With Search Engines the math is simple:  Content + Authority = Visitors.   If you have a good staffing service and a Killer Staffing Website, then Visitors = $$$.

So content is one thing, but what is Authority?

Authority in the simplest terms are other sites and people who think your site is important enough to pay attention to.  Authority most commonly takes the form of links.  Links back to your site, links to your blog, subscribers to your newsletter, ‘Likes’ on your Facebook profile, followers on Twitter, etc.

There are many ways to come by these links and none of them are easy – they require effort and consistency.  So if you have a good staffing service, then this should be right in your wheel-house.

How do you add links to your site, you say?  Well Google spells it out pretty simply: be interesting, relevant, and participate.  Here are a few ways to build your Websites Authority.

• Participate in the Community: LinkedIn is the most popular Staffing forum around and they make it quite easy to help people with their questions.  They even have a ranking system where you can be seen as an expert in your field.  Whatever format you choose to help out in, make sure someone you respect in your company is offering their insight and leaving your Website link behind.  The more respected you are in the online community the more likely people are to link to your site.
• Original Content:  Be interesting, whether it be  a funny story, advice, unique offers, original research, whatever fits your style or your mood.  Think, Why would anyone want to listen to you?  What do you have to offer?
• Newsletters: Do you expect everyone you know to wake up everyday and ask themselves if they need staffing services?  Of course not.  Make it easy for them with Newsletters and RSS Blog Feeds.  Already have these?  Make it easier to sign up.
• Social Media: Participating on Twitter, LinkedIn, FriendFeed or Facebook can be another great way to build links.  Think about where people spend their time. Getting to know those people can pay off, and not just in getting links.
• Blogging: “Establish yourself as an authority. There’s no excuse for a company these days not to have a blog. Just building that up as a resource of good articles … another good example is how-tos and tutorials.”  Matt Cutts, Google

A website built with CSS has number of benefits compared to those built using tables or flash. Here is a list of some of the benefits:

1. Easy to update and maintain.
   To make an edit on a CSS website is usually 10 times faster then making the same edit to a website built using tables or flash.
2. Fast load time.
   CSS allows your website pages to load faster because it minimizes the amount of code on each page.
3. Search engine friendly.
   Search engines such as google can find the content on your website a lot faster because CSS reduces the amount of code that is needed for each page of the website. CSS also uses SEO-rich tags when formatting text.
4. Cool Effects.
   You can create a lot of useful rollover and navigation effects using CSS. These techniques make your website more interactive, and are easy to create!

If you would like more information about website design or would like to find out if your website is built using CSS, please send me an email at lac@haleymarketing.com

Being that January has now passed, I look back at some of the goals I’ve established for myself during 2010. “Measurement” seems to be the key word for myself during this upcoming year. In our office building there are a number of fans of the “Biggest Loser” show on TV. Thus, our own in-house version of said show has begun. I’m sure we are not alone with this traditional new year endeavor of trying to shed the previous year-end indulgences. God knows one cannot help but being bombarded with the relentless dieting/meal plan commercials on television as it is. But alas, it’s one of the first “measurements” I have thrown my hat into this upcoming new year. I will keep you posted on the progress…fingers crossed there.

Another area where “measuring” is coming into play is another personal sacrifice/crusade. Toward the end of last year I lost one of my best friends to cancer. We shared some great times through our college days and saw them grow for both of us into being somewhat respectable parents of our own families. During some of our latter discussions, my friend shared some of his encounters with some ill kids where he received treatment. Being an individual focused more on the positive side of things, I’ve decided to try to donate in a different way besides the traditional financial way for the kids. I have begun to grow my hair out to be able to make a donation to “Locks of Love“.
Thus begins my journey of trying to achieve the proper “measurements” needed. Believe me, coming from a military/sports family, this is probably the biggest personal challenge I’ve ever tried to undertake. So, if you happen to run into me during an upcoming convention, try not to “stare” too much.

Another area of “measurement” which I’m focused on is the performance of our website. Obviously, making sure your dollars spent were put to good use is smart and sound business. Google Analytics is an excellent tool to have installed on your website to assist you in being able to measure traffic. Things that I try to look for, from a designer’s perspective, is how much time is being spent on a page, are certain pages being used as “exits” for the website, and are there things I can do to adjust/increase traffic flow to certain areas of a website. Another way to help “measure” performance of your website is through your search engine reports. SEO and Social Media efforts are instrumental in boosting your website ranking here. I have become entrenched in helping build out Twitter and Facebook pages for our clients. But let me digress here, I’m not the “expert” in this area of our services. Brad Smith is our guru on-staff and could easily assist you if you’re looking to begin this key performance “measurement”.

