A simple guide to job ad performance
When you post a job ad on SEEK, it’s important to know if it’s doing well – and there’s a tool to help you find this out. SEEK’s Ad Performance report gives you the information you need to improve your ad at the time it matters most – when it’s live.
And to get the most out of your job ads, it helps to understand what makes them perform well.
Why do some ads do better than others?
The way a job ad performs can be impacted by external factors like supply and demand in the job market, the way job seekers are feeling about the job market, and a company’s employer brand. But the way your job ad is written can also help to determine how well it performs.
Steph Hutton, SEEK Customer Success Manager, says people are more likely to click on job ads and apply for roles when they can see what’s in it for them.
“People want a high degree of transparency,” she says. “For example, there's roughly a 40 per cent increase in the number of applications when a job ad shows a salary versus when it doesn’t show a salary.”
Ads that list job perks can also make people more likely to apply.
“They want work-life balance, but just putting that phrase in your job ad isn't really enough anymore – people really want to know what that means at your organisation,” says Hutton.
“Is it the flexibility to choose their own hours to start early or finish early? Is there a possibility of a nine-day fortnight or a four-day working week? Are they able to work in a hybrid way?”
Hutton says that ads with a clear job title are also likely to perform better.
“A good example is a job ad title such as ‘Director of First Impressions’ for a receptionist role or ‘a Habitat Manager’ for an office manager position,” she says. “While they might be fun or make a lot of sense internally in a business, when people are searching for a job, they're not necessarily going to know what it is or if it's a relevant role for them straight up.”
How is your job ad tracking?
You can gauge how your job ad is performing by the number of applications you receive, but SEEK also provides an Ad Performance report to give you more detail.
The report shows you how people are engaging with your job ad, based on how many people saw your ad in a SEEK job search across mobile and web, how many clicked on it and how many applied for the job on the SEEK platform.
You’ll also get an idea of how your ad is tracking compared to similar ads.
“Every time somebody posts an ad on the SEEK platform, we compare it against other similar ads on the platform and also take into account market conditions for that particular role,” Hutton explains.
“We usually give job ads a performance rating of ‘low’, ‘normal’ or ‘high’, based on a comparison to other similar ads on site and how many applications were started or completed in comparison to other similar ads on the platform.
“For example, if you post a customer service role in Melbourne, how many applications have you actually received versus other customer service roles in Melbourne in recent times?”
Plus, the report includes tailored advice on how you can improve your ad. From here, you can edit your job ad while it’s live to include information that people really want to see, like salary and job perks and benefits. This can help you to get the most from your ad.
How to access your Ad Performance report
On the homepage or dashboard of your SEEK employer account, you can click on the Performance column to see your most recent ads and how they're performing.
“You can just click on the rating itself or, if you want a more detailed view, you can click on the ‘Analytics’ tab at the top of the dashboard to access the Ad Usage report,” says Hutton.
“It's also quite helpful to use the ‘Conversion’ tab, which shows you where candidates are converting through the application process on the SEEK platform.
“It shows you how many people have seen your ads and how many people have clicked to read more information and the number of people who have clicked the apply button as well,” adds Hutton. “It can help to pinpoint where you may need to do some work to improve conversion along the way.”
By using your Ad Performance report, you can see how your job ad is tracking, compare its performance to others, and get advice on how to adjust it to make it more appealing. This can help you get more out of your job ads and encourage more people to apply.
Keen to know more about getting the most out of your SEEK job ad? SEEK’s local customer service team can step you through it by phone, live chat or email.
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