Internet Advertising...is it effective?

For years I was against using internet advertising. I personally hate pop-up windows, I really don't enjoy the extra ads when I do internet searches and I really just hate the advertisements when I'm trying to view something on the web. However, I can honestly say that I was wrong about internet advertising.

Last year, I took the plunge and began advertising online with a couple job seeker type websites, such as Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com. I also took it upon myself to find plenty of free sites to post on as well. What I found was amazing. After one month of advertising, my applications increased dramatically, almost tripled within a month. After that, I was hooked.

However, with every positive, comes a negative. What I later found was that my applications were up however my actual rate of return (applicants showing up for testing) was about the same. You see most of my applicants were from out of state, therefore many of them would fail to come out to test due to the travel or they just were applying to apply (which I never really understand and still don't...I can find so many other ways to spend my time...but I digress). So although my numbers were through the roof my actual rate of return was not so great but it sure pleased my boss with the numbers.

Now regarding who to use, I have found that the actual bigger named type job seeking sites are the best. The ones that have national coverage and such. I also found that most major colleges have free job postings for their students, which I would use like crazy. Finally, I found that advertising on newspaper websites, law enforcement sites and such doesn't really get you much turn around but they do give you exposure.

Overall, two thumbs up for the internet advertising. Like anything else you should investigate what your options are before jumping in. But, I would recommend it if you want an increase in applications at least.