Free vs Paid Job Advertising: What's Better for Trade Employers?
If you need to hire another tradie, one of the first decisions is whether you actually need to pay to advertise the job.
There are plenty of ways to recruit without spending much. Employers can use free job boards, government employment services, social media, their own website, employee referrals and industry contacts. In the right circumstances, one of those channels could produce your next employee without a significant advertising bill.
Paid advertising, however, can give a vacancy greater exposure or put it in front of a more relevant audience. For difficult-to-fill positions, that can be worth considerably more than the price of the advertisement.
So which is better?
For most trade employers, the answer isn't simply free or paid. A combination of both is often the strongest approach.
What Is Free Job Advertising?
Free job advertising means promoting a vacancy without paying a direct fee to publish or promote the listing.
This can include free job boards, government employment platforms, your company website, social media and employee referrals.
Free doesn't necessarily mean ineffective.
If you're a well-known local electrical contractor and one Facebook post generates five qualified applicants, there is no prize for spending another $500 on recruitment advertising.
The objective is to make a good hire, not to spend money.
What Is Paid Job Advertising?
Paid job advertising involves paying a platform to publish, promote or increase the visibility of your vacancy.
This can include fixed-price job board listings, sponsored jobs, featured advertisements and premium placement.
Some platforms charge a set amount for the listing. Others use variable pricing or allow employers to set an advertising budget.
The common purpose is greater or more targeted candidate exposure.
Is Free Job Advertising Actually Free?
There may be no direct advertising fee, but recruitment still takes time.
Someone has to write the advertisement, answer enquiries, review resumes, call applicants and conduct interviews.
For a small trade business, that person may be the owner.
If you spend ten hours trying to generate applicants through free channels, there is still an opportunity cost attached to that time.
So when comparing free and paid recruitment, don't look exclusively at the invoice.
Consider the amount of work involved and how quickly the channel helps you find someone.
The Biggest Advantage of Free Job Advertising
The obvious advantage is cost.
You can test the candidate market without committing much money.
This can be particularly useful for small businesses, entry-level positions, apprenticeships and roles with relatively large candidate pools.
If you receive enough suitable applications, fantastic.
You may not need to pay for additional advertising at all.
The Biggest Disadvantage of Free Job Advertising
Free listings don't always receive the same visibility as paid advertisements.
On platforms that offer both free and sponsored options, free jobs may become less prominent as newer jobs are added.
That can be fine when there is strong candidate demand for your role.
It can become a problem when you're competing with dozens of other employers for a relatively small group of experienced tradespeople.
The Biggest Advantage of Paid Job Advertising
Paid advertising can help increase exposure.
More relevant candidates seeing the vacancy gives you more opportunities to find the right person.
Paid specialist job boards can also provide a more targeted audience, while sponsored listings on larger platforms can keep a vacancy more visible.
This can be particularly useful when recruitment is urgent or the candidate pool is small.
The Biggest Disadvantage of Paid Job Advertising
Paying doesn't guarantee a hire.
You can spend hundreds of dollars advertising a terrible job and still receive no suitable applicants.
The platform can give you exposure.
It can't make an uncompetitive salary attractive.
It can't shorten an unreasonable commute.
It can't make a bad roster good.
Paid advertising works best when the underlying employment offer is already competitive.
When Free Job Advertising Can Work Well
Free advertising tends to make the most sense when the role has a reasonably large potential candidate pool.
It can also work when your business already has a strong local network.
For example, a construction company hiring labourers may be able to generate plenty of applicants through free channels.
An electrical contractor hiring a first-year apprentice may receive significant interest through social media, referrals and free employment platforms.
In those situations, paying for additional exposure may not be necessary.
When Paid Job Advertising Makes More Sense
Paid advertising becomes more attractive as the role becomes harder to fill.
Suppose you need an experienced industrial electrician with specific maintenance experience.
Your potential candidate pool is already much smaller than it would be for a general labouring position.
If the vacancy is also in a regional area or needs to be filled urgently, relying entirely on free exposure may make recruitment unnecessarily difficult.
Paying to reach more relevant candidates can make economic sense.
Free Job Advertising for Apprentices
Apprenticeships are one area where employers may be able to generate substantial interest without spending heavily.
Many people actively search for opportunities to enter popular trades.
