According to SmartInsights.com, the number of people who access the Internet through a mobile device exceeded desktop access in mid-2013. Ever since then, the gap between mobile and desktop users has continued to widen, and job board owners must learn to adapt if they want to survive. With the world turning more and more to mobile Internet access, your job board needs to keep up if you want employers and candidates to keep your board going.
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Offering The Right Mobile Features
Almost every website developer is still struggling with ways to maximize the potential of websites on mobile devices, and that means that there are still plenty of new trails to blaze. SearchEngineLand.com points out that Google started cracking down on mobile websites in April 2015 when it announced a list of criteria mobile websites would have to meet in order to show up on mobile search results. The resulting adjustments by developers, and the Wild Wild West feel of mobile development, means that your online job board can make an impact early in the process.
Your mobile website can make your job board if you start investing in the development of tools that no one else offers. With standard websites, it is increasingly difficult to create features that candidates and employers have not already seen. But in the mobile world, you have your chance to be seen as an innovator and get your mobile site plenty of attention.
The Dangers Of Not Focusing On Your Mobile Site
While mobile innovation can make your job board, ignoring the rising tide of mobile use can break it. According to RealMatch.com, 75 percent of all job hunters utilize mobile websites to find companies, submit resumes and get interviews. The simple fact is that if you do not have a strong mobile site, then you are only being seen by 25 percent of the available pool of candidates. As your candidate pool dwindles, the loss of paying customers will not be far behind.
A Compatible Mobile Experience
It is true that many job hunters are using mobile sites to find jobs, but those same job hunters are also going back and forth between websites and mobile sites to get the information they need. If you want to use your mobile site to make your job board, then you need to offer an experience through your mobile site that is similar to your standard website. If you do not work hard to make your mobile site as robust as your standard website, then you could see traffic slow to a crawl.
The simple truth is that not having a robust and functional mobile presence will break your job board at some point. But the job board owners who understand the kind of opportunities that mobile still offers will be the owners who use mobile websites to expand their business and generate more success for their entire online job board business.
Is there a possibility of mobile becoming the default medium job seekers use when searching for jobs?
George N Root III is a professional freelance writer who has expertise in topics such as Internet marketing, business, advertising, and personal finance.