help.
Let’s start with the basics. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the fundamental online marketing practice that focuses on driving organic (non-paid) traffic to your website (think job posts) from search engine results. So, SEO is what you do to improve your search engine rankings – and you don’t need to be an SEO expert (or hire one) to get your information to show up in top search results.
Hundreds of millions of job candidates look for jobs on Google or other search engines every month. In fact, an Internet search is the first thing most candidates do and (it's important to note) they usually search on a smartphone. That means if your website doesn’t rank on the first page of search engines, you’re missing out on potential candidates.
The single best thing you can do for your SEO is to have great content.
Content is anything you publish on the internet – starting with your job posts – and including articles, website landing pages, videos, white papers, your recruiter profile, etc.
To get started implementing SEO, make a list of words and phrases you think physician candidates are using to search for your jobs (and your company) and write them down.
Next, use the words and phrases you came up with and write job posts (and other content) that use those words in your text.
Every major search engine uses algorithms to rank Internet searches based on what they consider the most relevant and valuable to users doing the search. The bad news is that some elements of SEO are constantly changing. The good news is changes happen for a great reason. Google, for instance, is always updating their search engines to ensure people are getting better, more relevant results for every search. You have a distinct advantage here because physician recruiters are constantly adding new posts or refreshing existing ones. Google rewards your efforts because they place consistent, refreshed, relevant, and high-quality content at the top of their search results.
Your job posts are an important part of your online presence as a physician recruiter. They’re also a great opportunity to engage with physician candidates. Just remember to keep your keywords conversational and relevant.
Start with the job title.
This is the first thing a physician candidate reads – and often the ONLY thing he or she reads. Be clear, and give your candidates a reason to click for more information. If you’ve used clear keywords in your title, you’ve optimized it for search engines.
Write clear, compelling job descriptions.
Don’t try to “overstuff” your job posts with keywords, just use them where it’s appropriate and make sure the details of your opportunity are clearly communicated to your ideal candidate. Don't forget to finish with a strong call to action, too.
At Doximity, we’ve learned that DocPosts and DocMails with creative and less relevant descriptions and subjects receive far fewer responses on average. So, keep it simple, straight-forward, engaging and relevant. Here are 5 powerful tips for optimizing your Doximity DocPosts to help you further.
If you’re struggling to find the right keywords, try using the Google AdWords Keyword Planner. You’ll need to create a Google AdWords account, but it’s free. Just sign up with your email address and after you sign in simply click on "Start Using Keyword Planner." You'll begin by adding a few known keywords related to your opportunities or company, then Google will suggest others.
Last, keep in mind that SEO isn’t all about getting found, it’s also about being relevant to the candidates searching for you. Select the right keywords and you’ll be successful at both.
The basics of SEO can be summed up in a few things search engines like, and what they don’t like. Review these points, add these tactics to your recruiting toolbox, and the right physician candidates will find you online in a snap.
Search Engines LIKE these things:
- Fresh content. Add new job posts and refresh older posts frequently.
- Sites that are mobile friendly. Your candidates don’t want to see a spinning wheel because something’s taking too long to load. Google has a ranking for mobile-friendliness that can drastically affect your search results. So think mobile first because it's everywhere, especially in the physician recruitment world. In fact, check out these mobile recruitment stats that just might surprise you.
- Links, links, links. Search engine crawlers look for links that go to (inbound) and from (outbound) your site to serve up search results. If you can include a link to pertinent information within a job post or other content, do it! Great content attracts other sites and prompts them to link back to your site, too.
Search Engines DO NOT LIKE these things:
- Duplicate content. If you’re putting the exact same content multiple places, web crawlers don’t know what page to rank. So don't do it.
- Keyword spam. Don’t stuff the same keywords into multiple paragraphs because you think you’ll rank higher. Search engines know it’s not authentic and it will affect your search rankings. Candidates won’t like reading it, either!
SEO is an opportunity to make your recruiting pitch stronger and help candidates find you online faster. Use these tips to implement SEO and attract the best candidates and fill your jobs faster.
Are you using Doximity Talent Finder to recruit qualified physician candidates? Try it for free today.
