Free or not for free? That is the question. Should job boards be free?
I noticed a few posts recently in which some sites are launching their FREE ADVERTISING model. I am curious to know what other people are thinking about the FREE model.
My personal view is that recruiters love free postings because they can advertise everything and anthing for free (I worked in recruitment for 10 years). The problem is that the jobs invariably dont even exist and some companies will advertise everything at the same time which means the latest jobs advertised on a site relate to 1 or 2 companies. This (in my opinion) doesnt look good to a new visitor to the site.
Its also possible to advertise more jobs so that your competitors ad will get pushed further down the page.
Secondly, doesnt free advertising seem to make people wonder why its free? I know about Craig's list et al, but some advertisers might look at this in a negative way; its free because nobody good uses the site or because a job board is trying to drive traffic to the site.
I'm also keen to hear where the revenue stream is expected to come from (banners, google ads, selling CV database access etc).
In case you are wondering, we are an IT job board to be launched soon! ;-)
My personal view is that recruiters love free postings because they can advertise everything and anthing for free (I worked in recruitment for 10 years). The problem is that the jobs invariably dont even exist and some companies will advertise everything at the same time which means the latest jobs advertised on a site relate to 1 or 2 companies. This (in my opinion) doesnt look good to a new visitor to the site.
Its also possible to advertise more jobs so that your competitors ad will get pushed further down the page.
Secondly, doesnt free advertising seem to make people wonder why its free? I know about Craig's list et al, but some advertisers might look at this in a negative way; its free because nobody good uses the site or because a job board is trying to drive traffic to the site.
I'm also keen to hear where the revenue stream is expected to come from (banners, google ads, selling CV database access etc).
In case you are wondering, we are an IT job board to be launched soon! ;-)
Tags: advertising, adverts, board, business, free, job, model
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris Russell on -
you can watch my thoughts on this subject in this video about job board pricing
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Permalink Reply by Ameeeba on -
Hi Chris
Thanks for your fast response. Its great to see that you are offering some youtube videos on the Job board industry. When I have more time, I will have a look.
I think there is arguably a difference in what we are talking about when we use the word niche. You seem to be thinking on a local basis whereas our sites focus on verticals for key industry skills like Oracle (thats not one we are focusing on by the way!).
We are competing against some of the big boys like Monster, Dice etc but we are focusing on some niche areas in which there are sometimes no compteitor sites that are focused exclusively on that niche. This gives us leverage which, combined with some pretty kick ass functionality, means we will be charging a premium price.
I think the idea of charging customers depends on 3 things:
1) how badly someone needs your product/service and therefore perceives the value they can gain from advertising with you.
2) what competition is out there and how much value it can offer.
3) how big your niche is.
This is what I mean about providing something that is of immense value for nothing. I just dont get it.
What you said about PPC could be an interesting development in the job board market. It would be good to see who is successful with this model. Any ideas? (Im not so familiar with non European job boards).
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Permalink Reply by Chris Russell on
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thats a new model i submit might gain traction in the future but not at the moment...re free, you have to invest in marketing with a free job boards to stand out...there are too many 'free' boards these days...better to go niche than compete with Monster
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