a word on vertical job search (and probably not the last)
March 21st, 2005
Vertical search has been getting a lot of attention lately. If you’re unfamiliar with the phenomena that is vertical search - sites like Indeed, WorkZoo, Direct Employers - here’s a brief description:
Vertical search engines - Specialized search engines that mine data for one narrow niche of the market place. Say jobs or travel.
It has its fans and its haters. The theory goes that results on engines like Google are too fragmented, so a niche engine makes sense. If I want to look for a job, I’ll eventually go to a vertical search engine that collects data from all the job boards instead of visit each one separately. What a time saver, right?
Well, doubtful. Anyone remember GrassIsGreener? Didn’t think so. Still in business since about 2000, GrassIsGreener has been doing the same thing these Flavors of the Week do for awhile. Are they a household name? Hardly.
That said, here are a few of my observations and predictions for vertical search and how it pertains to finding a job:
- None of the verticals have the marketing clout or uniqueness to build enough brand awareness to come close to making a dent in Google, Yahoo! or MSN … not to mention Ask Jeeves, AOL or A9.
- It’s really not that much better to search all the collective spam on job sites in one stop as opposed to many stops. Both have the same crappy Work from Home "opportunities."
- Vertical engines were created with the hope of being bought for big bucks by Google, Yahoo!, MSN, et al. And I’m sure many will see their pay day.
- Direct employers, aggregating data from actual corporate Web sites, is leaps and bounds better in terms of what users really want. However ….
- Direct employers doesn’t have enough clients or money to scare anyone. So …
- Eventually, the major search engines will effectively spider employer Web sites and rank their job openings accordingly in contrast to rankings sites like Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs enjoy today.
- Approval and acceptance of the .jobs domain will help make this possible, potentially at a rapid pace.
Obviously, only time will tell how right I am on all this. However, I am confident that job seekers - at least the ones that employers really desire (passive ones) - want to find real jobs at real companies that are real fits. The clutter and cold of today’s job sites are wearing out their welcome.
Search will adapt and deliver those real opportunities. The market will evolve accordingly.
The birth of vertical search is a cry for help. A cry from job seekers for anyone to make finding a job better. However, it won’t be the Indeeds, WorkZoos or DirectEmployers of the world that fill that need. It’ll be Google and Gates.
