Running a job board site means keeping up with the competition, but these days, it’s not just other job board sites that you have to contend with. As the Internet has continued to evolve and expand, a variety of threats have sprouted up for job board site operators, including data aggregators, search engines, and social media, all of which can draw not just traffic away from your site, but also advertising dollars. To make matters more frustrating, these threats can also be assets when used correctly. For example, social media can be used to promote your job board site, but it can also be used to siphon off employers and recruiters to lower-cost alternatives.

SEE ALSO: Separating the Big Job Board Myths from Reality

What Can Be Done?

In the example above, where someone may open a free or low-cost social media job posting alternative, you need to create a marketing strategy through which you show, clearly and plainly, that your job board is the better option. In this example, let’s say that your site offers customizable search options for job seekers. Well, a Facebook posting isn’t going to offer the same level of customization, so use this to your advantage.

Market your site as the choice for job seekers who want to choose what jobs they see, not just have random jobs shoved in their faces. You might even come up with a campaign that involves a job seeker running through a medieval forest at night, scared, as unnecessary jobs jump out at him. Then, juxtapose that with your site where the job seeker is sitting on a throne, picking and choosing through various jobs that are presented to him.

Use Search Marketing to Your Advantage

By and large, search engines, and in particular Google, are how the majority of people find things on the web these days. It’s a simple fact. As a result, you need to ensure that your job board is optimized for search engines in order to be found above your competitors for specific keywords, either related to your services or related to specific jobs.

While it would be easy to simply rely on employers and recruiters to do this, as they are the ones posting the job openings, you’ll need to do your due diligence and edit each job posting to be search-engine friendly. This may mean adding in or removing words, and if you choose to do this, you’ll want to make it clear up front to your customers that you have the option to make changes.

Demonstrate Value to Advertisers

You’ll also want to be able to demonstrate value to advertisers who are considering using social media and other forms of getting the word out. To do this, you’ll not only need to gather data from your own site that proves the effectiveness of your offerings, but you’ll also need to do some research into the numbers that are provided by other sources, such as job posting aggregators. By offering clear, solid data that shows that your site is the superior choice, you’re less likely to lose business to other options.