Are candidates bouncing off your job ad?
Why does bounce rate matter when it comes to your job vacancies?
It’s important because you want applications. After all, you have invested in a job advert, so you want lots of prospective candidates reading it and being inspired to apply. A high bounce rate is usually connected to a low application rate.
If you have the content that readers’ want and they are engaged, they are enticed to read more and click around your website to research you further or find the application form. This means your bounce rate is low.
On the other hand, if candidates are hitting the job advert on your careers page and deciding that it’s of no interest, they leave fast. Bounce rate is the measure of how many people leave your page without clicking to go any further. A high bounce rate indicates low session time and no interest.
What’s a normal bounce rate?
This is a good question. Your Marketing Manager will tell you that for your website overall, anything under 40% is a good result and 40-55% is considered normal. In the HR space (which is a bit different because we are dealing specifically with job seekers), the average bounce rate is 69-73% across Australia and NZ.
The worst career pages with the most unenticing job adverts have bounce rates as high as 93%.
That’s a lot of wasted time and money!
Here at Big Splash, we don’t want to see you pouring money into a big black hole. There is no point in paying for adverts to reach candidates, only to fail dismally at the application hurdle. 67% of job seekers will research your company before deciding to apply. Will they bounce when they find you?
Here are some tips from the hiring managers who are doing it best.
DO
Have as much content as you can on your careers page to show what it’s like to work for you. The websites with the lowest candidate bounce rates have photo galleries, staff profiles, videos and a page specifically listing staff benefits. This information helps candidates to decide if they are a fit for your team and can relate to your values. The more there is for them to read, the longer they will spend clicking through and the more likely it is that their journey will finish on the ‘submit application’ button.
DON’T
The sites with the highest bounce rates are sparse. They lack visual content and information so give candidates nothing to help them get excited about working with you.
Don’t rely on your job advert alone to sell your vacancy.
A final word…
The principles of low bounce rates also apply to the content of the job advert itself. The best candidates apply to the best job ads and you want them to stop at yours, not to keep scrolling.
If you could use some help constructing your ‘we have a great opportunity’ masterpiece, drop us a line. Let’s get those applications rolling in…