The Chad | Change The Online Recruiting Game

Hitwise data showed Indeed surpassing Monster’s traffic back in late 2007. Now comScore data has followed suit with a list of the biggest gains in the job search category along with the lone Monster loss and a HUGE gain by SimplyHired.. Check it out..

Job Search Category
December 2008 vs. December 2007

Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Dec-2007 vs Dec-2008 % Change

1) CareerBuilder.com
2007: 5,132
2008: 9,121
% change: +78%

2) Yahoo! HotJobs
2007: 2,282
2008: 5,605
% change: +146%

3) Indeed.com
2007: 2,712
2008: 5,106
% change: +88%

4) Monster
2007: 4,131
2008: 3,776
% change: -9%

5) Simply Hired
2007: 1,188
2008: 3,104
% change: +161%

Ever feel like you’re being watched? No, not by the geek in tech that has nothing better to do than watch individual’s web traffic or read everyone’s work email. Bigger than that, like watching an ant farm and you’re one of the ants.

Well there might be some truth to that feeling after all, at least on the internet.

Hitwise monitors 25 million U.S. internet users through their Internet Service Providers, which offers an opportunity to better understand web behavior and exactly where traffic is coming and going. Imagine having analytics for your site and everyone else’s, especially your competitors. It’s truly like stepping back and looking into an ant farm.

I’ve been a proponent of Hitwise for awhile; the difference is that now I HAVE ACCESS and will be crunching data and sharing the intimate details.

Go figure, Ray has already beaten me to the graphing and statistics punch.

Yesterday Forbes’ Matthew Kirdahy released their Best Cities For Jobs In 2008, which ranks the Top 100 cities in America for projected job growth. Instead of listing all 100 I thought I’d stick with a Top 10 list ala David Letterman… Drum roll please….

1) Salt Lake City, UT
2) Wichita, KS
3) Austin, TX
4) Atlanta, GA
5) Fort Worth, TX
6) Indianapolis, IN
7) Houston, TX
Omaha, NE
9) Raleigh, NC
10) Seattle, WA

I was happy to see Forbes project Indianapolis, Indiana as one of the Top 10 Best Cities for Jobs in 2008. You’ll also notice an extremely strong showing from the state of Texas holding 3 of the Top 10 positions, while Atlanta’s job growth is only overshadowed by their traffic woes. – full article -

Indianapolis, Indiana

For more Best Cities in Jobs 2008 pictures click here

Real analytical data and competitive intelligence is vital in understanding how to better leverage your corporate career site and since Alexa has been unofficially labeled as a TOY, I have received calls and emails asking for a good alternative.

Enter Hitwise… I was introduced to Hitwise by one of our members, via demonstration, and was instantly hooked. Why? DATA!! Not just plain old “How many uniques do I get per month” data, I mean data complete with ranking, charting, upstream traffic, downstream traffic, search behavior, demographics, lifestyle, and even conversion ratios.

Best of all, Hitwise provides the same type of data from your competitor’s site. That’s right, no more guessing how popular job boards and other hiring companies are driving top talent to their site. No it’s not cheating; it’s more like an open book test where all of the answers were highlighted by the smart guy in last year’s class.

For example, imagine having all of the top search engine terms that drive candidates to you competitor’s site. You could then apply those terms to your search engine marketing program, to siphon traffic (potential candidates) away from your competitors, while implementing your SEO campaign to rank better organically for those same terms on Google, Yahoo, etc.

Best of all, the open book tests don’t stop there, and luckily that smart guy has highlighted much, much more.

No, Hitwise isn’t free, but that’s the difference between playing with a toy and leveraging a tool. Check out a fairly quick Hitwise tour, and plug your reader into the Hitwise research analyst blogs (Bill, Heather, Robin, and Sandra) for new trends.