Overview
This article helps you build a strong SEO foundation for your Access Volcanic website. You'll learn six essential tasks that make your website discoverable in search engines, helping you attract more candidates and clients without needing technical expertise.
Why SEO matters for recruitment websites
Search engine optimisation helps potential candidates and clients find your website when they search for jobs or recruitment services. Getting the basics right means:
Your jobs appear in relevant search results
More relevant candidates discover your opportunities
Your website builds authority in your recruitment sectors
You reduce dependency on paid advertising
📌 Note: SEO improvements typically take several months to show results. See Google's guidance on SEO timelines for more details. Consistency and patience are key.
Your SEO foundation checklist
Here's what you'll accomplish in this guide:
Before you start
Before you get started with SEO on your site, ensure you have:
Admin access to your Access Volcanic website.
Knowledge on how to find and use your content editing tools.
Ability to add or edit your site’s content.
📌 Note: We will keep this guide up to date, as and when any guidance changes. So keep an eye in case there’s any updates.
Explore key SEO topics
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of making your website more visible on search engines like Google. It's a complex and ever-changing topic, so we've compiled the best resources to help you understand the fundamentals.
🤓 Tip: As you learn the basics, use your SEO tools to put what you learn into practice immediately.
Online resources
📽️ Watch this video to understand what SEO is and why it's important for your website.
📖 Read Moz Beginner's Guide to SEO - A free guide that explores SEO topics through eight chapters:
🤓 Tip: Bookmark Moz's SEO Glossary for quick reference.
On-page SEO
Start working on your on-page SEO aka elements, like content and optimising, that are controlled within your site.
Write unique content
Every page on your website needs unique, valuable content that serves a clear purpose for your audience. This includes original page titles, descriptions, and on-page copy that delivers genuine value.
Why it matters
Search engines reward originality and penalise duplication because unique content provides fresh, useful information for searchers.
⚠️ Important: Avoid copying content from other websites or reusing content across your own pages, as this can damage your rankings.
Content writing essentials
When creating or updating content, ensure you include the following elements to maximise your SEO performance and user attraction.
Content element | Description | Suggestion |
Page titles (H1) |
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Page content |
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Structure |
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Call-to-Action (CTA) |
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Use your content editing tools
Get familiar with Volcanic’s content editing tools, listed below, to help you create unique and engaging content on your site:
Design Studio: Customise your site's look and feel.
Edit Mode: Make live content edits directly on the page.
Admin Area CMS: Manage structured content from the backend.
Use AI to craft unique content and titles
You can use AI to help you produce high-quality, SEO-optimised content more efficiently whilst maintaining your brand voice and meeting user needs.
📌 Note: See our Using AI for SEO guide to learn more about using AI for content creation and writing.
Use images to enhance your content
Adding unique, high-quality images with descriptive alt text improves SEO by enhancing user engagement, increasing relevance for image search, and providing accessibility signals that search engines use to rank content.
Source unique Images
During your website's build phase, you'll receive a selection of images free of charge. Once live, you're responsible for providing additional images where needed. High-quality, unique imagery improves user engagement and SEO performance.
Stock image resources:
Adobe Stock: Wide range of professional images available for download.
Unsplash - Free, high-resolution imagery.
Pexels - Free stock photos with diverse themes.
Pexels Videos - Free high-quality videos for various uses
Create unique images with AI:
For a personal touch, use AI to create images tailored to your brand. Using AI-image tools e.g. DALL-E to generate can help you create custom images specific to your brand that can’t be found elsewhere.
🤓 Tip: See our Using AI for SEO guide to learn more about the AI tools you can use for image generation.
⚠️ Warning: Always review AI-generated content for accuracy and tone.
Add alt image text
Every image on your site should have clear, accurate alt text that describes what's shown. This helps search engines understand your visuals, improves accessibility for visually impaired users, and can strengthen SEO.
Why it matters
Clarifies image content for search engines.
Enhances accessibility for screen reader users.
Supports content quality by fixing flagged issues in the SEO Console.
