Recruitment has yet to catch on as a category being watched
by analysts such as David Hallerman of eMarketer.com though I expect that will change given the rapidly expanding adoption of new media in the recruitment ad
space and the demand of HR execs to market their own career sites. (pointed out
by DirectEmployers’s 2007 Recruiting Trend Survey).
Hallerman’s study of the Search Marketing landscape
is a valuable read to anyone interested in leveraging paid search or search
engine optimization for recruitment.
If you’re a recruiter, this whitepaper has too much
information(TMI) and you should be hittin’
the phones. So, I’ve listed below the things that I think are most
important to you.
If you’re a Human Resources consultant, blogger or pundit type
than this whitepaper is a must read. Shut down email, pay for and download the whitepaper,
grab a coffee, bite the cap off of your pen, start reading and scribbling
notes. Educate your clients. Make their recruiting efforts more effective.
If you’re an entrepreneur thinking of launching a search
engine marketing agency specifically for recruitment then quit telling everyone
about your idea. It’s annoying. Find someone whom has already paid for the whitepaper. Convince her to send you a copy. If it requires lying, don’t worry. It’s not the first time you’ll lie and it wont be the last. Use the research to formulate your biz plan. Get moving. The barrier to entry in this space is low right now. More competition is on the way. Your long term plans should include integrating VOIP, RSS and SMS into your product suite.
Recruiters, here is the summary of info from this whitepaper
that matters most to you:
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How much do search
keywords cost?
eMarketer: ‘Keywords on Google are 28% & 29% more
expensive than on Yahoo! and MSN respectively.’
Me: Since keyword pricing is driven up with
competition in the market, Google’s success in the consumer ad market may hurt
it in the recruitment ad space
Which works better:
paid search advertising or search engine optimization (SEO)?
eMarketer: ‘More US marketers cite SEO for best return on
investment than do those who cite paid search…A higher percentage of large
advertisers currently engage in (paid search) than those who use SEO….Control
maybe be one reason some advertisers prefer paid search to SEO. ‘
Me: A cost effective SEO strategy is worthwhile for
employers’ long term recruiting objectives. Paid search is the go to tool for
supporting immediate and dynamically changing recruiting objectives. Paid
search and SEO always compliment each other so the right strategy across both
will make a world of difference today and tomorrow.
Measuring results…
eMarketer: ‘The core metrics advertisers and agencies use
to measure the effectiveness of search engine marketing include web site
traffic volume, conversion rates, click-through rates and the bottom line of
return on investment(ROI).’
Me: The best recruiters will know the source of their best leads. Identifying new sources will require your understanding career site analytics. Get familiar with analytics like clicks, conversion
rates, click-through rates. Take a tip from Jim Stroud. Read: Career Site Analytics a la JimStroud
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Search Marketing: Counting Dollars and Clicks
Search engine marketing is a highly concentrated industry. Over 90% of US paid search ad spending will go to Google and Yahoo! in 2007. One result of this concentration is that it often makes advertising on second-tier search engines a better value—less competition for keywords means a broader reach for fewer ad dollars. Get it at eMarketer.com.
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