r.i.p. google base?
April 23rd, 2008
The end of the road may officially be near for Google Base.
Two years ago, Google started integrating a secondary search box into job query results that would then take users to job listings on Base. Knowing how much job board traffic is (or can be) driven by search engines, I (and I wasn’t alone) believed this move would shake up things significantly for the job board business.
Didn’t turn out that way.
And the latest example Base may be diving for the dead pool: It looks as though the secondary search box is gone for good. From my own activities, I haven’t seen the link to Base content, even after doing a myriad of job searches over the past few months. So now, if a job seeker wants to find Base content, they essentially have to know exactly where to go. No vertical search links or boxes are available from any general Web search.
Moreover, in addition to Google simply acting uninterested in the project, the number of job postings has dropped from over 3 million, as recently as about 6 mos. ago, to somewhere around 2 million. And I assume that number will only continue to drop as traffic to postings plummet.
It’s doubtful anyone will notice though. Ask any job board owner how much traffic Base drove to their listings and you’re likely to get back a “Base what?”
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
amen!
April 24th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Spot on Joel, Google Base has made almost no impact on the job posting scene.
This is probably an indication of just how important recruitment based advertising is to Google. If they had allowed base to challenge the job boards the amount of money job boards spend on search advertising might have been impacted. For Google a competitive job board market is a money making market.
If Base had of become the resource many (including I) hoped it would be, the long-term impact on Google’s income from job boards could have been at risk.
Google likes to innovate but not at the expense of revenue, which is probably why Base has stayed Basic.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
its demise is a real pity. the online job market needs to kept honest, esp here in OZ