Using the "Search results title" effectively when writing a job ad

When training recruiters I am constantly surprised by the lack of underdstanding of the importance of the "Search Results Title" when writing online job ads.

Most people are aware that many job boards (e.g. SEEK) have both a "Job Title" and a "Search Results Title" field.  These are not the same thing and you should NOT just copy and paste one into the other.

The Search Results title is the job title the job seeker sees when the search results are returned, not the Job Title.  More importantly however the Search Results Title is also one of the most important fields,along with the short description in determining whether your job ad is a good match for a job search done using key words.

In other words if a job seeker searches for a job using keywords then the job board will return the most relevant ads for that search first, NOT the ads posted most recently as most consultants seem to think. Therefore it is vital to write your search results title and short descriptions carefully, ensuring your search results title contains the key words that your perfect job seeker is likely to type in when they search for job ads.  The easiest way to do this is to put yourself in the job seeker's shoes and ask yourself "if I was this person, what would I type in to Google or SEEK if I was looking for a new job"? You then need to ensure you get those words and phrases into your search results title.  If you do this you will consistently out rank your competitors and you will consistently get more applications.

As an example look at the search below.  I typed in three words - recruitment mining engineering.  Note the job ad that comes up first was posted on January 9, over 3 weeks ago and the job that appears 4th was posted only a few days ago.  The reason the Hudson job ad appears first is because the search results title AND the short description contain all three of the words I typed in.  Therefore it is deemed to be extremely relevant.  It doesn't matter that is a few weeks old because the search engine is showing me the most revlevant ads first, not just the latest ones.

A word to the wise though - do not just keyword load your search results title to try to manipulate search results.  It is vital that your search results title and short description read well and are attractive and enticing to a job seeker.  There is no point coming first if your ads look like garbage because no self respecting job seeker is going to click on them and apply.

Check out your job ads today and see how your ads rank compared to your competition.