Waikato Business News August/September 2021

HR AND RECRUITMENT
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS August/September 2021
15
Does Blogging Help
with Google Rankings?
THE DIGITAL WORLD
> BY JOSH MOORE
Josh Moore leads the team at Duoplus - a Hamilton-based
digital marketing agency that helps businesses grow through
highly measurable online marketing. www.duoplus.nz
Some people think that blogging is the best way to improve your
rank in Google search results. And they are right – to a point.
The fact is, you can
waste hours writing
blogs and never see
any improvement. Or sometimes,
it can work great!
So, what works and what
doesn’t? How can you get the
result you’re looking for?
We write content for our
clients all the time, and there
are few tricks that can help
super-charge each blog post
or article. Sometimes our clients
write content themselves
too, and there is one key
step we always recommend:
Answer questions that people
are asking.
For example, one of our
electrician clients recently
wrote a post about the risks
involved in charging your
electric vehicle from a standard
household power socket,
and what to do instead.
It was a brilliant article,
because it answered a question
that every EV owner has
asked – “Should I charge my
EV using a standard household
power socket?”
Now, how do we know that
people are asking that question?
Simple. Google tells
us what questions people are
asking. It’s not hidden away.
It’s actually easy to find and it
provides a goldmine of value
that can help you ensure that
your content always matches
what searchers are looking
for.
Because here’s the newsflash:
Google is not interested
in you or your business. Horrifying
I know!
Google is primarily concerned
with the people using
their search engine to find
answers. They are absolutely
committed to giving searchers
the best answer they possibly
can.
Google uses complex
Google is primarily
concerned with the
people using their
search engine to find
answers. They are
absolutely committed
to giving searchers
the best answer they
possibly can.
algorithms and artificial intelligence
to understand exactly
what searchers are really
asking. Then, it searches the
internet for the best answer
to the question. So, to rank
higher, we need to write the
best answers to the questions
that are already being asked.
Fortunately, Google is so
interested in clarifying search
intent, that they offer a few
suggestions to the searcher,
so that they can provide a
more accurate answer.
This is where the magic
begins.
If you Google "charge my
EV at home," you will begin
to see the results that Google
believes you want. You will
also see a heading "People
also ask."
Under that heading you
will see several more specific
questions about charging
EVs.
• Can you charge an electric
car with a regular outlet?
• What is needed to charge
an electric car at home?
• Can you charge EV car at
home?
• How fast can you charge
an EV at home??
In this section on the search
results page, Google is showing
you what questions people
are asking that are related
to your search.
You can easily try this for
your business. What question
do you get asked all the time?
Pop that question in Google
and see what comes up under
"People also ask."
And as an extra tip, when
you click on one of the questions,
Google then immediately
expands the number of
questions it listed. It generally
starts by showing three to
four questions. If you click
on a question, it will add
another four questions to the
list. By doing this you can
build up a large list of questions
that people are asking.
Then, to when it comes to
creating your content, all we
have to do is write content
that addresses one or more of
these questions.
In fact, you can put
together a long article
answering a lot of these questions
all on one post.
By starting with the questions
people are already asking
you’ll be writing relevant
content and will find that
Google is a lot more likely
to rank your website more
strongly for searches related
to the questions your site
answers.
Easy right? Well, yes and
no. Content takes work, but
this approach is certainly a
good place to start.
A look at the Waikato
recruitment market one year
on from COVID-19
Positioning Excellence
Locally owned and operated, Asset Recruitment
has been established for more than 30 years.
We’re specialists in temporary, permanent,
executive and industrial recruitment.
If you’re looking to hire or would like to discuss career opportunities,
do get in touch with our team. We position excellence in roles across
different industries and sectors, working with both candidates
and clients to secure the right fit for temporary, permanent and
contract positions.
Recruit with Excellence. Recruit with Asset.
Temporary | Permanent | Executive | Industrial
07 839 3685 | www.assetrec.co.nz
As recruiters we have a number of tools at our
disposal – a database of job seekers; a library of
questions to ask during preliminary interviews;
recruitment checks; and an ongoing commitment
to positioning excellence. But one thing we don’t
have is a crystal ball.
However, if we did, we’re
not sure even a crystal
ball could have told us
what the Waikato job market
would be like 12+ months on
from COVID. Today, we’re
recruiting in a market with a
record low unemployment rate,
minimal applicant movement,
and a market that is crying out
for migrant workers to fill some
of New Zealand’s most essential
roles. Carmel Strange, Asset
Recruitment’s Manager and
Temporary & Contract Recruitment
Specialist, said a combination
of booming industries and
labour shortages has created a
recruitment market no one could
have predicted 12 months ago.
“There are so many factors
contributing to this market,”
explains Carmel. “The construction
industry is extremely
busy and creating a number of
jobs, the horticultural industry
has faced a continued shortage
of migrant workers coming into
the country, and the hospitality
sector is in dire need of experienced
staff. The shortage is right
across the board; no industry is
exempt.” Changing times in the
labour force Recruiting in such
a market requires employers
to think outside the box. “Until
everyone is vaccinated and
the New Zealand Government
allows more people into the
country, I think this situation is
going to continue,” says Carmel.
“It is a challenging recruitment
market but not an impossible
one. We just have to approach
job vacancies differently.”
For starters, Carmel says
employers need to prioritise the
attributes they’re seeking in a
candidate. “We’re not going to
be able to tick every single box,
so we’re working with clients to
determine what are non-negotiables
in either a role or a candidate,”
she says. “For example, if
a candidate has the right attitude
and personality and will be a
good fit for a company’s culture,
systems and processes can be
placed around them to develop
the necessary skills.”
Carmel is also urging
employers to really look after
their staff. “Some companies do
this better than others but there’s
always room for improvement.
It really is a candidates’ market
out there so we’re advising our
clients to go the extra mile to
keep their staff because, if they
Carmel Strange
leave, it will be tough to find a
replacement.”
Candidates content to stay
Another contributing factor to
the current recruitment market
is the underlying element of
uncertainty that is seeing fewer
people change roles. “People
aren’t looking for new roles like
they used to be,” says Carmel.
“They’re stable in their jobs
and would prefer to have that
perceived security, rather than
move elsewhere. This reduces
the number of candidates in the
market even further.”
There has been some respite
for industries with the extension
of working holiday visas, but
for now, the tough recruitment
market is set to stay, so seeking
expert help to fill vacancies is
essential.
Carmel and the Asset
Recruitment team continue to
position excellence in roles
across different industries and
sectors, working with both candidates
and clients to secure
the right fit for temporary, permanent
and contract positions.
If you’re seeking candidates
to join your organisation,
give the Asset Recruitment
team a call today.