If your job board is floundering, or just not generating the amount of revenue that you want, the problem might be outdated technology. A fully functional website with all the bells and whistles falls short if it’s not convenient.
Convenience is more important every day, and that’s one of the primary reasons for the rapid growth of mobile. Sitting at a computer was once the only way to find what you need online.
Smartphones and tablets have eradicated that idea, but only for companies that have a mobile strategy.
Your customers already rely on mobile for banking, social media, and even GPS. So you can offer what they want in job board technology – where they want it, or you can hope that some customers will remain devoted to a less convenient way to get things done.
Are You Making it Easier, or More Difficult, than Your Competitors?
It’s easy to stick with what worked in the past. You know the interface, and your customers know what to expect. But if revenue and traffic don’t grow, there’s a problem.
Take a long, hard look at what you’re offering to job seekers and employers, and then look at what your competitors offer. Would you choose your job board over another? If so, why? If not, why not?
If job seekers and employers don’t have access from a mobile device, both you and they are missing out. Offering only one way to access your job board means you’re losing a lot of potential traffic and revenue, and you’ll lose even more in the future.
Is Your Mobile Site Optimized for Different Devices?
Mobile-ready websites are optimized to function the right way using a smartphone or tablet. They do more than just give users access; there’s less imagery, and text is formatted for easy viewing on small displays. But mobile can be optimized even further.
The job board your customers see might look different depending on which mobile device they use to access it. Generally, all smartphones have a smaller display than a tablet. But there is a difference between smartphones, too.
Christina Warren for Webtrends Mobile Analytics explains that what works with one device might not work well, or at all, using another. If you’re going mobile, plan to reach more customers by optimizing your job board for Android, iPhone, and as many other devices as you can.
Do You Offer a Mobile App?
A mobile site is only part of the package you could be offering to customers. Newer on the scene is the job board mobile app. With an app, job seekers have an even simpler way to log in, search, upload resumes, and apply for jobs. Employers can review resumes and applications whether they’re in the office or traveling.
What makes an app convenient is easy access. Instead of opening a browser and navigating to the mobile site from a tablet or smartphone, users just download the app and then touch the icon to take them directly to the site.
Technology has always been about improving. Websites allowed employers to post jobs online, where job seekers could search and apply for jobs without thumbing through a newspaper. But any technology can risk extinction if it doesn’t follow customer needs.
Mobile isn’t a trendy way to reach more people – it’s fast becoming expected. If your audience, both employees and employers, can find the convenience they need elsewhere, there’s scarce reason for them to stick around.
You don’t have to follow every technology trend, but your audience should drive at least some of your decisions. If they already use mobile every day, then mobile is where you want to be.