7 ways to attract seekers with a mobile-optimized website

This article is based on research for our recent eGuide, How to attract qualified candidates with an engaging career page.

Mobile is now a vital part of the job application process. Research shows that 75 per cent of job seekers are using a mobile device to conduct their job search – and another 44 per cent want to apply on the go, too. So, to compete for top talent, companies need to ensure that their career page is totally optimized for mobile devices.

Here are seven ways to attract seekers with a mobile-optimized website.

Look at loading speed

Google includes mobile site loading speeds as part of its page ranking algorithm. In other words, how fast your career page loads on mobile devices has a big impact on how often you will pop up in Google search results. But site speed means more than just being searchable. A recent study found that 53 per cent of mobile visitors will abandon a page if the load time exceeds three seconds. To keep seekers on your page, make sure things are loading as fast as possible – more on that here.

Be responsive

Lightning fast loading won’t do much good if a seeker can’t read what’s on your career page. Text that looks totally fine on your computer screen, for example, might be way too small on a smartphone; a page that requires the reader to zoom in and then scroll back and forth to be able to read it will send pretty much anyone running. Responsive sites, on the other hand, adapt the layout automatically to adjust to the user’s screen size, making sure that text, photos, and buttons are easy on the eyes – so users can find what they’re looking for at a glance.

Make contact details easy to find

Seekers may or may not read your testimonials or watch your videos, but pretty much all of them are going to want to get in contact with you. If you make this a challenge by hiding the contact details in a hard-to-see corner or at the bottom of the page, you risk losing the user before they’re able to get in touch.

Offer a simple application process

Consider this: according to a seeker survey, 37 per cent of mobile job seekers are job hunting while at their current job (and, for that matter, 15 per cent are job searching in the washroom). There’s a sense of urgency and need for discretion among many potential candidates, which means that the companies that offer a fast and easy application process will yield better results. An easy resume upload tool, shortened forms, drop-down menus, and auto-fill enabled forms can all help seekers make it to the end of the application process.

Include call-to-actions

Don’t shy away from using call-to-action buttons. They are powerful (and easy to understand) prompts that leave the candidates with no doubt about what you want them to do. As job seekers navigate your career page on their small screens, a clearly marked “Click Here to Apply” button can be a no-frills, no-guesswork blessing.

Make it look pretty

Don’t forget to make your page pleasing to the eye. A page can be simple and fast-loading while still being stylish and engaging, after all. Just be sure that the aesthetic doesn’t cloud the site’s main purpose: giving seekers information.

Learn your conversion rate – and adapt as needed

There’s really only one way to find out if all these efforts make a difference – testing your career page’s conversion rate. Conversion refers to the number of visitors to your site that take a desired action. So, the conversion rate on your career page would likely refer to the number of seekers who sign up for a job alert, or apply to a position. Once you have your own numbers, you can compare them against top-performing pages (the top 25 percent of landing pages convert at 5.31 per cent) to see how you’re doing, and whether you need to look for more ways to improve.

As mobile becomes a more and more common platform for job recruitment, companies that invest in making their mobile experience a positive one will be scooping up the top candidates.

Remember: if you don’t have a career page yet, download our free eGuide, How to attract qualified candidates with an engaging career page, today.

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Alexa Lemzy is a customer service expert and business blogger. Over the years, she has written about the importance of business communication, offering tips and advice on customer engagement, and mobile technology.

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