Each month I receive what is arguably the best everything-to-do-with-search newsletter around, Planet Ocean. Every search guru I know subscribes to it and loves it. Each issue is jam packed with news items and tips for the pros, by the pros.
For February, they had an article about researching and obtaining links from sites that are trusted – or white-listed – in Google’s eyes. It said the following:
"Besides .edu and .gov, other top level domains (TLDs) that are likely to be white-listed, or at least carry a greater degree of trust, include .mil, .museum, .aero, .int and .jobs.
"The reason these domain extensions (aka, top level domains, TLDs) tend to merit a greater degree of trust is that their use is restricted to a narrow range of verified applicants (for instance, .mil is only available to the US military)."
This is a big win for the .jobs domain in my opinion. Very big. This kind of third-party endorsement by highly respected thought leaders within search circles means a lot more than the mere speculation that’s gone on in online recruitment circles from people like me.
Having the dot-jobs domain and URL categorized in the same class as .edu, .gov, etc. in search engines’ eyes should go a long way in helping .jobs domain holders, which are restricted to direct employers, getting a leg-up on ranking well for targeted searches in comparison to .coms and sites of their ilk.
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Blog sponsored by the .jobs domain.
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February 16th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
I came across my first one recently at http://www.asda.jobs. As I was copying the URL for some work we are doing for them, I had to recheck it as it threw me slightly as there was no .com/.co.uk at the end!!
Well done ASDA (yep, part of big, bad Wal Mart!)
February 16th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Good thought. Would you speculate on what the tipping point might be in your view i.e.how many employers would need to be pointing to their jobs via .jobs before jobseekers sense the logic of finding the jobs via the domain, appliacation developers use the domain within their algorithms, search engines apply…etc.