How Google's Mobile-First Indexing Will Impact Recruiting
By now, it should come as no surprise that people are turning to their mobile devices instead of desktops to search for information – and more importantly, to search for jobs.
With the increase in mobile use over the years, it’s become exceedingly important for companies to have a mobile-responsive site if they want to stay in the game. This is no different for a company’s career site.
Back in February of 2015, Google first announced they were making changes to their search functionality – ultimately impacting website search results by ranking them based on their mobile-friendliness and responsiveness.
In their most recent announcement, Google announced they will prioritize mobile results first and foremost in all search queries.
According to the announcement, “If you have a responsive site or a dynamic serving site where the primary content and markup is equivalent across mobile and desktop, you shouldn’t have to change anything. If you have a site configuration where the primary content and markup is different across mobile and desktop, you should consider making some changes to your site.”
So, how does this impact your recruiting efforts?
If your career site isn’t mobile friendly, you are screwed Not putting this lightly, but if your career site isn’t mobile friendly by now – you are already behind the technology curve. Add in the recent changes to Google search results, and you will have a lot of reactive catching up to do in order to get back into the recruiting game.
Companies can’t rely on the fact that candidates will find them if they are interested. They have to take a proactive approach to ensuring that the career site is optimized for these changes or else they will lose out on potential candidates in their talent pipeline.
They say proof is in the pudding, so take Crown Holdings for example. As a client of Phenom People, Crown had a problem with their candidate experience not being mobile friendly. Within months of implementing the Phenom People TRM platform, Crown increased their number of applications by 42% with half of the applications coming from smartphones or tablets.
Competitors who are mobile friendly will be seen before you Let’s face it. We all have competitors in our respective industries. When it comes to the war for talent, those who adapt to technology as it advances and changes will be more successful in attracting the right candidates.
If your career site and content isn’t mobile friendly but your competitor’s is – you can bet on the fact that your prospective candidates will see their opportunities first in the list of search results before they even begin checking you out.
There could be a huge disconnect in your content strategy Everyone is talking about employer branding, storytelling, and content that is geared toward attracting candidates to the company. However, there are a lot of companies who aren’t doing this well as it is.
It’s important to remember that if you have content that has been specifically built for desktop end users, it won’t show up for mobile users the same way – creating inconsistencies in the content being presented to potential candidates. Your message could be lost in translation, and hurt your recruiting process as a result.
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With the Phenom People Talent Relationship Marketing platform, your company will be ready for the Google mobile-first indexing changes without stressing over the potential damage to your recruiting efforts. Our platform creates a consistent candidate experience across mobile and desktop devices alike.
If you’re interested in discussing the Phenom People TRM solution, reach out to us today at info@phenompeople.com.
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