It’s hard to believe that Google AdWords is only 15 years old this year. For some of us it seems like it has been around forever.
However during this time a lot has happened.
Notably cheap clicks for key words and phrases are like the proverbial hens teeth. However there are multiple ways to advertise on Google now and of course they have competition from the likes of; Facebook, Twitter and You Tube so they are changing things to maximise their revenue.
The big news so far this year is the right side adverts no longer appear.
It has been on the cards for some time now and contrary to popular belief it’s not because Goole wants us to pay more for our clicks.
Wordstream a well-known online resource has confirmed that the majority of Googles clicks come from the top four adverts on the left hand side anyway. The screen grab below shows only two.
Depending on your recruitment sector you might also see images on the right where, with a bit of elbow grease you can grab a Google My Business listing. You can add pictures to enhance your recruitment image. Top tip: Few agencies have done this and it’s a great way to dominate the page for your brand name. This is especially important if you are a ‘local’ firm and want to pull in local candidates and clients.
Should I use Google Ads?
The answer is; it depends. Primarily on your marketing goals, growth plans and budget. The fact is Google works on a bidding method and the more ‘commercial’ a word or phrase the more you are likely to pay. That is fine if you know your numbers, for instance:
- What is your acquisition cost for a lead?
- What is your average placement fee?
- How well your web pages convert?
- How good is your marketing and sales funnel?
How it works?
Your advert is displayed and every time someone clicks on the advert you will pay a fee. In the example image below if I had an advert running for sales recruitment I would pay £4.17 everytime someone clicked my advert. The more detailed the phrase (and this means more targeted) it can go either up or down depending on how competitive the market place is.
You can find the costs and keywords related to your market by opening a Google Adwords account which is free. The next question then is what sort of advert click through should I expect?
Your ideal ad click-through rate takes time to determine. It’s not the same for everyone, and average CTR depends on such factors as your industry, keywords, and conversion rate.
A PPC expert friend of mine recommends to plan for a 2% to 5% click-through rate for competitive industries and a 5%+ click-through rate for non-competitive industries.
If you are new to all this expect initially to be at the 2% rate. The click-through rate is higher for non-competitive industries because customers with fewer choices are more likely to click on an ad that is relevant to them. The challenge in staffing and recruiting is that most niches are competitive.
So assuming you have a 2% click through rate and you are paying £2.83 for each click on the word sales recruitment company you will be paying £283 …….ish for two targeted visitors to your website.
These are averages figures; it might be less. The challenge is; will these two visitors convert, maybe if your website is set up in the way we suggest in various other posts here. Think messaging, copywriting, call to action.
It could still be worth it on many levels. Branding, positioning and growth. What if your average fee for a super sales girl is £10k you can justify a few hundred pounds to acquire this person; couldn’t you?
Other Google methods
There are lots of other ways to use Googles power where the cost is much lower. In the image below you will notice the Adchoices image with a blue triangle? This is an advert displayed to me on a common website for someone in my industry. This type of advert costs less to place and is known as a placement advert. All you need to do is tell Google where you want your adverts displaying.
If we go back to our example of sales recruitment where do sales people ‘hang’ out so you advert can be in front of them. Conversion probably won’t be as high or as immediate however it will get your brand out in front of customers and could be a great way to build a list of potential target candidates.
And there is re-marketing. This is where once someone visits your webpage and they are then ‘followed’ around the internet by images from the website they have visited.
Initially used by B2C companies when people visited a purchase page and didn’t take action, known as cart abandonment, and incredibly common now for most savvy ecommerce organisations. The good news is this can work well in the B2B world we all operate in.
Though conversion to client or candidate might be a longer term result this method of ‘advertising’ your brand can certainly work.
Why? It’s a great reminder for you and your offer. Imagine having your advert displayed to a website visitor who is then contacted by one of your consultants. They are more likely to get through and have a productive conversation.
Fact: Advertising works when it’s part of your overall marketing plan.
Important
As an ambitious recruitment organisation, THE marketing strategy to master is email marketing. It will consistently deliver both candidates and clients.
In a special complimentary training Webinar, we give you the template for writing emails we use for our clients and the exact 4 campaigns that are working now.
You can register here.
