Don't adjust your sets: Jobster Acquires Recruiting.com
When I first saw this, I thought it might be some kind of practical joke. But then I realized it wasn't. And thank goodness for that.
This is a stunningly great idea, and one of the few marketing plays that I have seen a dot-com make that makes real sense. Jobster gets a branded destination, lots of type-in traffic, a thriving online community, and the halo effect of having aligned with people (Jason Davis, et al) who have a ton of street credibility. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
According to http://tools.seobook.com
Do the math: Jobster is currently paying $3/click -- and many powerful online retail VPs (ie, my clients and candidates) expect these PPC bids to increase as less sophisticated players step into the market. Remember, with PPC programs, you are only as smart as your dumbest competitor. At current prices, my guess is that the value of Jobster's PPC savings will be $1-to-2 million per year.
And what about organic search? How much would it cost Jobster to claw its way to the top of the organic search results without actually owning the domain "www.recruiting.com?" A bunch -- if it's possible at all.
Obviously, I'm no expert on SEO (that's Cheezwhiz's specialty). But I don't need to know how much a lady weighs to tell you if she's fat.
According to Rupert Murdoch, we are still in the first inning of the Internet age. There's no telling what terminal value Jobster's finance jocks assigned to the acquisition after accounting for growth in the online recruiting space, synergies, and so on. If I am only directionally correct in my thinking, then the Jobster acquisition of Recruiting.com makes a ton of sense.
Prediction: By December 31, 2006, Jobster will be renamed Recruiting.com
