26 May, 2021

How to Make Job Ads Attractive to Candidates

job ads

Many recruiters are fond of adding technological bells and whistles to their job ads. However, those things won’t matter if they can’t catch the candidate’s attention. If the ads don’t generate the applications or CVs you expect, you better rethink your strategy. Fortunately, here are some insights that can help your jobs ads obtain a quick response from job seekers.

Write ads that mirror your candidate’s goals 

Job seekers won’t click on any job posting because they think it’s cool. They will only do so if they are convinced that you have the right employment opportunity for them. As such, your ad’s content must be in sync with a candidate’s goal. 

Before you start writing the content, think of the candidates and what they intend to accomplish with the position. List those goals down and include them in your ads. It also helps to use any words or even images that can help jobseekers visualise their dream job. Once a job hunter sees and realises that your ads align with their career goals, they are less likely to hesitate to click the link.

Generate excitement in your ads 

Job ads that can elicit the desired emotions from a candidate, whether subtly or overtly, are a powerful tool. While you can stir either positive or negative emotions, it’s better to focus on the former. Remember, you want the candidates to feel good about the job offer and their prospective employer. 

You’d want the reader to feel excited about the prospect of working for the offered position in your ads. One of the primary motivators for candidates to respond to is the compensation package. Make sure that the salary and other benefits are stated clearly. 

In some cases, working for a well-known or respected employer is enough to entice candidates to apply. You can apply this important tid bit to your ads, especially if the advertised position’s salary and benefits are not that great. 

Find the keywords that can attract your target candidates 

Only through keyword research can you determine if the ads are drawing in the right people. Online tools, such as SEMRush, can help you in this area. The first thing you should do is see if enough people are using your target keywords. 

Another strategy is to see and review your competitor’s ads. If both of you are running Google Ads, identify the search terms that they are bidding on. It will give you ideas on what keywords are providing them with a competitive edge. You can decide to outbid them or find new keywords that are cheaper but relevant to your ads. 

The bids can also assist you in determining how much budget you can allocate for the ads.  

Test the keywords 

If you are targeting several keywords, consider doing an A/B testing. Create two or more job ads using each of the keywords you have. After some time, check which of them are used by most searchers. You can then keep using the popular ones while retiring the lowest-performing keywords.  

Include keywords in the URL 

Many recruiters are not aware of the critical role display URLs, the URL you see on your ads, play in their job postings. 

The display URL is essential for two reasons:

  • You can make it relevant to your ads.
  • It can also include your primary keyword, which will help increase your ad’s chances of appearing on top of search results. 

Display URLs can be different from the destination or actual URL, which is the link to the page where a candidate is directed to go after clicking an ad. 

Account for multiple screen sizes 

Some time ago, Google increased the number of characters for its text ads. Headlines now have 30 additional characters while the description line is longer by 90 characters. The extra characters also increase the click-rate by 15%. Such good news should be enough to convince recruiters to post longer job ads

However, those additional characters may not look well on all devices. For instance, the screen size of most smartphones doesn’t have enough space for a third headline and a second description line. 

If any of your candidates uses mobile phones to see your ads, it’s better to stick with two headlines and one description line. This will ensure that your message to your target audience won’t be lost due to a small screen. 

Take Away

As a recruiter, your goal is to attract the right candidates in the shortest time possible.  However, writing great job postings may take some time and plenty of practice. Fortunately, the tips discussed above can help you avoid the mistakes that other recruiters have made. These pieces of advice can also improve the quality of your ads while increasing your click-through rates.

Job ads can be optimised by using the right SEO techniques. If you require assistance when optimising your job ads for search engines, you can contact us for help. At Recruitment Traffic, you can depend on us for your SEO needs.

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