To get excellent applicants through your recruitment drive, you need impactful advertising that’s likely to be seen by the people you want to hire. By using online advertising, you should be able to reach a wider audience. But with so many options out there, you may need a little help making the most of your time and resources. This is where automation comes in.

As a recruiter, you may have heard that programmatic advertising can save advertisers time and money while also ensuring ads are displayed to relevant audiences. Apart from helping companies to grow sales, this approach to advertising can also be a very powerful tool for recruiters. After all, you’re “marketing” the positions you hope to fill by advertising them.

This article is a deep dive into programmatic advertising: defining exactly what it is, who uses it, and how you can unlock its potential for fast and effective recruitment.

What is programmatic advertising? 

Programmatic advertising is the use of software to purchase and place digital ads automatically. It involves using algorithms and data to target specific audiences and display ads to them on relevant websites and platforms. 

In principle, it’s easy to define programmatic advertising and understand what it is and what it does. However, things can get rather more technical once you scratch beneath the surface. But fear not! We’ll start with the fundamentals before delving into the more advanced aspects.

Who uses programmatic advertising?

Programmatic advertising is used by people who want to place ads, and people who sell ads. Here’s where you master some of the basic terminology that goes with the territory and begin speaking the language of programmatic advertising like a pro.

• Advertisers are on the buying (demand) end of the transaction. The platform they use to buy advertising and manage campaigns is therefore called a demand-side platform (DSP).
• Publishers are the suppliers of advertising space, and they place ads using their supply side platforms (SSPs).

So, DSPs allow you to buy ads. Instead of having to deal with the publishers directly, your demand-side software purchases your ads from marketplaces termed “exchanges” or from specific sites with advertising space for sale.

It’s a hands-off automated process. Publishers offer their space on exchanges using their SSP software. They don’t have to intervene in the transaction to complete it.

Understanding the different types of programmatic advertising

This isn’t a question of ad format as much as it is about how you negotiate the transaction when using programmatic advertising. You can break this down into two categories:

Real-Time Bidding (RTB)

Real-time bidding is a way to buy digital advertising space that is being auctioned. Here is the process it follows:

• The seller lists advertising space on an ad exchange. 
• The buyer’s DSP places a bid. 
• The marketplace is open to anyone, so other advertisers’ DSPs can also place bids. 
• As with any auction, the highest bidder gets the advertising space.
• The whole process happens in real time, taking less than a second to complete. 
• The total cost of an ad placement is based on the number of people who see your ad, or “impressions.” 
• The usual pricing model for programmatic advertising is termed cost per mill (CPM), and the price you bid represents the cost of a thousand impressions. 

To save you from the pitfall of bidding far more than you needed to, your highest bid is adapted so that you only pay $0.01 more than the second-highest bidder’s DSP offered. You specify your budget during setup, and may end up paying less than you were originally willing to spend.

Programmatic direct

Programmatic direct automates the steps usually involved in buying advertising manually. You’d have a set of parameters that include the type of platform you’d like to target, as well as the demographic of your target audience. 

The seller sets up their offering by specifying which parameters it offers, and your DSP searches through listings using its set of selection criteria to find a match. This allows for better quality control, precise targeting, and more purposeful campaign management. 

What are the main auction types for programmatic advertising?

We already distinguished between open auctions with real-time bidding (RTB) and programmatic direct bidding which offers better targeting on where your ads appear. However, there are a couple of auction-related terms you may want to keep in mind as you get started:

Preferred deals 

In preferred deals, you negotiate a price with a publisher in advance. This will be for a premium placement, and the price is likely to be higher. 

When an ad placement opportunity comes up, you receive the offer first, but you don’t have to accept it. If you do bid, you’re in the running, but there is no guarantee that you will secure your ad real estate. 

Programmatic guaranteed (Programmatic direct)

This model isn’t really an auction, but it’s part of programmatic advertising and therefore warrants a mention. 

The buyer and seller agree on pricing, audiences, frequency, and budgets. The buyer is guaranteed placement, distinguishing this model from preferred deals. 