Employers can promote apprenticeships through job boards, social media, schools, training networks and referrals.
If you're receiving a healthy number of applicants through those channels, there is little reason to pay purely for the sake of paying.
The challenge may instead be screening applicants properly.
Free Job Advertising for Labourers
Labouring jobs can also have relatively large candidate pools.
A clear advertisement with competitive pay and a good location may generate enough applications through free channels.
However, the specific role still matters.
An entry-level construction labourer is different from someone who needs particular tickets, specialised experience or remote-site availability.
As the requirements increase, paid targeting may become more valuable.
Paid Advertising for Qualified Tradies
Qualified tradespeople can be more difficult to recruit because many are already employed.
That means you're competing not only with other advertisements but also with the candidate's current employer.
Electricians, plumbers, diesel mechanics, refrigeration technicians, fitters, boilermakers and other experienced trades may require a stronger recruitment campaign.
Paid advertising can help by increasing the number of opportunities for those candidates to see your vacancy.
Paid Advertising for Specialised Trades
The narrower your requirements become, the more valuable targeted exposure can be.
Imagine you're recruiting a maintenance fitter.
That's already more specialised than recruiting a general labourer.
Now add food manufacturing experience, afternoon-shift availability and experience supervising apprentices.
Your candidate pool has become considerably smaller.
This is where relying on one free advertisement and hoping for the best can become frustrating.
Free Job Boards vs Paid Job Boards
Free and paid job boards don't necessarily compete in exactly the same way.
A free platform can provide additional reach without increasing your advertising budget.
A paid platform may offer greater visibility, a larger audience or a more specialised candidate base.
Rather than automatically choosing one, employers can use both.
A paid trade job listing can run alongside free advertisements elsewhere.
The same vacancy can also be promoted through referrals and social media.
Workforce Australia
Workforce Australia provides employers with a way to advertise jobs without paying a listing fee.
For trade employers, this can be a useful additional recruitment channel.
Even if you're already paying to advertise elsewhere, there can be value in increasing the number of places where candidates can discover the vacancy.
It shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a replacement for every paid job board.
Think of it as another tool available to the business.
Free vs Sponsored Jobs on Indeed
Indeed provides a useful example of how free and paid advertising can coexist on the same platform.
Eligible employers can post a limited number of jobs for free, subject to the platform's conditions and usage limits.
Free jobs can appear in candidate searches, while Sponsored Jobs receive additional visibility.
For an easy-to-fill vacancy, the free option may produce everything you need.
For a difficult vacancy, an employer can decide that paying for continued or greater exposure is worthwhile.
What About SEEK?
Large employment marketplaces such as SEEK operate primarily around paid employer advertising.
Rather than every vacancy having one universal price, job ad pricing can vary based on the position and candidate market.
Higher advertising options can also provide additional exposure.
For employers, this highlights an important difference between free and paid recruitment.
You're paying for access to an established employment marketplace and additional visibility, but the result still depends on the attractiveness of your vacancy.
Specialist Trade Job Boards
Specialist job boards take a different approach to broad employment marketplaces.
Instead of trying to reach every type of job seeker, they focus on a particular audience.
For trade employers, that means the value isn't necessarily the largest possible number of views.
It's reaching people interested in trade and blue-collar work.
A specialist job board may generate fewer total applications than a massive general platform while still producing a useful number of suitable candidates.
More Applications Doesn't Always Mean Better Advertising
Imagine you advertise the same electrician vacancy in two places.
The free platform produces 70 applications.
Only two candidates are qualified electricians.
The paid specialist platform produces 15 applications.
Seven candidates are suitable.
Which platform performed better?
The answer isn't obvious from the application count.
Recruitment quality matters more than raw volume.
Measure Cost Per Suitable Applicant
One of the best ways to compare free and paid advertising is to calculate the cost per suitable applicant.
Suppose a paid job ad costs $200 and generates four candidates you'd genuinely consider hiring.
Your cost per suitable applicant is $50.
A free advertisement might technically have a cost of $0, but if it generates no suitable applicants, it hasn't moved you any closer to filling the vacancy.
This is why the cheapest channel isn't always the most efficient.
Measure Cost Per Hire
Cost per hire goes one step further.
If you spend $400 across several paid recruitment channels and successfully hire a strong tradesperson, your direct advertising cost per hire is $400.
