The industry is flooded with numbers, especially the coveted “We’re NUMBER 1” position every job board works toward. Although what does #1 really mean?

“comScore, today released the results of a study on career-related Internet sites in Europe based on data from its comScore World Metrix service. According to the study, sites dedicated to online career resources, job search, and training attracted an average of 53.3 million European visitors per month during Q1 2007, an increase of 3 percent versus a year ago and 8 percent versus Q4 2006.”

According to comScore, the total European internet audience is 217.5 million and, as stated above, the “Job Board” segment consists of 53.3 million, which is less than 25% penetration, on the total.

As we dive deeper into the rabbit hole we find the “We’re NUMBER 1″ job board in Europe is Monster, which represents 8.4 million unique visitors per month and provides 16% active job seeker penetration, equating to 4% of the entire European internet community.

That’s right 4% market penetration = #1

So when you’re listening to all of the “We’re NUMBER 1” hype, just remember those marketing and recruiting dollars for the #1 European job board gives you 4% market penetration.

How do I get better market penetration for less?

Well, if the UK is any indicator of internet usage for Europe, then you might want to check out this comScore data pertaining to “Leading UK site traffic“. Google (88%), Microsoft (86%), or Yahoo! (68%) used alone or in tandem will provide tremendous penetration, performance, and flexibility for any recruiting campaign.

SEM with Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo! will provide your company better market penetration and an incredible advantage over your competitors trying to engage top talent.

This type of industry intelligence makes the everyday questions like “Which job board should we use?” or “Which CV database should we buy?” seem quite small.

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