How to Run Google Ads on a Limited Budget: A Guide for Recruiters

Are you reluctant to give Google Ads a shot because you think you’ll need more funds to promote your recruitment business with great success? Believe it or not, you don’t require a sizable marketing budget to obtain the results you want. What makes Google Ads an ideal marketing platform for recruitment firms, particularly the smaller ones, is that you can make this work for you regardless of your budget.

Sure, having more funds can help as they allow you to bid on the more popular keywords. However, a bigger budget is not an absolute requirement. As mentioned earlier, you can run Google Ads on a limited budget and obtain positive results as long as you have an excellent strategy in place. 

Launching a Successful Google Ads Campaign on a Shoestring Budget

If you want to attract more recruitment traffic and generate leads with Google Ads, here are several strategies that can help ensure your success despite your limited marketing budget. 

1. Choose the right keywords

It goes without saying that you must only use keywords that are relevant to the recruitment industry. However, there are specific types of keywords you need to look for so you can get the best results possible. We’re talking about high volume, high intent, and low competition keywords. Finding keywords with these qualities can be tricky and a bit time-consuming. However, they can yield better results than when using general keywords in your campaign.

For example, let’s say you’re targeting candidates looking for engineering jobs. Instead of merely choosing the keywords “engineering jobs,” consider using the keywords “civil engineering jobs” or “electrical engineering jobs.” If you want to be more specific, you can include the name of a location, such as “civil engineering jobs Northampton.”

These keywords have higher search intent but lower competition than the more generic “engineering jobs” keywords. They are more relevant and specific, especially if you’re targeting a particular group of job seekers from a particular location. Because of this, they have a lower cost-per-click or CPC. What’s more, the people who will click on your ads are more likely to enlist your services. 

2. Run smaller ad groups

If you want to minimise your expenses, consider running smaller ad groups that use fewer keywords. Launching a smaller yet more focused Google Ads campaign is more efficient and cost-effective because it makes your ads more specific and relevant. If your ads are more accurate, Google is more likely to raise your ad ranking or your impression share regardless of your bids. 

3. Conduct split tests

Conducting tests is essential to the success of your Google Ads campaign, or any marketing campaign for that matter, as it helps you verify if your strategies are working. Also known as A/B testing, split testing enables you to identify which strategy, keyword, or ad content works well with job seekers and employers.

Running tests can indeed cost you extra since you’re using your budget to see what works, instead of merely choosing a particular strategy and then making the necessary adjustment afterwards. However, you should still consider running split tests because they can prevent you from making expensive mistakes in the future. More importantly, they help you manage more productive and successful ads, ensuring that you’ll get a better return on investment. 

4. Set your bids to manual

Make sure that your bids are set to manual so you won’t end up spending more money than you have to. In doing so, you’ll have more control over your Google Ads campaign. Also, it enables you to determine how much money you’re willing to spend on each ad.

You can set the bids to manual for each campaign. For instance, if the CPC of some high-value keyword groups is notably higher, you can increase their bid limit while reducing those of the other ad groups. This will help you get better results. 

5. Launch a remarketing campaign

Remarketing is another way to run Google Ads on a limited budget. It allows you to reconnect with candidates or employers who visited your site but didn’t sign up for your service and/or give you their contact information. With this strategy, you can remind your target audience to provide you with another chance when they use Google or visit other websites.

Remarketing is a must-consider because it can be highly profitable despite being cost-effective. More importantly, it gives you another chance to promote your services. According to how your former web visitors interacted with your recruitment site, you can create new campaigns or adjust existing ones to convince your target audience to click on your ads and take your desired conversion action. 

Get Started with Google Ads

One of the most common myths and misconceptions about Google Ads is that you need more funds to succeed. This is entirely untrue. While having a considerable marketing budget helps, it is not a requirement. As long as you’re using the right strategies, you can run successful campaigns and get the results you want.

However, it can be easy to make mistakes when using Google Ads to promote your recruitment site, particularly if you’re a beginner. Instead of saving money, you might end up spending more than you should. This is why we want to help you avoid making costly mistakes. At Recruitment Traffic, we specialise in Google Ads and SEO. We will create a tailored strategy to fit not only your budget but also your marketing needs. Contact us today.