How to add or edit Alt Text
Add or update alt text via Edit Mode on the page where the image appears.
📌Note: Check the Edit Mode guide for detailed instructions on adding alt text.
Best Practices
Description: Be specific but concise.
Keywords: Include relevant keywords naturally; avoid overuse.
Clarity: Avoid phrases like image of: screen readers already announce it's an image.
🤓 Tip: For example, you might write alt text like London-based recruitment consultant meeting with candidates
Optimise your images
Once you've sourced images, optimise them to balance quality with site speed.
🤓 Tip: Compress images before uploading to maintain fast load times while preserving visual quality. Large, unoptimised images can significantly slow your website.
Run your site crawler
In your SEO Console, you can run a site crawler that checks your site for common SEO issues. This includes missing metadata, missing H1 headings, broken links, missing image alt text and other issues problems.
Running regular scans helps you catch issues early, maintain standards, and track progress.
📌Note: See our SEO Tools guide to learn how to run scans, read results, and fix issues step-by-step using the SEO Console.
Add metadata
Metadata tells search engines and users what each page is about. This includes:
Meta title: Appears in browser tabs and search results. Keep it relevant, use important keywords near the start, write in natural language and keep it unique for each page.
Meta description: A short summary shown in search results. Make each one unique, inviting, and accurate. Use relevant keywords, inspire curiosity, and include a call to action.
What metadata looks like
Your meta title and meta description appear on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) - the page users see after entering a query in Google or other search engines. These elements are crucial because they form the first impression of your site in search results.
Below is an example of how metadata displays on a SERP:
Previewing your metadata
You can use the Page Settings section in Edit mode to to preview what your metadata will look like.
Or try the SERP Snippet Generator from Sistrix. Add your page link and the tool will generate a visual preview. This free tool will help you:
Verify the length of your meta title and description.
See how your snippet will appear on desktop and mobile search results.
Check for uniqueness
Use the SEO Console site crawler to find and fix duplicate meta titles or descriptions.
🤓 Tip: You can edit metadata for individual pages via Edit Mode, or for recurring pages like jobs and blogs via SEO Settings.
⚠️ Important: Avoid duplication. Each page's metadata should be unique and accurately reflect its content.
Best practices
Meta titles
Keep titles shorts, e.g. under 60 characters so they display fully.
Place keywords at the start of title titles, where users see them first.
Unique and relevant titles perform better than generic ones or ones used across multiple pages.
Write compelling but honest titles to drive better engagement.
🤓Examples
✅ Good meta title: Find Marketing Jobs Near Manchester – Apply Today
📝 Needs improvement: Jobs Marketing Manchester Recruitment Agency Marketing Roles Manchester Jobs
Meta descriptions
Use concise descriptions e.g. between 150–160 characters to display fully in search results.
Write unique descriptions for every page that accurately reflect specific content.
Be specific about the page content and value proposition.
Use relevant and natural keywords that match the content and likely search terms.
Add engaging but truthful content to encourage good click-through rates.
Include a call-to-action like Apply now or Contact us today.
🤓Examples
✅ Good meta description: Browse 50+ marketing jobs in London. Upload your CV and apply in minutes. Specialist marketing recruiters since 2010.
❌ Bad meta description: Welcome to our website where we help people find jobs.
Tips to optimise your metadata
Use the Page Settings section in Edit mode to to preview what your metadata will look like.
Monitor click-through rates (CTR) in Google Search Console.
Optimise metadata for pages with high impressions but low CTR.
Avoid making frequent changes – allow time for updates to take effect.
Write for people, not humans: keep your language natural and avoid clickbait or keyword stuffing.
📌 Note: Access Volcanic doesn't specialise in SEO consultancy. For advanced SEO strategy, seek professional advice. Our tips are based on experience and widely accepted best practices.
Off-page SEO
Begin to looking into off-page SEO, aka building your websites’ reputation, using tools outside your website.
