In this report, Appcast analyzed 2016 pay-for-performance recruitment media from over 750 companies across every major industry. Learn the trends and results that 750+ leading employers are getting from their recruitment media. What's in the Report? -Click-to-apply rates by industry -Average cost-per-click bids by device -Impact of device and length of job titles and descriptions on conversion rates Sign up for a free demonstration of Appcast to learn how you can improve the performance of your recruitment advertising. http://www.appcast.io/get-a-demo-of-appcast/

2. Introduction
Job advertising consumes nearly 30% of recruitment budgets at leading employers across the globe. Optimizing this
spend can dramatically improve candidate flow, apply volume and ultimately, the return on investment of your talent
acquisition spend.
Until recently, most recruiters evaluated their job advertising spend almost exclusively on macro-level outcome metrics
like total numbers of applicants. The challenge, however, is that focusing too much on the sheer number of applicants
you can pull through the hiring funnel ignores job level data on your advertisement performance. More refined
analysis of hiring metrics means getting a better look at what’s really working in your recruitment media strategy—and
what’s not.
As more companies adopt pay-for-performance recruitment advertising, it is imperative that recruiters move from
theory to action and use performance data to better benchmark and baseline their job advertising, and develop
strategies that will improve bottom-line results.
1 / 92017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report
In this report, we analyzed 2016 pay-for-performance recruitment media buying from over 750 companies
across every major industry. To clarify, we did not assess duration-based or slot-based job advertisements in
this report. Only recruitment media paid for on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-applicant (CPA) basis were
factored into this study. The distinction is that in a pay-per-performance environment, click volume and the
number of applicants determines both spend and returns from a job ad campaign.
Data in this report includes:
Total number of clicks and applies by device
Click-to-apply rates by device
Click-to-apply rates by industry
Average cost-per-click bids
Cost-per-click bids by industry
Click-to-apply rates by job title length
Click-to-apply rates by job description length
About this report:

3. Total Number of Clicks and Applies by Device
For this report, Appcast analyzed 33.0 million clicks and 2.5 million applies across pay-per-performance job ads.
Mobile clicks (job ads viewed from a mobile device), owned
almost 50% of job candidate traffic in 2016, suggesting that
most candidates continued to search for, click on, view and
even consider applying to jobs from a mobile device. For
applying, job candidates still used a desktop computer as a
primary device (71.2% compared to 28.8% on mobile).
In general, increased mobile applications in 2016 could be
attributed to an ever-growing demand for mobile-friendly
careers sites or jobs that entered the market that didn’t
require a resume upload. Both changes inherently made
applying from a mobile device simpler, therefore more
prevalent.
Platform
Desktop
Mobile
Total
Clicks
17.0 million
16.2 million
33.0 million
Applies
1.8 million
0.7 million
2.5 million
2 / 92017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report
Stats
AppliesClicks
Desktop
48.8% 51.2% 28.8% 71.2%Mobile

4. Average Click-to-Apply Rate by Device
The average click-to-apply rate was 7.5%; 10.5% on desktop and 4.5% on a mobile device.
Mobile click-to-apply (CTA) rates jumped from just over 2% in 2014,
to 4.5% in 2016. Desktop CTA rates remained fairly stagnant in 2016
at 10.5%. Mobile traffic most likely did not account for the increase in
CTA rates in 2016, as it can only account for increases in click rates.
Increased CTA rates across both desktop and mobile could have
been driven by a combination of several factors:
Despite the increase in mobile applies in 2016, a staggering
difference in CTA rates between desktop and mobile remained. In
general, this suggested that mobile application processes are much
less seamless than desktop application processes. Although
initiatives to improve application processes on mobile devices and
desktops have begun, 2017 is projected as a turning point for
advertisers looking to optimize every dollar spent on candidate
acquisition.
an increased adoption of buttons on sites like LinkedIn and
Indeed with different application device offerings;
low/no form friction on mobile career sites;
decreased numbers of desktop computer owners.
3 / 9
What is a Click-to-Apply Rate?
Click-to-apply rates indicate the number of candidates who click on your job ad that end
up applying. A high click-to-apply rate indicates strong applicant flow.
FY 2016: CTA% by Device
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
7.5%
Total
10.5%
Desktop
4.5%
Mobile
2017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report

5. Average Click-to-Apply Rate by Industry
Industries with the highest average CTA rates were Restaurant (11.3%), Customer Service (8.2%) and Administrative/Clerical (6.6%).
* Data shows only the functions with at least 1,000 applies in 2016.
The industries with average or above average click to apply rates in 2016 were: Restaurant
(11.3% Avg. CTA), Customer Service (8.2% Avg. CTA), Administrative/Clerical (6.6% Avg. CTA).
In general, the types of jobs leading the pack were those that typically require less
information to apply, or are easy to search for from a job site. Many entry level or hourly -
roles that often don’t require a resume to apply - had high CTA rates from a mobile
application, as well as desktop.
The industries with the lowest average CTA rates in 2016 were Healthcare, Consulting and
Marketing. Healthcare CTA’s remained low, as they are generally ‘hard-to-fill’ due to
education levels and selective skills required in candidates. HR reported the lowest mobile
CTA rate (less than 0.5%).
4 / 9
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
RestaurantCustom
erService
Adm
in
/Clerical
Engineering
Sales
Construction
/
Trades
H
R
AccountingBiotechnology
/
Pharm
aceutical
TechnologyM
anufacturing
/
Production
Banking
Retail
Transportation
M
arketing
Consultant
H
ealthcare
Mobile CTA Desktop CTATotal CTA
2017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report

