Do you want to focus your recruiting on valuable and efficient channels, but you aren’t sure which ones are worthwhile? We offer you a variety of methods that provide information on how applications find their way to you. Our tracking function and the source performance analysis are useful for helping you make the right decisions.

Available methods for tracking sources

onlyfy Application Manager offers various technical methods for tracking application sources: "Acquisition channel", "HTTP referrer" and "Source input". Your application sources can be viewed at the level of an individual job or aggregated over multiple jobs.

You can also make use of the same captured data for an aggregated view spanning multiple jobs.

For application-based or time-based analyses in the ´Reports´ section, you can group by the attribute ´Application´ with the addition of one of the three methods, as shown here. You can also filter based on the three methods.

Are you curious what lies behind the three methods and how you should use them? We briefly describe how the methods work below and offer you some recommendations.

Acquisition channel

As mentioned above, the results of a special tracking method are shown under "Acquisition channel". Due to its exceptional reliability and precision, we recommend that you primarily use this method for collecting and analyzing your data. In contrast to the HTTP referrer and manual source input, this avoids the risk of losing valuable data due to manipulation of internet browsers (such as automatic deletion of UTM parameters or cookies).

• XING job ads
• All products of our multiposting partners
• Postings at bei karriere.at and Jobs.at
• Social media posts from Application Manager
• Postings with the German Federal Employment Agency ("Bundesagentur für Arbeit")
• Postings via additional (custom) job boards
• Your job feed
• Your e-mail applications
• Your REST API interfaces
• Website widget configurations
• our internal creation of applications

HTTP referrer

HTTP referrer is a familiar method used in online marketing. Application Manager uses this method to analyze the cookies of your applicants. However, an increasing number of browsers prevent this method of data collection from working correctly. This results in a higher susceptibility to errors and lower precision. We therefore recommend that in future data collected with this method only be used for comparison purposes.

Source input

Source input refers to the manual and personal entry of information into a form field by the applicants in the course of the job application process.

To use this method of input, you must first configure possible application sources to select from. Go to ´Settings´ (1) > ´Applications´ (2) > ´Applicant sources´ (3) and click on ´Add an application source´ (4) to add the desired application source as a selection option.

Select the desired language (5) and enter the title of the source under "Application source title" (6). Attention! Activate the option "Make this selectable for candidates" (7) to make the application source visible to your candidates.

For this method as well, we recommend that the results only be used for comparisons in the future. The information from the applicant may be entirely missing or, when available, could include false information (such as in cases of poor recall).

Individual tracking links for greater flexibility

Do you need more individual tracking links? Go ahead and customize the tracking features to your particular needs! Simply create your own individual tracking links wherever you would like to place your job ads. The data obtained is captured according to the same principles as for our standard channels and will be available for analysis under ´Acquisition channel´. However, please note that you must have the permission ´can view and edit tracking links´ to use this function.

Creating and editing tracking links

• Create link: To generate tracking links, create a job or edit an existing job. Now go to the step ´Publish´ (1) > ´Tracking links" (2). Click 'Add' (3), assign a suitable reporting name (4) and enter any useful details (5). Finally, save your entries (6).
  You can create as many different tracking links as you like. The reporting name is mandatory and will be displayed later in the job statistics and reports. If you select the same reporting name for different tracking links, all data will be collectively displayed under this shared reporting name.

• Using a link: Once created, the link will appear in the 'Tracking links' section. Click 'Copy' (1) to use your link. This will copy the link to the clipboard so you can paste it wherever you want.
• Editing a link: If you want to change the reporting name or details, click the three dots next to the link and then click 'Edit' (2). You can edit the link at any time, even if data has already been collected for your tracking link. The data you have collected will still be safely stored and associated with that link. In this way, you can reorganise data streams as you wish, as long as your jobs are active and editable.
• Removing a link (deactivation): You can also remove tracking links by clicking the three dots next to the link and selecting "Remove" (3).
  This will deactivate the link and candidates who try to access the link after it has been deactivated will only see the standard view for deactivated jobs. Otherwise, removing a tracking link has no effect on the job. You can always create a new tracking link (even with the same report name) and publish it again. 
• QR code: Would you like to make your tracking link available as a QR code? Click on the three dots next to the tracking link and select 'Download QR code (.png)' (4).
  QR codes allow your candidates to conveniently scan and access the job ad with their smartphone. Use this option, for example, for materials that will only be viewed in passing (exhibition wall, poster).

Examples of how to use individual tracking

We share some ideas below of the many ways you can make use of your individual tracking links.

• E-mail newsletter: Do you publish a newsletter that could be useful in your recruiting efforts? With tracking links, you can see exactly how many applicants this measure brings in.
• HR campaigns via social media: This function is also great for social media campaigns. Get a clear picture of how many applications actually make it through to your process and how far they progress.
• Workaround for job boards: Do you have a special contract with a job board, meaning you are unable to use the direct connections of Application Manager and multiposting partnerships? Individual tracking links serve as a useful workaround to still enable visualization of the sources in Application Manager. Instead of the usual application link, please give the contact person at the job board the individual tracking link generated for your job.
• Events: Sharing your links as QR codes is particularly recommended for job fairs, university presentations and workshops. As described above, applicants can conveniently access your job ad on their smartphones by scanning your presentations and application materials.

