Job boards have long been the online go-to for job seekers.
Indeed, arguably the number one job search platform in the world, has successfully established itself as a one-stop-shop for job seekers. They’re likely to show up first in organic search results for basically any job search. With over 250 million unique visitors on their site each month, they are undoubtedly the market leader.
As we know, though, Google has been steadily introducing features in its search engine results pages (that extend beyond “traditional” organic search results) for years. Think: Related Questions or Google My Business.
In 2017, this became worrisome for Indeed. Google launched a new feature — Google for Jobs (GFJ) — in its SERPs and began a push to revolutionize the online job search process.
Virtually overnight, platforms like Indeed and CareerBuilder lost a significant amount of organic traffic. Google took over the top spot in search, collating job posts across (almost) all job boards into the GFJ widget that syncs with users’ search intent.
Note, “almost” all job boards. Indeed does not post its jobs in GFJ. And because Indeed doesn’t integrate with GFJ, their results are no longer at the top of users’ browsers. They instead appear beneath the GFJ interface.
This is a missed opportunity for Indeed. If Indeed wisens up to this enormous opportunity, Google for Jobs could be in trouble.
Why?
Let’s look a bit deeper at how this battle between Google for Jobs vs Indeed could unfold and why Indeed needs to get onto Google for Jobs.
Google for Jobs: An (Almost) Consolidated Experience
While job boards are currently the go-to for many job seekers, there are key issues that prevent the experience from satisfying candidates. This means that many applications are abandoned, resulting in a lower ROI for employers.
These issues include:
- Faulty and/or hard-to-use search functions
- Expired and/or duplicate listings
- Redundant and/or confusing application processes
- Frustrating, multi-step process to access job info
- Difficulty and/or inability to apply directly on employer sites
Google took a shot at remedying these issues and intended for GFJ to create a more holistic, candidate-centered experience. Given that 75% of job seekers start their job searches on the platform, it made a lot of sense.
GFJ was to be a platform that would consolidate jobs from job boards, social media, and employer websites. At the same time, it would also create a seamless application process for job seekers.
Whether or not Google has fulfilled its mission to serve job seekers and posters the way it set out to is certainly in question — at least thus far.
The candidate experience is poor, requiring more than 2.5 clicks before getting to an employer’s website. And for employers, figuring out how to optimize their job postings is incredibly difficult.
Indeed is in a position to strike and capture even more of the online jobs market while Google seeks to clean up GFJ.
Why Indeed Needs to Be on Google for Jobs
Remember: Indeed doesn’t include its job postings on GFJ. This means that in order for job seekers to get to Indeed’s listings from a Google search, they must scroll past the GFJ widget to get to the organic results.