So, you run a job board.
You make a nice living. You rely heavily on search engines for targeted, organic, free traffic and have worked diligently for many years to rank well for your keyphrases. You’re outranking and always staying one step ahead of your competition.
And then Google decides they want to get into the online classifieds game. So much so that they now hold the No. 1 result for all job-related searches via a search box leading users to their Base job content.
Pop quiz, hot shot: What are you going to do now?
Yes, not every Google user will opt to jump over to Google’s listings. But don’t kid yourself, a lot will and already are. So take your head out of the sand and take heed to a few tips to help survive the storm.
1. Upload your job content into Google Base – now! In hindsight, CareerBuilder was genius. They decided early-on to upload their content into Base, and now they’re reaping a ton of reward by practically monopolizing Base content. Smart job sites will follow their lead, and many already are. Don’t be left out. Yes, I know helping a Google classifieds offering seems counterproductive, but not jumping on the bandwagon (hello Monster!) will do more harm than good.
2. Give users a reason to come back. Once you get someone to your site, give them a reason to stay and come back again and again aside from just jobs. Give them a community. Take a look at TalentZoo, who in addition to Marketing job content, gives users good information and helps people interact with other marketing pros. If you’re a local or skills niche site, this should be easy. The future belongs to the nimble.
3. Create non-job related material. Get your site’s content to show up for non-job related searches. Google searchers won’t see the infamous Base Boxes if it’s not a job search, so take that opportunity to target passive job seekers. For example, if you’re a Chicago-based job site, consider creating pages of content dedicated to Chicago-related information. You’re then hedging your bets that someone searching for information on a local company, sports team, personality or whatever may find your site and want to come back or join.
4. Cobrand and partner. CareerBuilder is the king of this, but there’s no reason you can’t do the same. Start plugging your site’s content into sites that aren’t necessarily job-specific. For example, go to an association site or a local portal and offer to power a job listings section. For a visual, checkout a cobrand Ohio-based CareerBoard did for the Columbus Urban League. You get the idea: Get your jobs found in a myriad of different, targeted channels.
5. Affiliate. Create an army of sites plugging and pushing your own. Commission Junction and Linkshare are two of the most popular affiliate program providers – of which all the Big Three utilize – but if you’re not into paying Commission Junction a decent chunk of change or aren’t into their national/global reach, there are good homebrew solutions you can offer.
Yep, it’s a jungle out there for job sites. But evolving quickly to industry changes (or earthquakes in Google’s case), can help make sure you’re business is around and fruitful for years to come. For additional tips, I recommend checking out Battling Free, my own e-book on the topic of creating revenue in an era of free.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Blog sponsored by NAS Recruitment Advertising.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Leave a Reply