That may sound expensive compared with a free advertisement.
But if the employee generates significant productive capacity for the business, $400 can be a very small acquisition cost.
The value of recruitment should be considered over the life of the employee, not just the day the invoice arrives.
Consider the Cost of an Empty Position
This is where paid advertising can become particularly easy to justify.
An unfilled trade role may reduce the amount of work your business can complete.
Existing employees may need to work overtime.
Projects may be delayed.
The owner may have to return to the tools instead of quoting new work or managing the business.
You might even start turning customers away.
If leaving the position vacant is costing thousands of dollars, refusing to spend a few hundred dollars on recruitment because a free option exists may not be the best business decision.
Start Free or Start Paid?
It depends on the urgency of the vacancy.
If the role isn't urgent and you expect plenty of candidates, starting with free recruitment channels can make sense.
Give them a reasonable opportunity to work.
If the role is urgent or historically difficult to fill, there may be little benefit in waiting several weeks before trying paid advertising.
Start with a stronger multi-channel campaign.
A Good Strategy for Easy-to-Fill Roles
For a relatively easy vacancy, you might begin with:
- Free job advertising
- Workforce Australia
- Employee referrals
- Company social media
- Your own website
Review the results after a reasonable period.
If suitable applicants are coming through, continue.
If not, expand into paid channels.
A Better Strategy for Hard-to-Fill Roles
For difficult trade positions, use several channels from the beginning.
You might combine:
- Specialist trade job board
- Major general job board
- Workforce Australia
- Employee referrals
- Social media
- Industry contacts
For highly specialised or urgent vacancies, direct sourcing or a recruitment agency might also become appropriate.
The objective is to create enough relevant exposure quickly.
Employee Referrals Are Hard to Beat
Employee referrals deserve special attention because they sit somewhere between free and paid recruitment.
You can simply ask employees whether they know anyone suitable.
Or you can offer a referral bonus.
Either way, your existing tradies may have access to people who aren't actively searching job boards.
They know former colleagues, apprentices, supervisors and people they've met on sites.
For trade businesses, those networks can be incredibly valuable.
Should You Offer a Referral Bonus?
For difficult positions, it can make sense.
Even if you pay an employee a referral bonus after the new hire successfully joins the business, the cost may still be considerably lower than other recruitment methods.
It can also motivate employees to actively think about who in their network would suit the role.
The quality of the referral still needs to be assessed properly.
A mate isn't automatically a good hire.
Social Media Can Be a Useful Free Channel
Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms can extend the reach of your vacancy.
This works particularly well when your business already has an audience.
Post a clear summary of the position and make it easy for people to share.
The important details should be obvious:
Trade.
Location.
Pay.
Major benefit.
How to apply.
Don't turn the social post into an enormous job description.
Facebook Groups
Local and trade-specific Facebook groups can sometimes generate candidates without direct advertising costs.
Results can vary enormously depending on the group.
Some are active and useful.
Others are mostly spam.
Treat Facebook groups as a supplementary channel rather than building your entire recruitment strategy around them.
Your Own Website
Your website can also provide free ongoing recruitment exposure.
A simple careers page allows potential candidates to see what positions are available.
This is particularly useful for businesses that recruit the same trades regularly.
Someone may hear through a friend that you're hiring and search your business directly.
Give them somewhere useful to land.
Paid Social Media Advertising
Social media doesn't have to be free.
Employers can pay to promote recruitment posts to a larger audience.
This can be useful for local targeting or employer branding, although it works differently from a dedicated job board.
Someone scrolling social media may not actively be looking for a job.
That can be an advantage when trying to reach passive candidates.
It can also mean the audience has lower immediate recruitment intent.
Free Advertising Doesn't Fix a Bad Job
One reason free recruitment sometimes appears ineffective is that the job itself isn't competitive.
If the pay is poor, the commute is difficult and the requirements are excessive, candidates may ignore the vacancy regardless of where it appears.
Before blaming the advertising channel, review the employment offer.
Free advertising works much better when candidates actually want the job.
Paid Advertising Doesn't Fix a Bad Job Either
The same principle applies to paid recruitment.
You can pay to show the vacancy to more people.
But if none of those people want it, you've simply paid to have more candidates reject the opportunity.
Before increasing advertising spend, check:
- Pay
- Location
- Roster
- Hours
- Vehicle
- Benefits
- Requirements
- Type of work
Make the opportunity competitive first.
