Fundamentals of Job Board Analytics

by Mark Rosiek

Whether you just launched your job board or have been maintaining one for some time, being able to observe the behavior of your site’s users is invaluable. By keeping track of certain metrics you can determine how to improve a user’s experience on your platform and can even offer suggestions to employers on how they can optimize their job listings. These metrics may include:

  • Views on job postings
  • What job seekers like and dislike about job listings
  • Number of “Apply” clicks
  • Number of job postings
  • Trends over time

Job Listing Data

By tracking the amount of times a job posting is viewed, a mental image of the market for that position can begin to take shape. The more views a job posting has, the more likely it is to be a highly sought after position within your job board’s niche. Use this information to identify and provide more jobs that your user base is looking for. Reaching out to other employers who could add similar positions to your job search platform would be a great way to get other employers involved and stimulate more engagement among job seekers. Observing and correctly reacting to the amount of views a posting receives can directly lead to more overall traffic to your platform.

Tracking the number of views on job postings is also valuable for marketing. By observing changes in this metric, you will be able to determine how effective any marketing campaigns are for that specific job posting. These marketing efforts could range from a “featured job” strategy, ad campaigns targeting that specific job or many other clever marketing techniques. By observing a measurable change in a job posting’s views, you will be able to tell if your efforts are successful. This can help you determine what to do next and how to react accordingly.

The amount of time spent on a job posting can be just as important as the number of clicks. The bounce rate of a job posting is determined by users clicking on a position and quickly exiting. Certain things can be inferred from this data. Perhaps it was simply a misclick, but it is also possible that the job title could be misleading when compared to the description. On the other hand, it is possible for users to open a job listing and leave it open for extended periods. This can result in skewed data, so it is important to be aware of. If a position has several clicks but also a high bounce rate, it could be a red flag that you should look into the quality of the job posting. Offering suggestions to improve the job posting can result in a more relevant post that the right users will actually read and apply to. These interactions can be a way to show both sides that your platform cares about their needs and will lead to a more successful job board.

Likes and Dislikes

One of the features we are proud to provide at TrueJob is the ability for users to like or dislike different job postings. This allows us to tailor the postings a job seeker sees based off on their preferences, leading to a better user experience. These likes and dislikes can then be presented to employers to see which job listings may need some reworking and which are doing great. Any feedback that we can draw from the user base can be used to create a better product, one where the job seekers see more of what they are looking for, and employers can edit their posts in order to get better results. The ability to have users interact with your portal in this way will directly lead to more participation from employers and job seekers alike.

Amount of Apply Clicks

Every job posting has some variation. Some will have all of the information on the job board, while some may be linked to the employer’s site. Some may allow a user to apply from your site, while others may want you to submit a resume to a landing page. Because of these differences, an accurate measure of how many applications are submitted may be hard to come by. That is why it is important to be able to track the number of times the “Apply” button is clicked, whether it leads to an embedded application or redirects the user to an offsite location. The number of applicants sent through your job board is a great metric to show what jobs are in high demand and what your job seekers want more of.

Number of Job Postings

The value of your job board can be measured by the amount of job postings and a number of related metrics, such as the number of employers using your site and how often they post new jobs. This data can be used to determine how much value employers assign to your product. Perhaps employers aren’t listing jobs, or the ones that are don’t post new ones later on. If an employer receives limited response from job seekers they may not see your job board as worth while. Keeping track of these statistics can help you identify “problem employers” and address the issue before it gets too large. Engaging with employers who are having issues and assisting them with creating better job postings is a great way to keep them involved in the future.

Trends Over Time

Keeping track of all of these metrics over time can paint a picture of how well your job search platform is performing. You will be able to observe changes in the number of jobs offered, users regularly applying for positions, if job seekers are looking for specific types of jobs on your platform, etc. Identify issues before they become big, respond to what users want more or less of, and interact with employers regularly so you can fill their positions more efficiently.

Use this data to improve your site to provide the best experience possible for both job seekers and employers. Keeping close tabs on these metrics is a way to see the measurable impact that your job board has within your community. Trim what needs to be cut, encourage what’s working, and your job board will flourish and bring your community up with it. At TrueJob we are proud to provide easy to interpret and useful data to our clients. Schedule a demo today to see how we can help you.