Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads for Recruitment and Staffing Agencies
Recruitment agencies market to two audiences at once: employers with roles to fill and candidates who can fill them. Each needs different messaging, channels and landing pages, and mixing them wastes budget fast. We build separate client and candidate campaigns, follow employment ad rules, and measure success by placements and new client accounts.
- Free audit
- No long contracts
- Calls and leads tracked
- Plans from $250/mo
Google Ads benchmarks for Career & Employment. Source: WordStream by LocaliQ, Google Ads Benchmarks 2025 (US medians).
Be the first name they see when they are ready to buy.
These are real searches people type when they need a recruitment or staffing agency. We build your ads, pages and Google profile around them.
- staffing agency near meHigh intent
- it recruitment agencyHigh intent
- temp staffing services for warehouse
- executive search firm
- healthcare staffing agency
- recruitment agency for accountants
Why marketing gets expensive for recruitment and staffing agencies
Two audiences, one budget
Employer searches are worth far more than candidate searches, yet candidate traffic is cheaper and more plentiful. Without separation, campaigns drift toward job seekers and away from new clients.
Employment ad restrictions
Job ads on Meta run under a special ad category, and Google limits personalised targeting for employment in the US and Canada. Demographic targeting that might seem obvious is not allowed.
Candidate shortages in key sectors
In tight markets, filling a role depends on reaching passive candidates who are not browsing job boards. Agencies need ways to stay in front of skilled people before they start looking.
How we grow a recruitment or staffing agency
Four parts, working together. Each one is run by a specialist and reported on every month.
Client acquisition search
Campaigns targeting employers searching for staffing, recruitment or executive search in your sectors, with negatives for job seeker searches and tracking on vacancy enquiries.
About Google AdsHiring managers and passive candidates
LinkedIn campaigns aimed at HR leaders and hiring managers in target companies, plus candidate campaigns reaching skilled professionals in specialist roles.
About LinkedIn AdsHigh volume candidate attraction
Facebook and Instagram job campaigns for temp, shift and volume roles, run within the employment special ad category and linked to quick apply forms.
About Meta AdsSector and job pages
Sector pages for employers and well structured job pages for candidates, helping you rank for specialist recruitment searches and appear in job search features.
About SEO and AI searchHow recruitment and staffing agencies compare on Google Ads
Your industry against the average of all 23 industries in the WordStream 2025 study. Use it as a starting point; your city and offer will move these numbers.
Source: WordStream by LocaliQ, Google Ads Benchmarks 2025 (US medians). Figures in US dollars.
Numbers that show real business, not just clicks
Cost per new client vacancy
New client roles drive agency revenue, so this is the primary business metric.
Cost per qualified candidate
Counts applicants who meet role requirements, not everyone who clicks apply.
Placements from marketing
Links spend on both sides to the fees that actually get invoiced.
Time to fill
Faster candidate attraction means more placements and happier clients.
Common mistakes in recruitment or staffing agency accounts
- One campaign for both employers and job seekers, so cheap candidate clicks absorb the client budget.
- Running job ads on Meta outside the employment special ad category, risking rejections.
- Sending employers to a jobs board page instead of a page about your recruitment service.
- Measuring applications without checking how many candidates were qualified or placed.
Meta requires job and employment ads to run under a special ad category that limits targeting by age, gender and location detail, and Google restricts personalised targeting for employment ads in the US and Canada. Equal employment and anti discrimination laws also apply to job advertising.
Questions recruitment and staffing agencies ask us
Still have a question? Talk to our team and get a straight answer.
Talk to a specialistShould recruitment agencies advertise to clients or candidates?
Usually both, but in separate campaigns with separate budgets. Client campaigns win new vacancies, while candidate campaigns help you fill them. We track each on its own outcome so neither drowns out the other.
Is LinkedIn worth it for staffing agencies?
For professional, technical and executive roles, often yes. It lets you reach hiring managers by title and industry and find skilled candidates who are not actively applying on job boards.
Are there restrictions on job ads?
Yes. Meta requires employment ads to use a special ad category that limits targeting, and Google restricts personalised targeting for employment ads in the US and Canada. We design campaigns that perform within those rules.
Get a free audit for your recruitment or staffing agency
We show you where your budget leaks and what we would fix first. Management from $250 a month.