Improve the Job Ad Before Spending More
Sometimes the role is good but the advertisement doesn't communicate it.
Perhaps you're offering a vehicle but haven't mentioned it.
Maybe the job is entirely local but candidates assume they'll travel across the state.
Perhaps there are regular RDOs buried near the bottom of the ad.
Before buying additional promotion, make sure the advertisement clearly explains the strongest parts of the role.
Better advertising isn't always more advertising.
Paid Advertising Works Best With a Strong Job Ad
Once the job ad is clear and the offer is competitive, paid promotion becomes much more useful.
You're taking something candidates may genuinely want and putting it in front of more of them.
Use a recognised job title.
Include the location.
Show the pay where practical.
Explain the actual work.
Promote the strongest benefits.
Keep the application process simple.
Then increase exposure.
What About Urgent Hiring?
Urgency changes the equation.
If you need someone quickly, waiting several weeks to see whether free advertising eventually works may cost the business more than paying immediately.
For urgent vacancies, it can make sense to launch both free and paid recruitment channels together.
This gives you maximum opportunity to build a candidate pipeline quickly.
What About Regional Trade Jobs?
Regional recruitment can be more challenging because the local candidate pool is smaller.
Free local advertising can still work, particularly through community networks and referrals.
However, paid advertising can help you reach candidates outside the immediate area.
If relocation is realistic, explain the opportunity clearly and consider whether relocation assistance would make the position more attractive.
You're potentially asking someone to change both jobs and towns.
What About FIFO Jobs?
FIFO recruitment can benefit from broad exposure because candidates may be located across several cities or states.
The attractiveness of the roster, pay and point of hire will heavily influence results.
A strong FIFO position may generate substantial interest.
A specialised role with an unpopular roster may require much more promotion.
Again, advertising and the employment offer work together.
Free vs Paid Advertising for Electricians
Qualified electricians can be competitive to recruit, particularly when employers need industrial, maintenance or specialist experience.
Free channels and referrals are still worth using.
However, paid targeted advertising can make sense when the vacancy is urgent or the candidate requirements are narrow.
Be specific about whether the work is residential, commercial or industrial so you're paying to attract the right electricians.
Free vs Paid Advertising for Plumbers
Local referrals can work extremely well for plumbing businesses because the industry is highly networked.
Free social media promotion can also produce candidates.
For harder service, commercial or supervisory positions, paid advertising can increase the candidate pool.
Make the work type, vehicle arrangements, location and callout requirements clear before spending money promoting the vacancy.
Free vs Paid Advertising for Mechanics
Mechanic recruitment can become difficult when employers need specialised experience.
A generic light vehicle position may have a relatively broad candidate market.
Heavy diesel, mobile plant and field-service mechanics can be harder to find.
Paid advertising becomes more valuable as the required experience becomes more specialised.
Free vs Paid Advertising for Fitters
Maintenance fitters are another occupation where targeted recruitment can be valuable.
Industrial employers may require experience with particular plant, machinery or production environments.
If you're searching for a relatively narrow skill set, free broad advertising may generate plenty of irrelevant applications.
A more targeted paid campaign can sometimes produce better value.
Free vs Paid Advertising for Boilermakers and Welders
The best approach depends on the work.
A local workshop position may generate candidates through referrals and free advertising.
FIFO, shutdown and specialised fabrication positions may require broader or more targeted promotion.
Clearly state the rate, location or roster and type of fabrication work so candidates can quickly judge whether the role suits them.
Free vs Paid Advertising for Apprentices
For apprenticeships, start by exploring free and low-cost channels.
There may be a large number of people trying to enter the trade.
If the vacancy is attractive and well located, you may generate more than enough applications without premium advertising.
Your recruitment effort can then focus on identifying candidates with the right attitude and commitment.
Small Trade Businesses Don't Need Huge Recruitment Budgets
A small business can compete effectively without spending thousands of dollars.
Use a strong job ad.
Choose one targeted paid platform where appropriate.
Add free government advertising.
Ask your employees for referrals.
Share the vacancy online.
That can provide plenty of exposure for many positions.
If it doesn't work, increase the campaign based on what you're learning.
Don't Pay for Exposure You Don't Need
More exposure isn't always better.
