The Indeed business model - How does Indeed make money?

Indeed is an online platform connecting job seekers with employment opportunities in various markets.
Indeed operates in more than 60 countries, and it's the most-visited job site in the US market.
Indeed makes money by offering pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, banner ads, subscription fees, and hiring events.

Entrepreneurs Rony Kahan and Paul Forster founded Indeed in 2004, with its headquarters in Austin, Texas, and Stamford, Connecticut. The jobs listing site aggregates job listings from job boards, company websites, newspapers, and recruiting agencies, bringing them together on one easy-to-reference platform for its users.

Companies can also upload job openings directly to the platform. The Japanese conglomerate, Recruit Holdings, acquired Indeed in 2012 for $1 billion.

The Indeed business model charges fees to employers for additional features on their listings that give them enhanced visibility to job seekers.

What does Indeed do?

Indeed is the biggest jobs board in the United States.

The company has more than 150 million resumes on its platform, with more than 6 million new resume uploads from job seekers each month.

It's a favorite site for recruiters due to its 55% response rate on inquiries.

Indeed took just five years to reach the top spot as the most-visited jobs board in the US.

By the time it claimed the throne of recruitment platforms, the site had received more than 170 million unique page views per month.

As a result, Indeed had a short path to profitability. Its only funding was a $5 million seeding round led by Union Square Ventures in 2005.

The company's success and low debt levels resulted in Japanese conglomerate "Recruit Co." acquiring the company in 2012 for $1 billion.

Indeed employs more than 10,000 people, with 20 offices in locations around the globe.

The company receives approximately 330 million unique page views per month, making it one of the leading recruitment sites online.

How does Indeed work?

Indeed is a search engine allowing job seekers to browse employment positions in all markets.

The search engine consists of employers posting job openings on its platform.

Indeed collects job listings from independent company websites, jobs boards, recruiting agencies, newspapers, and trade magazines using its aggregation model.

Co-founder Rory Kahan states that the company intends to be the "Google search model" of job listings websites.

According to Indeed, sponsored posts on the platform are over 3.5 times more likely to result in a hire over standard listings.

Sponsored posts on Indeed start as low as $5 per day, but users can scale this offering without limitations.

How Indeed makes money

Indeed makes money by offering job listings.

It earns through a model of sponsored posts, targeted advertising, resume uploads (Indeed Resume), and tech-specialist job offerings (Seen by Indeed).

Let's unpack the Indeed business model in detail.

Indeed Resume

Users can upload resumes to the Indeed platform. Indeed charges employers a monthly subscription fee to access the resumes of qualifying candidates.

Indeed Targeted Ads

Indeed places targeted ads on its mobile homepage, view jobs page, recommended jobs page, or post apply page.

It charges advertisers for the right to promote on its platform. Ads receive a high click-through rate, providing excellent ROI for marketing budgets.

Seen by Indeed

‘Seen by Indeed’ connects employers and candidates in the tech industry.

Employers pay a monthly subscription fee to access the Seen by Indeed platform.

The number of candidates the employer can assess each month depends on their chosen plan.

Indeed Hiring Events

Employers promote "Hiring Events," allowing them to interview candidates in a virtual environment. Indeed charges a fee for coordinating this service.

Future growth engine

Indeed is the leader in the US recruitment market.

The company also intends to keep up its aggressive international expansion over the coming decade.

Competitors

Indeed competes in the job recruitment market. Some of its top competitors include the following recruitment sites, not to mention the hundreds of niche sites.