Understanding how the job boards work, charge and operate can be very confusing to many businesses, especially if you are not heavily involved in recruitment advertising.
At Flat Fee Recruiter, our philosophy is to keep it as simple as possible for you, especially since these sites change all the time.
However, with increasing usage and adoption of Pay Per Click (PPC), Pay Per Applicant (PPA) or even Pay Per Placement (PPP) models, and many of our customers wanting to understand more, we have written this quick FAQ to help.
What sites use PPC model?
The main job sites that Flat Fee Recruiter publishes a PPC model of advertising on are: Indeed, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google.
Reed also provides a PPA model
How does PPC job advertising work?
PPC operates a “sponsored ad” approach. This means that when you put your advert on the site, you have to set a budget. This is usually a minimum or maximum amount you want to spend for each click and/or an overall budget and end date. Some models are more sophisticated than others, but the job board is responsible for driving traffic to your advert by ensuring it is visible in relevant search queries created by the job seeker. This is usually done by matching keywords in your advert and displaying it in relevant searches.
How much does PPC job advertising cost?
Usually, you agree to pay an amount (budget) that will correspond to the number of clicks, prices vary depending on the demand or popularity of the keywords, how long you want to keep it open and how visible you want to be in search results. Once the budget has been spent, the advert will no longer be visible. Some job adverts may use the budget in a matter of hours, others will take longer to use it.
How does FFR Manage the PPC budget?
All PPC budgets are reviewed every day by a specialist in the team. They look at the average cost per click, the numbers of candidates converting to applications and any trends that will help them ensure that your budget goes as far as possible. If they spot any issues such as an unusually high cost per click or campaigns that are not generating any candidates etc, they will let you know ASAP and advise you on your options.
I have paid for a PPC campaign and not had any applicants
There are a number of reasons why your recruitment advertising campaign may struggle to attract applications. This could be due to the job title, the availability of candidates, the salary you are paying, the region you are recruiting for, the economic situation etc.
With a PPC campaign, you are paying for people to click through to your advert, not to apply for your job. Therefore, it is really important that the advert we draft for you is as accurate as possible with the right keywords and the best job title to ensure that the site puts your advert in front of the right candidates. If your PPC advert is not generating the results we would expect, we will be in touch to discuss at the earliest opportunity as there are other options.
I can advertise on Indeed for free, why would I choose PPC?
If you can get your adverts free on Indeed, then go for it! Indeed, will allow some new accounts and even some established accounts to advertise for free. However, they will start charging you at some point. By offering free advertising, Indeed has seen exponential growth, and this is one of the ways they can “hook” you in. However, be aware that when you advertise a job for free, your job can quickly be buried under the PPC / paid-for adverts. But if you can get it for free, for now, why wouldn’t you?
Further questions?
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the team on 0113 322 7243