Saturday

Minnesota Recruiters Conference #15 - SEO Presentation Followup

Last Tuesday I spoke at the Minnesota Recruiters conference hosted by General Mills. My presentation was on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) but more specifically around the algorithm updates made this year and the impact those changes will have on recruitment SEO strategies. There were three talking points that I received feedback on and wanted to address those areas in further detail here.


ONE - I started my presentation talking about the basic SEO methodology around most of the job optimization/microsite products you see on the market today. Each strategy may be a little different but for the most part there are three main components involved.
This methodology so far has been very successful. When you do a search for a company’s job title, the word “job” and the job location (i.e. technical support analyst job Minnesota) you’ll often find company listings appear in the search results right along with the job boards and aggregators.

This is due to the jobs being optimized and made available to search engines. (job optimization) Having this time of visibility is great for companies because they have the opportunity to drive some of the career related search traffic directly back to their website.

I then went on to say how the latest search engine algorithm updates also known as the Google Panda updates. (Learn more about Google Panda from SEOMoz) Search Engines are now using social signals and visitor usage data when evaluating websites which means we need to start thinking about recruitment SEO strategies in a more holistic way.

If we do not adapt our strategies, it’s only a matter of time when we’ll start to lose traction.

During this part of my presentation I called out two job optimization/SEO microsite vendors to help the audience better associate what I was talking about. I choose the two vendors based on industry popularity. Looking back, I should not have called out anyone specifically but because I did, I want to ensure that my message was not misinterpreted. I was in no way insinuating that either company mentioned was doing SEO incorrectly, based on my screenshot of search results above, it’s pretty clear that the SEO techniques used is having a positive effect.

My main takeaway was that search engines have made significant changes to their algorithms and that anyone in any industry who wants to have search engine visibility needs to embrace this change and start thinking about SEO in a different light.

TWO - I also talked in more detail about how search engines are using user behavior data to evaluate the quality of a website. Some of the areas looked at includes things like:

• Time spent on your site

• Number of return visitors

• Number of page views

• Bounce rate – landing on your home page but not going further

What this means to anyone investing in SEO is that, they should be reviewing the data in their analytics account and analyzing how visitors are interacting with their site and content pages. I brought up the importance of not relying solely on reports that agencies provide as often the data is consolidated.

As someone that has worked for agencies in many different industries for most of my career, I can say that providing consolidated reporting to clients is a common practice. There is so much data available that reports are often customized to tell a meaningful story. However now that search engines are placing such an importance on user interaction, it is essential that you have access to all data points available. I want to make sure this was not misinterpreted as the reporting provided by third parties is inaccurate.

THREE - The last talking point I wanted to address was my comment on source of hire data. There was a rather technical question asked by an audience member around optimizing internal site search. Site search allows users to search for content on your website, it also helps you understand visitor behavior in a whole new level. You’ll see site search used most commonly on ecommerce websites such as BestBuy.com. (below)



My response to this person was that I've not had much experience in this area as unfortunately most of the recruiting industry is not there yet; there are more important data points to tackle first. As an example many organizations still struggle with being able to accurately measure true source of hire.

To expand slightly on my response, in perfect world for each hire, you would be able to track every touch point including things like:


• What content was viewed & when

• What job boards were visited

• All social media interactions

As an example, you might be able to track that the hire came from a Google organic search and therefore SEO is likely taking the credit. However prior to the Google search, the candidate saw a Yahoo banner ad in their email, checked out your company Facebook page and had an online chat conversation with one of your recruiter’s. In this scenario is it really accurate to give SEO 100% of the credit? Not in my book.

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I hope this clears up any confusion there may have been around some of the topics I covered. SEO can be very complex, especially since things change at the speed of light or so it seems. I’m always glad to answers any questions that may come up so feel free to email me.

For those that were not able to attend but are interested in viewing the presentation, here it is below.

Friday

Senior PeopleSoft Developer Job Minneapolis Minnesota, MN

In the spirit of getting Minnesotans back to work I'm going to be cross posting some job openings that are currently being recruited for in the Twin Cities metro area.

If you're an experienced PeopleSoft Developer looking for a new opportunity in the downtown Minneapolis area check out the following job opening. If it sounds like something you may be interested in and are qualified for, send your resume to: paul@hirecastconsulting.com
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Job Title: Senior PeopleSoft Developer
Job Category: IT / Software
Job Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota - MN

Job Summary: As a Senior PeopleSoft Developer you will be responsible for the design and development of modifications to packaged software and/or custom solutions developed to support specific business needs. You will work closely with business analysts and/or key users, assessing business needs and determining/implementing information technology solutions.

The Main focus is on the maintenance and enhancement of PeopleSoft’s HCM TAMS, Benefits, and Payroll, as well as Finance and Student Financials modules.

All PeopleSoft Developer candidates must have skill in converting specifications and procedures of moderate to high complexity into application and program solutions. Be able to writesand communicate highly complex program specifications and have excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Job Responsibilities:

As a senior PeopleSoft developer you will be responsible for the following:

• Perform analysis, conceptual design, development (coding) and implementation of modifications to purchased applications or custom programs to enhance value to business. Provide expert support of the development after implementation. Apply business and systems knowledge throughout process.

• Participate in the technical design and coding of interfaces, data conversions, reports, and customizations providing the required functionality not supplied by the package.

• Collaborate with internal users, staff members, and information technology colleagues to define detailed customer requirements and system interfaces while assessing value in modification to delivered software versus building new functionality. Translate requirements into technical design solutions.

• Provide technical expertise to team members and mentors junior team members.

• Provide 3rd level production support

• Participate in creating feasibility studies and needs assessments.

• Provide technical information, support and training to internal customers to assist them in performing and improving their daily work processes.

Job Qualifications:

In order to be considered for the Senior PeopleSoft Developer job opportunity you must meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from a four year college or university in Computer Science, or equivalent combination of education and experience in area of expertise

• Four (4) or more years experience in application analysis, design, software development, systems implementation and package integration.

• Experience with PeopleSoft HCM HR TAMS and Benefits, Finance, and Student Finance Solutions.

• Experience with PeopleTools, PeopleCode, Application Engine, Component Interfaces, Integration Broker, Equations, SQR.

• Experience with Oracle, SQL databases, and some Java and/or JavaScript.

Job Keywords: peoplesoft developer job, people soft developer career, senior peoplesoft developer job minneapolis, minneapolis minnesota peoplesoft developer job, downtown minneapolis peoplesoft job opportunity.

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If you're interested in speaking about this or other IT job opportunities in Minnesota send your resume or inquiry to:

Paul DeBettignies - VP Recruiting
HireCast Consulting, LLC
paul@hirecastconsulting.com

Wednesday

SEO Contest Ranking Results for Blind Purple Kangaroo

Blind Purple Kangaroo SEO Contest Results

Drum roll please.............It's been less than 24 hours since the Blind Purple Kangaroo blog post was published and here we are ranking #1 and #2.