SEM | How It Impacts Truck Driver Recruiting

Driver recruiting and retention is important to any transportation company, yet finding qualified applicants can be difficult. As more truck drivers become internet savvy, many are turning to search engines to find employment, which means search engine marketing has become extremely important in getting drivers to your website and landing pages.

What Is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

SEM increases the visibility of your website or landing page using a combination of search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search advertising. The purpose of SEM is to get your driver recruiting information about your company as close to the top of search engine results as possible after truck drivers enter a search while looking for openings. According to a study by the ad network Chitka, the top listing in Google’s search results receives 33 percent of the traffic, while the second receives 18 percent. Lower rankings receive even smaller percentages with the tenth result only receiving just over two percent of traffic. These statistics make it clear why SEM is critical in getting recruiting landing pages at the top of search engine results.

Different from SEO

SEO focuses solely on unpaid marketing efforts that help rank websites higher in search engine results. SEM, however, encompasses both paid and unpaid methods to promote a website. It is important to understand that SEM is not strictly paid advertising, but the proper combination of both that will move websites higher in search engine rankings so that truck drivers are more likely to click on those links. With GPS systems, computerized logging and other online tools used daily by drivers, it has become common for them to seek positions through search engines.

Types of SEM

Because SEM uses both paid and unpaid advertising to support driver recruiting, it is important to understand the difference between the two. Unpaid methods include keyword optimization, well-written content and the use of social media to promote job listings. These are all factors that search engines now rank highly, but they must be used properly and in combination with each other. Today, simply stuffing a website with keywords will not help it rank highly in search engines, for example. Paid methods of SEM include pay-per-click advertising, where potential drivers click on an advertisement that appears on the top or side of a search engine result page. The advertisement may link to a landing page with a short application for the truck driver to complete.

Truck drivers are using online tools more than ever to search for positions. Conversion Interactive can help you create an SEM package that will not only help you in your driver recruiting efforts, but also increase retention. To learn more, visit our website or find us on Facebook and Twitter.