Solved: Recruitment Firm Needs Help Refining Ad Targeting

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your recruitment firm's advertising. It sounds like you're facing a fairly common problem in the tech recruitment space - lots of interest, but not the *right* interest.

Here's my initial take on your situation:

We'll need to look at lead quality...

First off, that application quality issue is a pain. You're drowning in CVs, but sifting through them to find the gems is costing you time and money. LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms could be your new best mate here. Think of them as a first-line defence against time-wasters. You can integrate qualifying questions directly into the form. Think multiple-choice questions, or short-answer ones where candidates need to demonstrate a certain level of knowledge or experience. This acts as a natural filter, discouraging those who don't meet the basic criteria from even applying.

I remember running a campaign for a B2B software company using LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms. By integrating qualifying questions directly into the forms, we managed to filter out irrelevant applications.

I'd say you need to improve your targeting...

Now, onto those niche roles – senior devs and cybersecurity experts are like gold dust, aren't they? LinkedIn Recruiter is worth its weight in gold. Yes, it's another expense, but those advanced search filters are a game-changer. I'd say it's almost essential for those specialist roles. Get super granular with skills, experience, even previous companies. Think about the specific technologies and frameworks these roles demand, and use those as keywords. You can even target people who have worked at competitor firms.

Also think about the way in which your targeting these roles. Do you have a really tight, specific ideal customer profile (ICP) for these roles? Make sure you really nail down exactly what the perfect candidate looks like. You need to be absolutely certain about what skills and experience they need to have.

You probably should review your ads...

Have a think about ad copy. Are you speaking directly to your ideal candidates? Are you highlighting the specific benefits that *they* care about? Senior devs, for example, might be interested in things like opportunities for professional development, challenging projects, a good work/life balance, or a chance to work with cutting-edge technology.

Also, is your messaging consistent across all your ads and landing pages? Make sure the entire experience feels seamless and targeted to their specific needs. The other thing is that developers don't always want to move roles, and will only move if something really stands out. The main way to find this is to go directly to the candidates, and message them directly. If you are struggling with the normal job boards you'll have a much better chance if you just go direct. It can be a bit long winded, and you'll have to do it manually, but you'll get a much better response rate.

Consider video ads. They can be more engaging and can help you convey a lot more information in a short amount of time. I know you are likely to be advertising on LinkedIn, but you can use video on other platforms, such as YouTube.

You'll need a proper tracking system...

Make sure you're tracking everything properly. Cost per *qualified* applicant is the metric you should be laser-focused on. Set up conversion tracking in LinkedIn and Google Ads so you can see which campaigns and keywords are driving the best results. This'll allow you to optimise your campaigns and focus your budget on what's working.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

You're in a tough market, no doubt. London tech recruitment is fiercely competitive. But with some targeted adjustments to your strategy, you should see some big improvements in your cost-per-qualified-applicant.

Scaling B2B campaigns in a competitive market isn't easy, but it sounds like some fairly simple fixes to your targeting and adverts might help.

Anyway, I hope that gives you some food for thought.

If you want to have a further chat about any of this, I'd be happy to book you in for a free consultation and take a look at your campaigns. We've got a lot of experience helping tech companies in the UK to improve their return on ad spend, so we might have some insights that would be helpful. This is especially important for tech roles, as the talent is in such high demand, and the candidates can be picky, meaning your ads need to stand out from the rest.

As an example, we helped a software company generate B2B decision maker leads for just $22 CPL using LinkedIn Ads.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh