Article published on: 21/11/22
In the early days of setting up a recruitment agency a website might not be the first thing you think of, especially when you have other more pressing arrangements you need to sort, such as your funding and payroll processes.
However, your agency logo and branding identifies and communicates your company's values, so it is worth investing in this area. In terms of a website, your online presence will be a crucial part and an extension of your branding, plus your website sets the tone for your business. To register a domain name costs as little as £10.
With a little know how, building a website is something you could tackle yourself. You don’t necessarily need to understand code to create a website as thousands of free and paid for templates exist online on various website domain sites, however a well-designed, professional website speaks volumes and can help project you brand to a bigger audience.
You can expect to pay from a few hundred pounds for a fairly basic site to a few thousand pounds for a more encompassing and complex site, through an agency or freelancer – whatever option you go with, when creating a site its important to make sure you remain compliant with GDPR guidelines and your website is safe and secure.
Your 24/7 sales hub
No matter what hours you and your team operate, there will be times of the day where you are not online. A website is a great way to not only attract potential customers by showcasing your brand and what you offer, but when they land on your site, they have the means to register their interest.
Through forms linked to you CRM, potential clients and workers can submit their interest and details at any time of the day. You can even use this feature to support current clients and workers, offering a section where they can submit non urgent queries or securely upload any files you have requested for example.
A chat bot is another great way to help existing clients/workers through your website, this offers another line of support – ensuring you have enough staff to man the line. If a worker has one quick question that they don’t feel is urgent enough for a call, or long enough for an email, chat functionality is an easy way to get it resolved.
Understand your audience
After creating your website, you don’t necessarily need to be an SEO expert to increase your visibility online. Google provide free tools to help manage your profile on the Search Engine Results Page (SERPS) that an individual will come across on Google, know as Google Business Profile (GMB). You can manage your google maps listing, business hours, description, add photos, videos, services, create posts (such as offers and updates) and more!
Your website can also give you a better understanding of your audience, Google Analytics (GA), is another tool that collects data from your website to create reports and provide insights into your business. Again, linked to a CRM you can track and log data directly from your website, however on its own GA is still a decent free resource. You see where your web traffic comes from, whether that’s via social traffic from your activity on LinkedIn directing people to your website, Referral traffic from job boards you advertise on, or email traffic from a mailing campaign you are running.
Your personal job board
Costs around job board advertising can range from free listings to £1000 plus per month, depending on the frequency of listings, the size of adverts required, and if you use a copy writer. After the initial build, a website can cut some of this cost out later down the line.
A website can ultimately act as your personal job board, you have freedom to advertise jobs as you please - you aren’t limited to any posting style, frequency, word count etc. and applications can come directly to your team.
Your website is also a great advertisement for any roles within the company. Your About Us/Meet The Team pages can instantly give a potential applicant a sense of your company culture and who they would be working with.
Brand content
Thought leadership is a good way to build credibility for your brand and your website can act as a reference point for this. If your agency is creating content such as blogs, advice, guides, how to videos, these can be housed on your website to help build your brand as a knowledge hub.
Content ultimately helps get your brand out there. For example, someone may not necessarily be looking at the job posting you have listed, but perhaps one of the latest blogs about interviewing tips, or how to videos for CV advice, once they are on your website, valuable and informal content can encourage them to look around more and even come back.
We can support you from the off at Flo, with resources, funding and all the services needed to launch your agency or help you grow it. Contact us on 01827 438065 or info@flo.co.uk to find out more.
