Google Ads for Employment (Tips To Find The Best Candidates)

These days, it is safe to say, almost all jobs start with a Google search. Even if you type ‘jobs in Antarctica,’ Google comes up with relevant results! In fact, not only the vacancies, Google is an encyclopedia for job-related tips and tools.

Google SEO seems to be the most popular option for hiring. The moment you type in a job search (say ‘Google Ads jobs’ ), top jobs come up. These are primarily organic results leading to job portals. But, below these listings, you can also find a few search ads.

As it turns out, some recruiters are using Google Ads for hiring. Should you follow this strategy too? Is it viable to use Google Ads for recruiting?

Let’s find out!

SEO or Google Ads: which is best for hiring?

Remember the time when you looked into Google to get your dream job. The search engine quickly came up with top results. Of these, the first ten are most likely job portals showing the vacancies.

But, beneath these organic results, there were maybe three ads. They looked no different from the other results, except for a small ‘Ad’ icon on the left. Now, how likely are you to go all the way down and click on these ads?

To be honest, it does not seem promising from the employer’s viewpoint. That said, it may still be quite relevant for certain situations.

Guidelines for using Google Ads to hire

What does Google Ads say on this matter? You can check out its resource page on business data feeds. In the instructions section for creating dynamic ads feed, ‘jobs’ appear in the fourth point.

In October 2020, Google Ads updated its policies for personalized ads, including employment. This update forbade audience targeting on these criteria.

• Gender
• Age
• Marital status
• Parental status
• ZIP code

These changes weigh in to eliminate discrimination and biases in personalized ads. Google Ads policies are the benchmark for the highest standards of ethics, overall quality, and truthfulness. Existing advertisers were asked to update their campaigns along these lines.

Some more guidelines for using Google Ads to recruit

Keep these basic rules in mind going forward with employment ads.

• Advertisers can not collect PII (Personally Identifiable Information) unless Google Ads allows it. PII includes credit card data, phone numbers, and email ids.
• You can not connect PII with cookies or data feeds.
• Also, you can not share PII with Google via remarketing tags.
• Always obtain user consent before sending precise location data to Google Ads.
• Furthermore, you may not use a remarketing list for narrow targeting.
• Google Ads may show in-ad notices for personalized ads. You should not obscure these notices.

Benefits of using Google Ads for employment

Using the most popular online ads platform has multiple benefits. Firstly, if you represent a new job portal, Google Ads is your shortcut to first-page visibility. The organic competition is very tough, and SEO would take ages to get your site on the first page.

Secondly, you manage your budget with ease. There is no minimum cap, and you pay only when someone clicks on the ad (CPC). As for the CPA (Cost per Acquisition) model, you pay only when someone performs a desired action. However, if it involves filling up a form, it may be in conflict with personalized ads policies.

In addition, you can also target specific keywords to filter elite candidates. This is particularly true when you are looking for a set of specific skills.

Why is Google Ads for employment may be better than SEO?

Forget the old days when people were skeptical about clicking on search ads. Ad consciousness is growing rapidly because they are so very popular. Of course, organic links still take the cake, but ads are nothing to neglect either.

Backed by the mighty trust factor of Google, many people think that ads can help them more than organic links would. Therefore, this mentality shift can help employers to find elite candidates seeking exclusive experience.

Which type of Google Ads is best for hiring?

Google Ads is rather versatile, covering all the bases. Search ads are the commonest types. Users are most familiar with their formats, which mimic the appearance of organic listings. These are the text-based ads, appearing above and/or beneath organic links.

Shopping ads are most popular in the e-commerce niche. They show a product image along with a link to the landing page. These appear as a showcase of products right on the first page. These are not the right fit for employment ads.

Video ads primarily come up on YouTube. It may or may not be a viable strategy to use video ads for recruitment. It depends on the advertiser’s unique needs, including the marketing budget.

App ads may be a good bet if you are promoting a job site app on the Google Play Store.

In addition, you have the image-based ads on the GDN. The Google Display Network is a collective of partner sites covering each and every niche. However, these ads will not show up directly on SERPs.

They will only be visible when the user clicks a partner website from the organic listings. These are great for creating brand awareness. Besides, GDN also includes Gmail. This is a good opportunity to get your job offer right into the inbox of interested candidates.

How to create a good ad copy for hiring?

Since search ads are the most popular, you must create a good ad copy. But, your first job is to have a reliable landing page.

Google Ads considers the landing page as a vital quality score criteria, so pay attention. Once you have it sorted, create an ad copy that focuses on practical user expectations.

For example, if you type in the keyword such as ‘digital marketing jobs,’ the organic listings would usually not show results for ‘work from home’ jobs.

However, the search ad is more likely to show the headline of ‘Work from Home Jobs’ even when the user is yet to type it. Therefore, by specifying these keyword matching parameters in campaign settings, you can proactively get great clicks.

Do remember to follow the guidelines for personalized ads mentioned above.

Conclusion

Employment ads come under the category of personalized ads on Google. Running such ads would require obligatory compliance with certain strict guidelines.

That said, such ads are ideal for attracting elite candidates. If you are a big company ready to go to great lengths to get the right people, running Google Ads for employment is a viable idea.

It is also a faster way to get to the first page of Google if you are a new job site. In addition, you can also run App ads and ads on the GDN (includes Gmail).

For any help with using Google ads to recruit the best candidate, you can contact me any time through Contact page and I would be always happy to help you 🙂