Solved: High cost-per-application on LinkedIn for tech roles

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your LinkedIn Ads strategy for attracting tech talent. I understand you're facing challenges with high cost-per-application and inconsistent applicant quality, and I'm sure we can work this out!

We'll need to look at your current targeting...

First things first, I'd take a real good look at your current targeting setup on LinkedIn. Are you going too narrow? It sounds counterintuitive, but I've seen overly-specific targeting backfire quite a few times. I remember working with a client where they were really restricting their audience, trying to get it as close to their ideal candidate as possible, and they got a good cost per application but ran out of steam pretty quickly. The pool just wasn't big enough, and LinkedIn's algorithm struggled to find enough relevant people. It's really about finding that sweet spot.

Consider broadening your targeting a bit, perhaps by including slightly broader job titles or skills related to the IT roles you're targeting. LinkedIn's audience expansion feature can also be useful, but keep a close eye on performance to make sure you're not wasting budget on irrelevant candidates. I'd say start by just opening it up a bit and then analyse if it's working for you. It's all about striking a balance, as quality dipped a little bit for the client but overall they saw a way better ROI.

Also, think about the companies you are targeting. You can specifically target companies to make sure you are getting the best quality candidates.

I'd say you need to review your ad creative...

Your ad creative is absolutely critical. Generic "join our team" messages are a dime a dozen. You need to speak directly to the pain points and aspirations of the IT professionals you want to attract. What makes your company a great place to work? What opportunities do you offer that your competitors don't?

Think about the benefits that are most important to your target audience: flexible work arrangements, opportunities for professional development, stock options, a positive company culture, or challenging and rewarding projects. Then showcase these in your ad copy and visuals. I remember one campaign we worked on for a SaaS company, we tested ad copy that highlighted things like remote work policies, learning and development opportunities, and stock options and saw a major increase in the number of applications and qualified candidates.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different ad formats on LinkedIn. Single image ads can work, but video ads and carousel ads are often more engaging and allow you to tell a more compelling story about your company and the opportunities you offer. We've seen video ads perform very well for tech companies, especially when they feature testimonials from current employees.

Make sure your visuals are high-quality and representative of your company culture. Stock photos are generally a no-no; opt for authentic images of your team and workplace.

You probably should test different ad formats...

You should run different tests for ad formats on LinkedIn. A simple change from single image ads to video ads or even carousel ads can grab more attention and increase candidate quality. It's worth testing it, you might find that the video format leads to more qualified candidates as people get a deeper insight into the company.

Also I would review your budget allocation. Ensure you're allocating budget effectively across different campaigns and ad sets. Avoid spreading your budget too thinly, as this can make it difficult to gather enough data to optimise your campaigns effectively. You want enough data to tell what is working and what isn't.

Consider focusing your budget on your best-performing campaigns and ad sets. You can also use LinkedIn's automated bidding options to optimise your bids for specific goals, such as cost-per-application.

You'll need to set up conversion tracking...

Finally, make sure you have proper conversion tracking in place so you can measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. This will allow you to see which ads and targeting options are driving the most qualified candidates at the lowest cost. If you can see where the leads are coming from, you will have a much better chance of optimising your campaign for success.

Review your landing pages. Check the landing pages, the ones you're directing candidates to, are they optimised for conversions? Make sure they're mobile-friendly, have clear calls to action, and provide all the information candidates need to make an informed decision. It's important to have all your pages optimised as this could lead to an increase in the quality of candidates applying.

By tracking conversions, you can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to improve your LinkedIn Ads performance. It's important to regularly keep track of how the ads are performing.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Hope this helps, these are the core points to address if you're seeing high costs and low application quality, although there might be other smaller things to consider as well!

Btw, I run an agency and have quite a bit of experience in helping tech companies optimise their LinkedIn Ads campaigns. I appreciate it can be really difficult to drive down CPA and increase lead quality, that's why we specialise in doing this.

I recall one campaign we ran for a B2B software company targeting decision makers on LinkedIn, as mentioned, and we achieved a cost per lead of $22.

If you'd like to delve deeper and discuss your specific situation in more detail, I'm happy to offer you a free consultation. We can review your current strategy and account together and see what actionable steps you can take to improve your results.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh