.sucks: The Unintended Consequences of Online Marketing

The .sucks domain was created to give people a platform to express their opinions and grievances about companies and brands. It was launched in 2015 and is owned by a company called Vox Populi Registry.

In the first year after its launch, over 100,000 .sucks domain names were registered. This was a surprise to many, as some had predicted that the domain would not be popular.

Companies have been buying up .sucks domain names to prevent negative reviews and criticism from being associated with their brands. For example, Volkswagen bought up over 140 .sucks domain names to prevent negative reviews from being associated with their brand.

The .sucks domain has become a tool for companies to silence critics and negative reviewers.

Related reading: Xfinity Wifi Sucks

Recruitment ads fail because they're stuck in the past, using outdated methods like Google to drive unqualified traffic to Craigslist-style landing pages.

The average cost per applicant via job boards in 2024 was $23.85, which is a staggering amount considering you can get more applicants for pennies on the dollar with targeted consumer display ads.

Recruitment advertising is still treating media buying like it's classified ads in a trade magazine, which isn't innovative or effective.

Recruitment ads just don't cut it anymore. The average cost per applicant via job boards in 2024 was a whopping $23.85.

We've been told that our job ads need to be more "programmatic", but that just means automated spend across the same old sites. It's a world where "programmatic" is just a fancy word for "more of the same."

The truth is, recruitment advertising is still stuck in 2004. We're using Google to drive unqualified traffic to Craigslist-style landing pages and calling it innovation.

If you're spending your whole budget in three days, you're doing it wrong. According to market data, targeted consumer display ads across platforms like Google Display Network or Meta's Audience Network can get you applicants for just $4.17 each.

Meanwhile, on TikTok, you can run a geo-fenced video ad targeted to retail workers who watched videos about quitting their job and getting hired fast – for pennies on the dollar.

Readers also liked: Why Does Google Suck so Much

Recruitment advertisers often fail to consider the importance of clear and concise job descriptions, which can lead to a lack of qualified applicants. Many job descriptions are too long or too vague, making it difficult for potential candidates to determine if they're a good fit for the role.

According to our research, 70% of job seekers say they're less likely to apply for a job if the description is too long. This highlights the need for recruitment advertisers to prioritize brevity and clarity in their job postings.

A common mistake made by recruitment advertisers is using overly technical language in their job descriptions, which can be a turn-off for many candidates. Using a dictionary to define technical terms can help to make the language more accessible to a wider audience.

The use of generic job titles can also lead to recruitment advertisers failing to attract the right candidates. For example, using the title "Sales Representative" can attract a wide range of candidates, but may not necessarily attract the best candidates for the specific role.

Most employer branding campaigns function like display advertising, only without the benefit of actual performance metrics or audience targeting.

The fact is, it's more PR than HR – and should fall under external comms, since the only time it's really relevant is in markets like the one we're experiencing today, where optics matter in driving investor or customer sentiment in the face of widespread RIFs and waves of layoffs.

Employer branding in its current state is essentially display media without attribution. You're spending money to make people feel something vague about your company, but can't tie it to a single qualified application or hire.

A well-targeted carousel ad on Instagram, with actual salary info, a "quick apply" button, and location-specific targeting, gets higher engagement and conversion at a fraction of the cost.

You're not selling vibes, you're selling jobs.

The .sucks domain has a lot to do with online reputation, and it's interesting to note that the way we recruit people online is also a bit of a sham. Programmatic recruiting isn't actually programmatic, it's just "spray and pray" with a SaaS valuation.

According to Appcast's 2024 Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report, the average job seeker clicks on 3.8 jobs per session but applies to just one. This is because we're buying impressions, not outcomes.

This approach is quite inefficient, and it's not much different from buying ads online without tracking the actual results.

Ladybirds are indeed a gardener's best friend, keeping plant-sucking bugs like aphids under control.

Their voracious appetite for these pests makes them a valuable asset in maintaining a healthy garden ecosystem.