Search Engine Optimization (SEO) began in the 1990s, born from the need to index and rank websites based on relevance, primarily for search engines like Yahoo and AltaVista. The early days of SEO were all about simple keywords, metadata and links to your website. As Google emerged in the early 2000s, SEO evolved dramatically, with search engine algorithms placing greater emphasis on content quality, relevance and user experience. In hiring, this evolution underscored the importance of optimizing job postings and career sites to not only rank higher but also attract the right candidates through targeted, quality content. This led to practices like “keyword stuffing” (adding too many keywords to content), which were once common in the early days of SEO but fell out of favor in later years as search engines began using more sophisticated ranking criteria, including page authority scores, mobile friendliness and content depth.
Fast-forward to the 2010s and the rise of voice search, local SEO and search engines’ shift toward prioritizing mobile usability, culminating in mobile-first indexing later in the decade. Search habits evolved to be more conversational, with longer, detailed queries driving the adoption of semantic search and Machine Learning to help engines like Google better interpret user intent beyond keywords. This is where SEO met its next frontier – optimization for conversational queries and longer-tail keywords, making it more about answering specific user questions than ever before.
For recruiting, this shift marked an opportunity to optimize career sites and job postings to align with candidate search behaviors, ensuring the right opportunities appear when job seekers ask specific questions or use conversational queries.
The New Frontier: Optimizing for Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI (GenAI)
- We are now at the dawn of a new era: Large Language Model Optimization. LLMs like Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) have become influential in how people discover, explore and interact with information online. Unlike traditional search engines, which provide a list of results and often content snippets, ranked by relevance, AI-powered models like Open AI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini (including Search Generative Experience in the search results) and Perplexity, to name a few, offer conversational answers, effectively reshaping our discovery journey and experience.
- Search habits are also shifting dramatically. Today, users are not just searching – they are exploring and discovering. Exploration involves querying AI models to ask more nuanced, open-ended questions, seeking insights or explanations instead of specific web pages. Discovery happens when AI introduces users to concepts, products or ideas they hadn’t considered before, often through natural language and conversational interfaces. This move toward discovery-driven search makes SEO practitioners rethink their strategies. Content must prioritize users above all, while also being tailored to algorithms and AI systems capable of delivering conversational, human-like responses.
- This shift means organizations need to optimize not only for traditional search engines but also for AI models, combining the best practices of SEO with strategies to ensure content is optimized for large-scale AI systems like ChatGPT, which may “read” and interpret content differently than a search engine. For example, content needs to be more structured, rich in detail and contextually relevant so that LLMs can effectively draw on it to generate responses.
Search Engine and Large Language Model Optimization (SEaLLMO) Through the Lens of Recruiting
The implications of SEaLLMO aren’t just limited to consumer-facing businesses; they are equally relevant in recruiting and employer branding. As job seekers, both active and passive, increasingly rely on AI tools for career discovery and exploration, recruiting teams must rethink their strategies.
For Job Seekers: Passive and Active
Exploration and discovery are becoming critical in how job seekers approach their next opportunity. Instead of typing “data scientist jobs” into Google, candidates might now interact with an AI-powered assistant, asking something like, “What are the fastest-growing industries for data scientists?” or “How can I transition into a data science role?”. These conversational queries change how job opportunities are presented. Candidates are no longer just reviewing job boards – they are actively exploring career paths through AI-driven conversations and recommendations.
For Recruiting and Employer Brand Teams
For employer brand and recruiting teams, SEaLLMO will become central to optimizing:
- Job openings
- Company culture
- Employer branding content
This optimization will occur at the job, team and location levels, aligning with the demands of an AI-driven landscape. Many organizations are already experimenting with using AI tools to handle initial candidate interactions, creating a need to ensure that the job listings and career site content are structured for LLMs to interpret and consider in their rounded point of view. Furthermore, organizations need to consider how Generative AI will present their employer brand when a candidate asks, “What are the best companies to work for in fintech?” or “Why should I work at [employer]?”.
Content that focuses on employee experience, corporate social responsibility and unique benefits at the level of the job will be prioritized, especially as AI models generate content that caters to more than just compensation and job titles. Recruiting teams will need to think holistically about employer branding content, ensuring that it resonates well in AI-generated responses, and consider answering the vast array of questions that candidates have when evaluating and considering employers.
Conclusion
The future of search is no longer just about rankings – it’s about content that informs and supports AI-enabled conversation, exploration and discovery. SEaLLMO represents the next phase of recruiting optimization, where employers must adapt their content for both search engines and AI-driven interfaces. In the world of recruiting, this shift means employers need to rethink how they approach visibility, engagement and branding.
The Radancy Talent Acquisition Cloud was designed to help organizations succeed in these areas, and more. Centralizing data empowers recruiting teams to make more informed, data-driven decisions. By leveraging AI-powered solutions, the integrated platform optimizes strategies and enhances search functionality. Together, these capabilities ensure your brand and opportunities resonate across both traditional search engines and AI-driven platforms in this new era of exploration and discovery.
Discover how Radancy can transform your recruiting strategy. Book a demo today.
Want to Learn More? Check Out Our Blog
As AI and LLMs continue to transform recruiting, staying informed is crucial to staying ahead. Explore these Radancy articles to learn more about how these emerging technologies are reshaping hiring:
Discover how Google’s generative AI is transforming candidate sourcing and improving hiring outcomes. Learn how the Radancy Talent Acquisition Cloud complements this by offering an AI-powered platform that boosts candidate engagement and simplifies the hiring process.
Explore how Bing’s ‘Copilot’ can improve candidate engagement and optimize your career site. Discover how our expertise in AI integration ensures your career site is designed for maximum efficiency and interaction, enhancing the overall candidate experience.
Find out how to increase efficiency and creativity in your career site content creation using ChatGPT’s AI. Learn how Radancy uses AI to deliver personalized, dynamic content that resonates with candidates, improving the hiring experience.
- The Evolution of SEO for Recruiting: From Search Engine to AI Optimization - December 17, 2024
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | November 2023 - November 30, 2023
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | May 2023 - May 31, 2023
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | April 2023 - April 27, 2023
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | March 2023 - March 30, 2023
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | February 2023 - February 28, 2023
- Top 10 Talent Acquisition Trend Predictions for 2023 | The Scoop: January 2023 - January 26, 2023
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | November 2022 - November 30, 2022
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | October 2022 - October 27, 2022
- The Scoop: Recruitment Trends & Industry Insights | September 2022 - September 30, 2022