If you've already received ten strong applications and have several interviews booked, paying to generate another hundred applicants probably isn't useful.
Recruitment advertising should have a purpose.
Once you have a healthy candidate pipeline, focus on hiring.
Don't Refuse to Pay When You Clearly Need More Reach
The opposite mistake is equally common.
Some businesses will leave the same free vacancy online for six weeks while complaining that nobody applies.
At some point, saving money becomes counterproductive.
If the position matters and free recruitment isn't working, change the strategy.
That may mean paying for more targeted or greater exposure.
How Long Should You Test Free Advertising?
There isn't one universal timeframe.
For an attractive role with a large candidate pool, you may know within the first week whether the campaign is generating enough interest.
For harder positions, you might allow longer.
The important thing is to monitor performance.
If nobody is seeing the vacancy, you have a visibility problem.
If lots of people see it but nobody applies, you probably have an offer or advertisement problem.
Paying for more views won't necessarily fix the second problem.
Track Every Recruitment Source
The best way to decide between free and paid advertising is to use your own data.
Track where candidates came from.
Record which sources generated interviews.
Most importantly, record where successful hires originated.
After several recruitment campaigns, patterns will start appearing.
You may discover that referrals are excellent for electricians, a specialist job board works well for fitters and a free platform produces plenty of apprentices.
That's much more useful than relying on generic assumptions about which platform is "best."
Calculate Your Cost Per Hire
If you spend $600 across paid job boards and make two hires, your direct advertising cost per hire is $300.
Compare that with the value of those employees to the business.
Also compare it with other recruitment channels.
If a particular platform consistently costs $500 per hire while another costs $150, you have useful information for your next campaign.
Look at Quality, Not Just Quantity
A free platform producing 100 applications can feel successful.
But somebody has to review those 100 applications.
If 95 are irrelevant, the volume creates work rather than value.
A paid platform generating 15 highly relevant candidates may save substantial time.
Recruitment metrics should therefore include candidate quality.
Consider Speed to Hire
Time matters too.
Imagine a free recruitment strategy eventually finds someone after eight weeks.
A paid campaign might have found someone after three weeks.
If the vacant position was costing the business $2,000 per week in lost capacity, the paid campaign could have created far more value despite costing more upfront.
This is why "free" and "cheap" aren't always the same thing.
Consider Retention Too
A successful recruitment channel shouldn't only generate hires.
Ideally, it generates people who stay.
If one source repeatedly produces employees who leave after three months while another generates long-term staff, that should influence how you allocate your budget.
Cost per hire is useful.
Cost per successful long-term hire is even better.
When a Recruitment Agency Becomes Worth Considering
Paid job advertising still requires the employer to manage most of the recruitment process.
If the vacancy remains difficult to fill, you may eventually consider a recruitment agency.
Agencies can provide sourcing, screening and candidate management, but the cost is usually substantially higher than advertising the job directly.
For many trade employers, direct advertising and referrals are sensible first steps.
Recruiters become more attractive when the vacancy is highly specialised, extremely urgent or difficult to source internally.
A Simple Free vs Paid Decision
Ask yourself four questions.
How difficult is the role to fill?
A specialised role generally justifies more recruitment investment.
How urgently do we need someone?
Urgent vacancies may benefit from paid exposure immediately.
How much is the empty position costing us?
A revenue-generating vacancy can justify a larger budget.
Are free channels actually producing suitable candidates?
If they are, keep using them.
If they aren't, change the strategy.
The Best Strategy Is Usually a Mix
For many trade employers, free vs paid job advertising is the wrong battle.
Use both.
Free channels can increase reach at little direct cost.
Paid platforms can provide additional visibility and targeted access to candidates.
Employee referrals can reach people who aren't actively job hunting.
Social media can put the vacancy in front of passive candidates.
Each channel does something slightly different.
A good recruitment campaign combines them according to the difficulty of the vacancy.
Where Tradie Jobs Fits In
Tradie Jobs is designed specifically around Australian trade and blue-collar employment, including electrical, plumbing, automotive, carpentry, HVAC and refrigeration, fitting, welding, boilermaking, landscaping, labouring, scaffolding, traffic control, FIFO and mining.
For employers, a specialist trade job board can form the targeted part of a broader recruitment strategy.
You can combine it with free recruitment channels, employee referrals and other job boards depending on how difficult the vacancy is to fill.