When the inventory becomes available, you have your spot reserved, and the software automates the rest of the process. 

Private auctions

Instead of opening bidding to anyone who wants to buy the ad space, the publisher sets a minimum bid price for a select group of advertisers, with the placement going to the highest bidder. This type of ad transaction is similar to the “preferred deals” option.

How is programmatic advertising used for recruitment? 

Programmatic advertising allows recruiters to target specific groups of job seekers based on their skills, experience, and location, and to display opportunities to them on job boards and websites that they’re likely to visit. This process is automated; it not only helps recruiters save time and money, it also makes campaigns more effective by ensuring the right people see jobs ads. Here’s how to do it:

• Get your tools: The first tool you need is your programmatic job advertising platform, ideally, one that specializes in recruitment advertising. 
• Set the parameters: To make it work well for you, you will decide on a set of rules that include how much you’re willing to spend and what you’re aiming to achieve. 
• Performance tracking shows you how your ad is doing. How many qualified people are clicking on your ad, and how many of these people end up applying? 
• A market overview helps the AI behind your programmatic advertising tool to strategize for success.
• Review and refine: Examine how candidates navigate your hiring funnel – from the time they view your ad through to a successful hire. Identify advertising strategies with the best return on investment.

What are the benefits of programmatic advertising in recruitment?

Automating ad placement

Programmatic advertising seeks out opportunities to advertise and snaps them up within milliseconds. All you have to do is make sure you’ve set the right guidelines for your programmatic recruiting ad placements.

Ensuring that job ads are displayed to the right people

Qualifications, skills, experience, location, interests: these are all parameters that help you to find the right candidates. Candidates are hoping to find relevant opportunities on jobs boards too, so they’ll use on-site filters to narrow down the offers they see. Your programmatic advertising platform knows what to specify so that the right people see your ads.

Reaching a larger audience

Manual ad placement limits the audience you’ll reach. After all, you only have so much time to spend placing ads, and you’re sure to miss a few opportunities. Programmatic advertising finds all the right places for your advertising so that you reach as many people as possible.

Using real-time data insights

Real-time data insights help you to fine-tune your strategy and make incremental improvements to your advertising. For example, you might find that rewording a job title makes your ad more engaging.

Targeting specific job seekers

Certain specialized programmatic recruitment tools go beyond advertising and help you with shortlisting the very best candidates. Just be very sure to think about how the algorithm works – you can miss great candidates if you’re screening for a very narrow list of keywords.

Getting a competitive edge in the job market

According to the US Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), programmatic advertising represents a real upgrade. However, adoption is slow, with only 10% of recruiters grasping the opportunity. Early adopters are invariably the biggest winners, and this could be you.

Comparing the benefits of programmatic and display advertising

Programmatic and display advertising have certain advantages in common. For example, data analytics and software work together to achieve effective ad placement. But the similarities end here. As the newer technology of the two, programmatic advertising has a few extras to offer.

• More options: The first distinction is the sheer size of the inventory available. Display is limited to a network, and programmatic advertising is not: that means your advertising has greater reach. 
• Native ads: You can also use native ads – they don’t look like advertisements until people take a closer look, so the ad gets more attention. Once again, this is not possible with banner ads.
• Better ROI: Finally, programmatic advertising is faster, more cost-effective, and more efficient than banner advertising. There’s less need for intervention in the placement of ads and more of a focus on managing campaigns in real time, adjusting them until you get the best results possible.

See how it compares to direct media buying and Google Ads in this guide for a broader look at your options.

Examples of successful programmatic recruitment advertising 

Domino’s solves recruitment challenges

When a Domino’s franchisee with a string of stores faced high-volume recruiting needs, he turned to programmatic advertising to find the staff he needed. He found them – at a lower recruitment cost than regular advertising – largely owing to time savings. 

As an added benefit, the time saved through automated advertising helped him to spend more time on training and onboarding. He reports better quality work and improved employee retention as a result. 