Set up Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that helps you monitor and improve your site's search performance. Use it to:
📊 Track visibility in Google search results
🗺️ Submit your sitemap so Google can index your pages
🛠️ Identify and fix issues like crawl errors
Setting it up is straightforward — it ensures Google can properly read and index your site, helping you track performance, find errors, and understand how users interact with your content. ⏱️ It only takes a few minutes to connect your site.
📌 Learn more & get started here: Google Search Console
Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console
First, locate your website's sitemap. Then, using Google's own guide and video, add the sitemap in Google Search Console.
Benefits of submitting your sitemap
Improves indexing: Ensures Google can find and index all pages efficiently
Accelerates content discovery: Helps new or updated content appear faster in search results
Enhances crawl efficiency: Guides Google on your site's structure and priorities
Identifies indexing issues: Provides reports to fix crawl or indexing problems promptly
Supports rich results: Helps Google understand your content for enhanced listings
Facilitates multimedia indexing: Ensures images, videos, and other media are indexed effectively
Monitors sitemap performance: Offers analytics on indexed pages and errors
Next steps
Once your site has got the essentials covered for SEO, explore the ways you can improve your SEO and develop your strategy. This includes fine-tuning your keywords and linking strategy.
🤓Tip: Read our Improving your SEO guide for next-level techniques.
FAQs
Q1: How long before I see SEO results?
Answer: SEO changes typically take several months to impact rankings. See Google's guidance on SEO timelines for specific details. Focus on consistent improvements rather than expecting immediate results.
Q2: Do I need technical knowledge for these tasks?
Answer: No. These six foundation tasks are designed for non-technical users. Access Volcanic's tools make implementation straightforward without coding knowledge.
Q3: What order should I complete these tasks?
Answer: The guide order is designed for beginners starting with SEO: learn basics first, then content, SEO Console scan, metadata, alt text, and finally Google Search Console. However, you can adapt this based on your current progress. For example, if you already have unique content, you might start with the SEO Console or metadata sections and return to other tasks as needed.
Q4: How often should I run SEO Console scans?
Answer: Run scans monthly as part of your routine maintenance. After major website updates, run an immediate scan to catch any new issues.
Q5: Can I use the same metadata for similar pages?
Answer: No. Every page must have unique metadata. Even similar pages (like different location pages) need distinct titles and descriptions to avoid duplication penalties.
Q6: What if the SEO Console shows false positive broken links?
Answer: Some external sites (LinkedIn, Instagram) block crawlers and show as broken. Test these links manually - if they work when clicked, you can safely ignore the warnings.
Q7: Can I just add as many keywords in my content as possible?
Answer: Never. Adding excessive keywords unnaturally (also known as keyword stuffing) hurts rankings. Write naturally for humans, including keywords where they make sense. Google's algorithms detect and penalise unnatural keyword use.
Q8: How much content does each page need?
Answer: Aim for minimum 300 words of unique content per page. Important pages (homepage, main services) benefit from 500-800 words. Quality matters more than quantity.
Q9: What's the difference between on-page and off-page SEO?
Answer: On-page SEO means optimising your website content, titles, and structure to help search engines understand your pages and improve user experience. Off-page SEO means building your website's reputation and authority through activities outside your site, primarily by earning backlinks from other reputable websites. On-page SEO helps search engines understand what your content is about, while off-page SEO demonstrates your site's credibility and trustworthiness.
Q10: Can Access Volcanic help me with SEO optimisation?
Answer: Yes, Access Volcanic and our Support Team can help you use the platform's built-in SEO tools and features for on-page optimisation. This includes guidance on configuring meta titles, descriptions, structured data, SEO console usage, and other technical SEO settings within your website. However, content creation and strategy development remain client-side responsibilities.
Q11: Does Access Volcanic provide off-page SEO services?
Answer: No, Access Volcanic does not provide content writing, keyword research, or SEO strategy development services. We focus on helping you use the platform's SEO tools effectively. Content creation, topic planning, and strategic SEO decisions should be handled by your team or through third-party SEO consultancy if additional expertise is needed.