The goal isn't to advertise in the most places.
It's to advertise in the places most likely to produce the person you need.
Final Thoughts
Free job advertising can be excellent value.
Paid job advertising can also be excellent value.
What matters is whether it helps you make a good hire.
For apprenticeships, labouring positions and easier-to-fill roles, free channels may be all you need.
For qualified, specialised or urgently needed tradespeople, paying for greater or more targeted exposure can make much more sense.
Don't judge recruitment purely by the price of the advertisement.
Look at suitable applicants, interviews, speed to hire and ultimately cost per hire.
Use free channels where they work.
Pay when additional exposure is valuable.
And for difficult trade vacancies, don't be afraid to use both at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is free job advertising worth it?
Yes. Free job advertising can work extremely well for positions with larger candidate pools and should often form part of a broader recruitment strategy.
Is paid job advertising better?
Not automatically. Paid advertising can provide greater or more targeted exposure, but the job itself still needs to be attractive.
Can employers advertise jobs for free in Australia?
Yes. Employers can use options including Workforce Australia, eligible free job listings on some employment platforms, social media, their own website and employee referrals.
Is Workforce Australia free?
Yes. Employers can advertise jobs through Workforce Australia without paying a listing fee.
Can you advertise on Indeed for free?
Eligible employers can post jobs for free subject to Indeed's terms, quality standards and usage limits. Paid Sponsored Jobs are also available for additional visibility.
What's the difference between a free and sponsored job?
A free listing receives standard organic exposure, while sponsored advertising generally provides additional or more sustained visibility.
Is SEEK free for employers?
SEEK's main Australian employer advertising products are paid and use variable pricing depending on factors associated with the vacancy and candidate market.
Are paid job boards worth it for tradies?
They can be, particularly for qualified, specialised or difficult-to-find tradespeople where greater or more targeted exposure improves the candidate pool.
Should I advertise a trade job for free first?
For an easy-to-fill and non-urgent position, that can be reasonable. For urgent or historically difficult vacancies, using paid and free channels together from the beginning may be better.
How long should I try free advertising?
Monitor the results rather than following a rigid timeframe. If you're receiving no suitable candidates, investigate the reason and expand your recruitment strategy where necessary.
Do paid job ads guarantee applications?
No. Paid advertising can increase exposure, but it cannot guarantee applications or a successful hire.
Will paying more fix a bad job ad?
Not necessarily. Improve the title, pay information, benefits, requirements and description before simply purchasing more exposure.
What's more important: job ad price or applicant quality?
Applicant quality is usually more useful. A cheap advertisement that produces no suitable candidates may offer worse value than a more expensive targeted campaign.
What is cost per suitable applicant?
It is your recruitment advertising spend divided by the number of applicants who genuinely meet the requirements of the role.
What is cost per hire?
Cost per hire measures how much recruitment spending is required to successfully employ someone.
Are employee referrals better than job boards?
They can be extremely effective, but results vary. Many trade employers benefit from using referrals alongside job advertising rather than relying exclusively on one channel.
Should I offer an employee referral bonus?
It can be worthwhile for difficult-to-fill positions if it encourages employees to recommend suitable people from their industry networks.
Can social media replace job boards?
Sometimes, but relying solely on social media can limit your reach to active job seekers. It often works better as an additional recruitment channel.
Should I pay to advertise an apprenticeship?
Not always. Apprenticeships can sometimes generate enough applications through free or inexpensive recruitment channels.
Should I pay to advertise qualified trade jobs?
Paid advertising can make more sense for qualified and specialised trades because the candidate pool may be smaller and many potential candidates are already employed.
Is paid advertising worth it for FIFO jobs?
It can be, particularly for specialised roles. The roster, pay, point of hire and working conditions will still have a major impact on candidate interest.
What is the cheapest way to recruit tradies?
Employee referrals, free job advertising, social media and your existing industry network can all reduce direct recruitment costs.
What's the best job advertising strategy for a small trade business?
Use a clear and competitive job offer, combine targeted advertising with free channels and referrals, then track which sources actually generate suitable candidates and successful hires.
Is free or paid job advertising better for trade employers?
Neither is universally better. Free advertising is excellent when it produces enough suitable candidates, while paid advertising becomes more valuable when you need greater reach, better targeting or a faster result.