Using Recruitment Blogs: Creating Content That Jobseekers Can't Ignore

<div class="grey-callout"><h2>Key Takeaways</h2><ul>
<li>Attracting jobseekers: Blogs can draw both active and passive candidates by showcasing your company culture and values.</li>
<li>SEO importance: High search engine rankings are crucial; ensure your site has strong traffic and authority.</li>
<li>Consistency: Regular, high-quality content is needed for long-term success.</li>
<li>Content strategy: Focus on employee testimonials, industry expertise and recruitment transparency.</li>
<li>Cost considerations: Significant investment in time, professional writing, and SEO tools is required for effectiveness.</li>
</ul></div>

What are Blogs for Recruitment?

Recruitment blogs are online articles specifically designed to attract active and passive jobseekers. You don’t need an employer career page to publish them – they can be displayed on your company website.

A recruitment blog can allow companies to effectively showcase their work environment, ethos, and core values, helping jobseekers decide if they are aligned. There is no minimum or maximum word count, because the length of each article depends on the topic being covered.

A company I’ve seen use recruitment blogs well is Endjin. They have engaging educational content demonstrating their expertise and thought leadership. Click on their “Apprenticeship” category to see a great collection of excellent content written by their employees and directors. Having met the directors, I get a sense they wanted to create and share this content because they’re so passionate about their business. The net benefits of more customers and applicants were a happy coincidence.

However, there is a high-risk of failure, if not done correctly, the time and money spent creating recruitment blogs may not yield any engagement. They are also resource intensive, it’s difficult to measure their effectiveness, they’re dependent on changing search engine algorithms, and it can be slow to see a return on investment.

‍

Which Businesses Should Use Recruitment Blogs?

While blogs can benefit a wide range of businesses, critically the existing company website must have organic search traffic. That’s because 96.55% of website content gets no search traffic from Google (Soulo, 2024). Therefore, check the following criteria:

1. Your website must have 1,000+ unique visitors per month: Amongst all the other statistics I’m about to quote, this is a good indicator that Google “likes” a site. While 1,000 unique visitors may sound like a low benchmark, in my experience, this excludes many companies.
2. Your website must have a domain rating of 20+: This is a multi-faceted ranking by Ahrefs that considers a website’s authority. (Similar tools like SEMRush and MajesticSEO have equivalent benchmarks of domain rating.)
3. Does the topic have search demand? If jobseekers aren’t searching for topics you want to write a blog about, there is no point writing an article. I use Ahrefs.com and LowFruits.com for my analysis. (But be careful to ensure you are not getting mixed up with search intent. For example, I consult for a co-operative and their website gets irrelevant traffic from visitors searching for a popular supermarket called “Co-op”.)
4. Do you have the time and money? Creating high-quality, engaging content requires time and money. It may also require external writers and content creators. ChatGPT and other AI writers are not appropriate, and Google penalises this content.

Writing a recruitment blog requires a strong understanding of search engine optimisation (SEO). While I have expertise in both, this is a recruitment site, so I won’t delve further into SEO.

Beyond that, a business needs to have something to talk about:

• Well-established companies: They have a wealth of experience and knowledge to share, making their blogs a valuable resource for potential candidates and industry peers.
• Innovative or tech-savvy companies: Their blogs can showcase cutting edge projects, new technologies, and future trends, which can attract top talent interested in working at the leading edge.
• Companies with a niche focus: Companies specialising in a particular niche can use blogs to demonstrate deep expertise. This can be especially useful for attracting highly skilled professionals seeking specialised roles.
• Companies with a strong company culture: Organisations with a compelling company culture can attract candidates looking for workplaces with a specific culture or values. For example, companies that have adopted a four-day work week and those that are B-Corp Certified.

‍

What Type of Job Can You Fill Using Blogs?

Recruitment blogs are often written to enhance an employer’s brand rather than focus on filling a specific vacancy.

They may sometimes attract passive applicants who stumble across the content when conducting a search for related topics. However, it’s rare for a jobseeker to find a recruitment blog when searching for jobs because they are up against so much competition from job sites.

‍

<span class="purple-callout"><p>If you could use expert help, I'm available for a chat and can offer practical support. Get your free consultation.</p><p>Plus, my best-selling recruiting book could be an excellent resource for you.</p><p>I can also advertise a job on the UK's leading job sites for only £199.</p></span>

‍

When Would Employers Use Recruitment Blogs?

Writing recruitment blogs isn’t something you start or finish; it requires consistent and regular publishing. An initial quantity of at least 10 articles (ideally 50) is required so that Google considers the website a topical authority

Regular updates are then needed to keep a blog fresh and engaging for readers, whilst positively impacting search rankings. Thereafter, a minimum of one article per month is okay, but ideally, publishing weekly content achieves better results.

Ad hoc blogs can also be helpful when you have recruitment drives or attend job fairs.

‍

How Much Does it Cost to Create Recruitment Blogs? Time vs. Money

Because the content marketing technology and web hosting is practically “free”, recruitment blogs can incorrectly give the illusion of being low-cost. However, this is a fallacy:

• Significant time investment: Planning content strategy and ideas, content creation, and promoting content takes time – time staff could spend on their regular jobs.
• Professional writers: Prices vary wildly depending on the writer’s expertise and the content’s complexity. You would be getting very good value at £40 per article, which is easily £480 per year if you require one article per month.
• SEO tools: Recommended solutions such as Ahrefs and Neuronwriter can add up to £200 per month.

Therefore, whilst it is tough to quantify the time investment, I expect most recruitment blogs cost a minimum of £5,000 per year. This price can quickly increase if you involve an SEO agency that will make technical changes and purchase backlinks to increase organic traffic.