6. The average CPC value of 2016 was $0.55, but it increased
a notable 20% in the second half of the year.
The increase in the second half of the year could be due to:
1.
2.
An overall increase of jobs in the market:
Any changes in the competitive landscape - less available
candidates as the unemployment / underemployment
rate fluctuated - could have affected average CPC values.
The need to spend budgets at the end of the year:
Remaining budgets were most likely fulfilled towards
the end of 2016 by raising CPC bids to ensure all
available dollars were spent.
5 / 9
Avg. CPC in FY 2016
$0.60
$0.58
$0.56
$0.54
$0.52
$0.50
$0.48
$0.46
$0.44
FY 2016
$0.55
1H 2016
$0.50
2H 2016
$0.60
Average Cost-Per-Click Bids
The average cost-per-click bid was $0.55.
What is Cost-Per-Click (CPC) Recruitment Media?
With a CPC model, budget is spent every time a candidate clicks on a job ad.
2017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report

7. Average Cost-Per-Click Bids by Industry
The transportation industry had the highest average CPC bid at $0.79, while Retail had the lowest at $0.32.
Competitive hiring pressures for certain jobs most likely affected average CPCs in 2016.
Where supply was low and demand was high, there was still a significantly higher CPC price
than any other function. Transportation, for example, had the highest average CPC of $0.79.
CPC data for Healthcare told another story, however.
6 / 9
$0.80
$0.70
$0.60
$0.50
$0.40
$0.30
$0.20
$0.10
$0.00
* Data only represents industries with at least 1,000 applies in 2016
$0.79
CPC
$0.6
CPC
$0.59
CPC
$0.58
CPC
$0.55
CPC $0.52
CPC
$0.52
CPC $0.49
CPC
$0.49
CPC
$0.49
CPC
$0.48
CPC
$0.47
CPC
$0.45
CPC
$0.43
CPC
$0.35
CPC
$0.34
CPC
$0.32
CPC
Transportation
Engineering
ConsultantCustom
erService
Construction
/
Trades
M
arketingBiotechnology
/
Pharm
aceutical
Technology
Accounting
Sales
H
R
Adm
in
/ClericalM
anufacturing
/
Production
Restaurant
Banking
H
ealthcare
Retail
At first glance the data did not suggest a shortage in roles, but the challenge with generic
job advertising data is that sometimes the greater story buries the specific inference. In this
example, there are various roles that fall under the category of ‘Healthcare,’ such as LPN’s,
Orderlies, Doctors, Nurses, Support Staff and other hospital clerical workers. It is inevitable
that CPC bids across these roles in Healthcare will vary.
2017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report

8. Average Click-to-Apply Rate by Job Title Length
Job titles containing 51 to 60 characters outperformed other job title lengths, with an average CTA of 8.4%.
CTA rates impacted by the length of job titles
helped us to better understand the relationship
between the recruiter, the candidate, and how the
look and feel of job ads and postings impacts both.
Recruiters must write job titles that are clicked on.
Before that can happen, the candidate needs to
find that job – either by searching on a job site or
by providing a candidate profile that can be
‘matched’ upon. The single largest driver of search
and/or match is the job title.
The clarity of a simple job title and location are the
best ways to get candidates to read about your job.
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
20-30
Number of Characters in Job Title
31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 100+
CTA %
7 / 92017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report

9. Average Click-to-Apply Rate by Job Description Length
Job descriptions containing 501 to 1,000 characters outperformed other job descriptions lengths, with an average CTA of 8.9%.
A job description serves to engage interested
candidates and give them information that makes
them curious to learn more. Longer job
descriptions don’t necessarily help candidates
decide to apply.
In 2016, Appcast’s data showed that candidates
were most commonly driven to apply when the job
description contained between 501 - 1,000
characters.
8 / 9
10%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
CTA %
501-1,000
Number of Characters in Job Description
1,001-2,000 2,001-3,000 3,001-4,000 4,001-5,000 5,001-6,000 6,001-7,000
2017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report

10. About Appcast
9 / 9
Visit www.appcast.io to sign up for a free demo.
Appcast is using data and programmatic targeting to revolutionize the global recruitment advertising
industry. From its namesake pay-per-applicant job ad exchange to its market-leading recruitment
media optimization platform, Appcast is changing how leading employers, ad agencies, and job
boards attract high-quality job seekers.
Exchange
Pay-Per-Applicant Job Ads
Pay-per-applicant, not per-click. Get quality
applicants for 30% less than cost-per-click job
sites.
Clickcast
Programmatic Job Ad Optimization
Improve the ROI of your performance job ad
spend by 20%+ with rules-based & algorithmic
bidding.
Brand
Targeted Employer Brand Advertising
Promote your recruitment brand message to
specific communities of candidates using
real-time targeting data.
Making job ads work
2017 Recruitment Media Benchmark Report