MightyRecruiterIt’s no secret that job boards like Indeed and Monster remain a primary source that jobseekers use to find employment. However, what can be surprisingly mysterious is the fee structure that props up many of these job boards, and the way in which these systems affect recruitment strategy.
Thanks to technological advancement, the types of job boards that are available to employers and recruiters have begun to take on new models that have their own benefits and drawbacks.
Gone are the days when flat rate job boards were the only way to connect your jobs to candidates. Now, CPC (Cost-Per-Click) and CPA (Cost-Per-Applicant) boards are stepping into the fold, and both options are appropriate for different situations. Let’s take a look at each of the options and dissect them a bit:
What’s the Deal with Flat Rate Job Boards?
Many of the well-known job boards fall under this category (think Monster, Snagajob, Beyond, CareerBuilder). Simply put, you pay them a flat rate fee, and your job lives on their site for a set amount of time, most commonly 14 to 30 days, collecting applicants.
Pros
- Boards’ good reputation can lead to better performance
- Fixed cost, which makes budgeting easier
- High-traffic potential
Cons
- High rates with no guaranteed return
- Less candidate targeting
- Congested with other jobs
In short, flat rate job boards have the potential to generate lots of traffic. They also have fixed prices, so you know what you are paying from the start, without having to manage your budget, and you know that your posting will get some views. At the same time, these prices are often very high both in terms of posting cost as well as cost per candidate. Finally, these boards do not do much to target qualified candidates, so performance can be hard to measure as often times unqualified candidates are applying to jobs.
What’s the Deal with CPC (Cost-per-Click) Job Boards?
Much like other online advertising, these job boards follow a cost-per-click pricing model. Meaning, you only pay when a candidate clicks on your job link. Indeed has become the world’s top job board and utilizes this model for their job postings with great success.
Pros
- Flexible budgeting with very low campaign minimums
- Only pay for clicks
- Easy to monitor
Cons
- Requires some management
- Clicks don’t mean applications
- Fluctuating costs due to auction environment
In a nutshell, CPC boards provide flexibility in budgeting as you not only set bids (amounts of money you are willing to pay for someone to click on your job posting), but you also only pay when clicks actually occur. These boards also highlight the importance of having keywords in your job content. Top employers know to fill their job content with relevant search terms that can boost page ranking, which can cause some serious bidding wars on popular roles in busy geo-locations. This can be costly if you want a job to show up very high in search results, as you may have to bid more to get there. Also, a click doesn’t mean someone actually applied to your job, which can be a deterrent (relative to CPA options) for recruiters and employers working with smaller budgets. Finally, CPC boards allow you to measure cost easily, but at the expense of some time spent managing the campaigns.
What’s the Deal with CPA (Cost-per-Applicant) Job Boards
CPA is a newer job board model in the space, and Appcast and JobG8 are two great examples of companies using this strategy. Unlike CPC, CPA boards only charge you when someone actually APPLIES to your job.
Pros
- Only pay for completed applications
- Little management required
Cons
- Less reach
- Limited options
While on the surface CPA seems like the job board type that can maximize your budget and speed up your hiring process, it also has some potential drawbacks. It’s true that risk is lower due payment being associated with an action deeper in the hiring funnel; at the same time though, the cost of applicants for certain roles can become very pricy as CPA networks are also in an auction-based environment, like CPC boards. Also, because these kinds of job boards make a better effort to target qualified candidates, you might receive an overall lower number of candidates. If you are looking to build a pipeline this won’t be the best method. Finally, as this model is relatively new, there are not many options to choose from.
Which Job Board is Best for You?
Job boards will continue to come and go and evolve, and it’s important to realize that there is no “perfect” option; the board that works best depends on company needs and circumstance.
Flat rate boards are great for companies with a large recruitment budget, little time to manage job postings, and a good brand reputation that can stand out among the masses.
CPC Boards are good for companies with smaller budgets, solid job content, and more time to manage and optimize bidding.
Finally, CPA boards are great for people looking to hire a few people quickly at a specific budget for specific roles, but they aren’t so great for those looking to build large candidate pipelines.
Furthermore, flat rate boards are usually the costliest per applicant, while CPC/CPA allow you to control spend but can become just as costly as a flat rate board depending on the role itself.
Before deciding on a job board type, figure out what your hiring capabilities are. If you have the time and resources to manage using CPC/CPA boards, then give it a shot and see if you can get cost per hire at a new low for your company. Alternatively, let our MightyRecruiter team of posting experts do the work for you.