So, there you have it. A little business and a bit of personal therapy session for myself. I promise to keep you informed of all of the key “measurements” throughout the upcoming months. Do you have any personal or professional “measurement” goals yourself this year? If not, should you? I’m more than willing to share the ride with any takers.

- Keith

Learn more about me here.

Haley Marketing Group is excited to announce the promotion of Brad Smith to Director of SEO and Social Media Marketing. 

Brad will be directing the search engine optimization efforts for over 100 staffing and recruiting firm websites and will actively counsel Haley Marketing clients on their social media marketing strategies.   

Over the past five years, Brad has served as a Marketing Advisor and Senior Project Manager for Haley Marketing. In this role, he has worked directly with hundreds of staffing and recruiting executives on projects ranging from marketing strategy to website design, email marketing, direct mail, sales and marketing integration, search engine optimization and social media strategy.    

Over the last several years, Brad has established himself as one of the staffing industry’s leading experts on search engine optimization, social media marketing, and online branding.  Brad is a Certified Inbound Marketing Professional and holds a Master’s in Education, a Bachelor’s in Communication and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of New York at Buffalo. 

Brad has also hosted several webinars on Social Media and SEO for Haley Marketing.    If you would be interested in Brad’s expertise for your speaking engagements, webinars and training seminars please contact Haley Marketing Group at 1-888-696-2900.

According to new data released in the Second Annual SheSpeaks Media Study, an astounding 86% of females polled reported having a profile on at least one social networking website.  Even more interesting is that 72% of those women log into their social network at least once per day. 

Social Networks and Branding
Many businesses are now beginning to see the value that social networks can play in branding and awareness for their products and services.  The study points out these interesting statistics about the women that do have a presence on social networks:

• 72% use social networking as a venue for learning about and commenting on new products
• 80% have become fans of products or brands on Facebook
• 50% of women with social network profiles have purchased products because of information they got from friends or companies on social networking sites
• Twitter is useful for following companies and learning about promotions and coupon codes

If your business isn’t taking advantage of this growing medium, you could be missing out on an amazing branding and lead generation opportunity.  If you would like to discuss ways you can leverage social media for your staffing or recruiting agency, please feel free to email me at bsmith@haleymarketing.com or take a look through some of our most recent posts on Social Media and Search Engine Optimization.

Google’s short video explanation of Personalized Search:

Google recently announced some interesting changes to the way they will now present search rankings.  In the past, when searching for a specific keyword, most people would receive very similar page rankings (with a few variances based on location).  Now, Google is personalizing search results based on your own individual search history.

So how does Google Personalized Search Affect Staffing and Recruiting Agencies?
Because of this change, if two people conduct a Google Search for “staffing agencies” or “jobs”, it’s possible they will get different results based on their past search history.  So to ensure your staffing and recruiting firm continues to garner search traffic, it’s very important to continually add fresh and relevant content on a variety of different topics–and quickly!

You should also consider leveraging social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter; and social bookmarking sites like Digg and StumbleUpon to distribute your content and gather more inbound links and traffic to your website.

In the coming months, staffing and recruiting firms that secure a lot of traffic and rank well on Google may begin to solidify their spots within Google rankings.  If a user has visited your website on several occasions, there is a chance that your website will continually land at the top of that individual’s personalized search. 

So, spending some time now aggressively building a library of relevant content on a broad range of employment and HR related topics can pay huge dividends in the long-run.  One great place to start is adding a blog to your corporate website.  It provides an easy and cost effective way to continually add great content to your website. 

Here are a few resources to learn more about Search Engine Optimization, blogging and social media:
SEO 101: Haley Marketing’s Search Engine Optimization Guide
Choosing the Right Keywords for SEO
How to Write Great Staffing Website Content
Tips for Driving Traffic to Your Blog
Why Blogging Makes Sense as a Business Development Strategy
Social Network Branding

And if you don’t have time to blog or participate in social networks, we can do it for you!  View more information about our staffing and recruiting blog and social media package.

If you have only a superficial knowledge of building a website, it is possible to get quality work on budget and on time. You just have to know how to speak with your vendor, whether that firm is a small design shop, a larger ad agency, or an in-house team responsible for building websites.

Some simple questions to begin with in order to help begin the process.

1. What is the role of your website?
   • Informative.
   • Sales Focused.
   • Product Driven.
   • Company Branding.
   • Improve Business Operations.
   • Humorous.
2. How well do I know the Agency?
   • Reputation.
   • Industry Expertise.
   • Quality of Work(Technically & Design-wise).
   • Staff.
   • Procedures.
3. Who is my Audience?
   • Who is coming to my site?
   • Is the right message being stated for that group?
   • What do I want my audience to gain or do on my website?
4. How can I be different?
   
   • Content is King!
   • SEO
   • Design
   • Innovation

Each of these questions and points are a reference for a conversation with your marketing advisor and they can assist you with the decisions for your website.

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