Analyzing source performance

onlyfy Application Manager also provides you with an analysis to evaluate your different application sources. The aim of the Source Performance analysis is to quickly and easily compare two relevant points in the candidate journey ― based on all the recorded sources that led candidates to those points. Below you will find the steps for your personal evaluation.

Configuring your source performance analysis

To create a new analysis, go to ´Reports´ (1) > ´Custom reports´ (2) and click on ´Add analysis´ (3). Select the source performance analysis (4) from the predefined options.

• Define from - to times (1): First define two points in time along the candidate's journey by selecting 'From' and 'To'. Use these two fields to define which data you want to compare. The recording of the candidate journey usually starts in the Application Manager with the "Job Ad Impressions (Jobbase)" or "Candidate Clicks". Which of the two points your recorded data starts from depends on the source and the method used to record the source.
• Time frame (2): As with all forms of analysis, you can restrict the time frame for this report as desired.
• Graphics and data visualization (3): Once you have completed the configuration, you will now see the desired data in the form of two bars for each source that provided you with data in the relevant period. The delta of the bars represents your loss of candidates who did not progress to the later point in the process (´To´). The remaining number of applicants is expressed as a conversion rate, which you can see below the source. Please note that the data for "Started applications" and "Finished applications" is given exactly for the selected period and does not take into account whether an application was also started in the selected period.
• Export (4): You can export this analysis in various formats as well. The current export options are XLSX, CSV, PNG and PDF.

How to interpret your source performance analysis

You can use this type of analysis for a variety of purposes. We have summarized some of the most common uses here.

• For instance, you could go beyond determining which sources are quantitatively effective to identify the sources that actually bring you applicants that meet your qualitative expectations.
• We provide a wide range of filters for you to extract detailed results from your data in no time. Results can be broken down by city or even by main contacts, for example.
• If you know the exact expenditures for your job advertising, you can easily determine which of your measures is most cost-effective. Consider two points along the candidate journey as conversion points for your individual project.

Common errors in source tracking

Below are some recommendations for optimal use to ensure reliable data analysis.

Please note that the HTTP referrer and source input methods work automatically, regardless of your usage behavior, as long as the appropriate framework conditions are met.

Sharing on social media

Nowadays, social media is an important part of marketing job advertisements. The link to the job ad or the job ad itself is often shared on various platforms (e. g. XING, LinkedIn, Facebook). You are welcome to use these options, but please make sure you use a link that is provided with our tracking feature.

Our recommendations:

• Share jobs on XING, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook via Application Manager (´Post on social media´).

• Create individual tracking links, as described in the section "Creating and editing tracking links".

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We recommend that you do not use the regular job link as it does not offer a tracking function.

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Embedding on the company website

Do you have jobs that you are constantly recruiting for? Are these jobs highlighted on your online career portal or your company website? The same applies here: if you use the normal job link, as described above, the source of any applications for this job coming via your company website will not be captured by the new tracking feature.

Our recommendation: Create a tracking link, as described in the section "Creating and editing tracking links", and assign a reporting name that identifies your company website as the source. Then use only this individual tracking link for the job ad on your company website. Of course, this also applies to other pages where you would like to embed a job.

Direct forwarding to your jobbase

If you forward job seekers from your company website directly to your Application Manager job base (onlyfyaccountname.onlyfy.jobs), this forwarding will also not be captured by the tracking. The result is that you cannot determine how many job seekers clicked through from your company website to an appropriate job ad.

Our recommendation: Please make use of your job feed. It is available in many different metadata formats and allows you to import to your company website a list of jobs you have published. You can find this under ´Settings´ > ´Integrations´ > ´Job feed´. We recommend consulting your internal IT department for assistance with the technical integration on your company website. Of course, we would be happy to assist you with any other questions you may have.

Custom job boards and tracking links

Even if you are unable to use the job publishing functions on the job boards that Application Manager offers directly, this does not mean you have to do without reliable source tracking. 

Make use of custom job boards. To do this, go to ´Settings´ > ´Jobs´ > ´Custom job boards´". With this option, you can define a job board offering and configure the system to send all data on the job, including the graphical design for the job template, to a specific e-mail address.

Not only does this method allow application links to be automatically equipped with our tracking function so that you receive all key data for your job ad at the specified e-mail address, it also places a publication entry for your posting in the posting list for your job. The posting of custom job boards takes place when you click ´Publish´ during the creation or editing of a job. Click on `Your job boards´ to select from the defined offerings. Read more details in our article "Multiposting".

If you only need a functioning application link, which you want to independently share with job boards outside of Application Manager, it is still always worthwhile to create a new tracking link for the job. This gives you maximum flexibility since these links reliably contribute to your source tracking and can also be deactivated independently of the job itself, giving you better control over your job board postings.