Summing up the results he achieved, these metrics tell their own tale. 

• 472% more applicants
• 85% lower cost per applicant
• 19% lower month-over-month recruitment costs
• 15% fewer vacancies.

Employment agency streamlines operations

It’s not only direct employers who are finding programmatic advertising and recruitment to be useful. Agency recruiters are also getting on board for a smoother ride. Express Pros adopted this technology, and metrics show a remarkable difference:

• 110% organic growth in office performance
• 30% lower cost per candidate
• 40 hours per week saved.

How to use programmatic recruitment advertising effectively

Define your target audience

The first step in using programmatic recruitment software effectively is to define your target audience. Consider the skills, experience, and location of the candidates you are looking for and use this information to create a target audience profile. This will help you to focus your recruitment efforts and ensure that the right people see your job ads.

Set clear goals

It is important to have clear goals in mind when using programmatic recruitment advertising. Do you want to increase the number of job applications you receive, or are you looking to reduce the time it takes to fill open positions? Whatever your goals may be, make sure they are specific and measurable so that you can track your progress and see whether your efforts are paying off.

Use relevant keywords

Using relevant keywords in your job ads is crucial for programmatic recruitment advertising. Job seekers often use specific keywords when searching for jobs, and including these keywords in your job ads will help to ensure that they are displayed to the right people. Use job titles and skills that are specific to the positions you are trying to fill, and consider using long-tail keywords to reach a more targeted audience.

Utilize retargeting 

Retargeting involves displaying ads to people who have previously visited your website or job board. It can be a useful tool, as it allows you to reach job seekers who have already expressed an interest in your company or job openings.

Test and optimize 

As with any marketing campaign, it is important to test and optimize your programmatic recruitment advertising efforts. Try out different targeting strategies and ad copy to see what works best, and use data and analytics to track the performance of your campaigns. This will help you to refine your approach and get the most from your campaigns.

About PandoLogic

PandoLogic is an online job advertising and hiring platform that specifically serves as a recruitment solution for some of the world’s most recognizable brands. The platform’s advanced AI Technology and programmatic capabilities speed up the hiring process overall, making it more targeted, streamlined, and efficient, reducing the time-to-hire and securing the best candidates. 

By following the steps above and being intentional about your hiring goals, you will further enable tools like PandoLogic to revamp your recruitment processes and performance, reaching the right candidates on the right sites for the right price.

Programmatic advertising: the bottom line

Programmatic recruitment advertising is a powerful tool for reaching targeted job seekers and filling open positions more efficiently. By defining your target audience, setting clear goals, using relevant keywords, utilizing retargeting, and testing and optimizing your campaigns, you can effectively use it to find the right candidates for your organization.

With your newfound knowledge and PandoLogic’s easy-to-use platform, programmatic recruitment advertising can make your work easier while ensuring a successful ad campaign. 

If you’re interested in learning more about programmatic recruitment job ads and what goals tools like PandoLogic can help your hiring team accomplish, sign up for a free demo here.

 

Programmatic advertising FAQ:

What is programmatic advertising in recruitment?

Programmatic advertising allows recruiters to automate recruitment ad campaigns based on parameters like budget, preferred audience, and platform preferences. It saves time and attracts more qualified candidates at a lower cost. 

Can programmatic advertising reduce cost-per-hire?

Because programmatic advertising attracts more suitable applicants faster than manually managed campaigns, it can yield better results at lower advertising costs. HR professionals also spend less time selecting and purchasing advertising space. This translates to reduced cost per hire. 

Is programmatic job advertising worth it?

Cost savings sound great, but there are other advantages to programmatic job advertising. Optimized ad placements ensure a wider, more targeted reach. With the right people seeing your job ads, you have a quality advantage too. Our clients agree. Programmatic recruitment marketing is worth it!

What are the key metrics in programmatic job advertising?

Programmatic recruitment advertising should show a positive difference across the following key metrics:

• Cost per candidate
• Cost per hire
• Time to hire
• Advertising cost
• Advertising reach