Google is apparently allowing at least some of its pay-per-click advertising clicks to now buy advertising on a pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale (cost per acquisition or CPA) basis. The Google Content Referral Network has approached a select number of their Google AdSense clients (the partner sites on which Google's ads appear and to which Google shares the pay-per-click revenues that it generates from visitors to those partner sites) and offered them the opportunity to run the CPA in addition to their AdSense ads. Hmmm.

Back in the 1990's, it was most common to buy advertising on-line through the purchase of graphical banner ads where you paid by the eyeball (impressions). Google popularized (but did not invent) the text banner ad, popularized (but did not invent) the concept of paying for those on a pay-per-click basis, and popularized (but did not invent) the concept of those ads running on the main site (Google) and thousands of other partner sites (the sites that run the AdSense ads). Now Google appears ready, willing, and able to take this to the next step and allow companies to pay for leads (requests for information) and sales (purchases of products or services). For those of us in the recruiting world, leads equate to resumes or applications and sales equate to hires.

So you're an employer and you want to generate additional candidate flow and hopefully increase your hiring. Rather than paying for impressions, you've paid for clicks and been happy to do so because it brings the cost of your advertising a step closer to your ultimate goal: hiring people. Now Google allows you to pay per lead (resume). Of course you'll be interested as that's even closer to your goal of hiring people. Now don't get too excited though, because employers won't be able to pay-per-sale (hire). That option is only going to be available if Google can track it on-line in a fully automated fashion. Given that candidates don't apply and immediately receive notification that they're hired (wouldn't that be sweet?), there's no way that Google will be able to allow employers to pay per hire.

Even though employers won't be able to pay per hire, paying per resume is going to be well received. Some may even call it revolutionary. But it isn't. Just as Google didn't invent the textual banner ad, paying per click, or running those ads across a network of partner sites, it also didn't invent the concept of paying per lead. Neither did CollegeRecruiter.com, but we do a good business in that area for clients with large hiring needs.