‍

Do Employers Have any Guarantees When Using Blogs?

No. As already explained, there is a 96.55% chance that your content won’t receive any traffic (Soulo, 2024). So, the chances of failure are very high.

Fundamentally, this is a search engine optimisation strategy and a recruitment strategy that needs to be professionally undertaken. I’ve even seen SEO agencies that haven’t appreciated how nuanced this is and made mistakes.

‍

How to Create a Blog for Recruitment

If a company doesn’t have a website content management platform, I often recommend creating one using WordPress, because producing an overall aesthetic that reflects the organisation’s identity is relatively easy, and there are lots of affordable freelancers who can help. For SEO purposes, never host it on a subdomain (eg. blog.acme.com) but instead in a folder (eg. acme.com/blog).

If a company website already has a blog section, simply create a category called “Recruitment”.

For the blog to have a viable long-term future, it must have buy-in from employees. Therefore, the next step is to announce the initiative and get employees involved in building a content strategy. At this stage, don’t get bogged down with who will write what content or discuss its merits; continue brainstorming ideas by asking, “What else?”

Similar to the content ideas proposed for LinkedIn, content can include:

• Showcasing company culture and values: Through blog posts, a business can highlight its work environment, core values, and what it stands for. This helps potential candidates understand whether an organisation aligns with their values and career goals.
• Demonstrating thought leadership and industry expertise: Companies can establish themselves as knowledgeable, leading figures in their field. This attracts like-minded individuals.
• Employee engagement and testimonials: Blogs can feature stories from current employees, offering insights into their experiences, the projects they’re working on, and opportunities for growth within the business. This authentic perspective can be more relatable and persuasive to potential applicants than traditional job advertisements.
• Educational content: By providing industry relevant educational content, companies can engage with a broader audience, including jobseekers keen to learn and grow professionally.
• Recruitment process transparency: Blogs can explain the company’s recruitment process, highlight desirable skills and qualities, and offer tips for candidates. This transparency can help demystify the application process and make it more accessible to prospective applicants. However, I don’t recommend providing a list of interview questions candidates may be asked or you will get less authentic responses.

All these content types are “evergreen” in that they are relevant in the long-term.

Remember, the purpose of writing a recruitment blog isn’t just to write content; it’s to recruit employees! Some will require too much time investment, have limited search traffic or limited recruitment intent.

With lots of ideas, start diarising them into a content calendar.

Unfortunately, I rarely find employees are motivated enough to continually write articles. If this becomes the case, you can outsource to a good freelance writer using Reedsy, Upwork, and Fiverr. Often, the most suitable writers are native speakers.

Allow the freelancer to interview your employees so that each article can show expertise, authority, and trust. Often, this can be achieved by providing staff with examples and asking inquisitive questions such as, “What’s a common misconception about {topic}?” Once the freelancer has passed an initial paid trial, batch several articles together so you have more content ready to be published later.

‍

<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Warning:</span> Artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, is great for inspiration but shouldn’t be used exclusively to write content. No one wants to read some of the diatribe it regurgitates, so always use a human editor to improve quality and ensure it is on brand. Additionally, in March 2024, Google updated its algorithm to promote unique human-written content.</span>

‍

When publishing the blog, you need to consider search engine optimisation. I could write an entire article about SEO, but I’ll limit it to a few recommendations that will deliver some positive results:

• Use actual search terms: Ensure the page title and page heading (commonly known as “H1”) match what jobseekers are searching for.
• Use SEO tools: If possible, use tools like Neuronwriter to understand minimum word count, keyword density, and other ranking factors.
• Index the blog: Once published, use Google Search Console to request the new article be indexed.
• “Share” organically: Once indexed, ask staff to promote content on their social media and LinkedIn. Sharing creates traffic and sends “signals” to Google that your content is valuable

Include images (and, if budgets allow, videos) in your blog. Our research found the most helpful content for jobseekers is a picture of the work environment. Again, these shouldn’t be created using AI; most modern smartphones have adequate cameras and filters to produce satisfactory results.

Include a call-to-action at the end of each article. Make it easy for potential jobseekers to contact you by including an email address and a telephone number that someone will answer

‍

<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Tip:</span> Don’t enable comments on blogs. While this has the potential to foster engagement, very few passive jobseekers want to tell everyone they’re looking for a job.<p></p>If you do allow comments, beware of “comment spam” (where nefarious people try to build links in comments). To prevent this, ensure comments are approved before they are shown.</span>

‍

Be patient. Whilst promoting content on social media platforms may generate short and quick bursts of attraction, the long-term goal is to optimise the content for SEO.

Conduct a blog audit every three months. Using Google Search Console, identify how many pages are indexed and which pages are getting traffic. Furthermore, to ensure your content looks fresh in the eyes of visitors and Google, you should update content every six months

‍

<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Note:</span> Don’t publish the same content on LinkedIn. Because it is so authoritative, many search engines will believe LinkedIn is the “source of truth,” not your blog!<p></p>If you have to publish the same content on LinkedIn, a good middle ground is to publish the content on your website first and once indexed in Google, then publish it on LinkedIn.</span>

‍

Additional Resources

• Talent Acquisition Book; The Secrets of Great Recruitment: How to Recruit Great Employees.
• Downloadable PDF guide; Are Recruitment Blogs Worth It? Understanding the Real Return on Investment.
• Article; Are Recruitment Blogs Worth the Cost?
• Article; Advantages & Disadvantages of Using Recruitment Blogs.