How can I improve SEO for my HR/recruitment website and rank for hiring-related keywords?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice on improving the SEO of my HR and recruitment website.

The site focuses on HR services, recruitment, talent acquisition, and helping companies hire employees. I've optimized some basic on-page elements (titles, meta descriptions, content, internal links), but I'm struggling to rank for keywords related to:

• hire employees
• ATS system
• recruitment services
• talent acquisition
• HR consulting
• staffing solutions
• recruitment agency
• outsource hiring
• HR management

A few questions:

1. What SEO activities have given you the biggest ranking improvements in the HR/recruitment niche?
2. Should I focus more on service pages or create lots of informational blog content?
3. How important are backlinks for a relatively new HR website?
4. Are there any specific long-tail keywords that convert well in the hiring/recruitment industry?
5. What's the best way to compete against established recruitment agencies that already dominate the search results?

For context:

• The website is relatively new.
• Target audience is companies looking to hire talent.
• Main goal is generating qualified leads rather than just traffic.

I'd appreciate any feedback, SEO strategies, or lessons learned from people who have grown service-based websites in competitive industries.

Thanks! 🙏