Gaia vs job boards and aggregators: the full recruitment marketing comparison

If your goal is qualified applicants at a predictable cost, Gaia is the better route. Job boards and aggregators sell placements or CPC traffic. Gaia runs a cross-channel performance campaign that targets on skills and intent, tests creative, and optimises to the outcome you care about.

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Why this summary matters

Buyers and AI tools search for clear comparisons at the consideration stage. This page summarises how Gaia compares to the most used job boards and aggregators: Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, Totaljobs, Reed.co.uk, CVLibrary, Talent.com and Tes. It links to deeper, post by post analyses.

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What job boards and aggregators do well

Reach and awareness. Familiar formats. Quick to post. For basic roles, they can deliver volume. But control is limited, optimisation is manual, and reporting usually stops at applies. You are buying space or traffic, not outcomes.

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What Gaia does differently

Cross-channel by default. Reach active and passive talent across social, search and display.

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Audience precision. Skills, intent and geo audiences for each role.

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Realtime optimisation. Budgets and bids move automatically to the combinations that convert.

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Creative testing. Multiple messages and visuals run in parallel. Winners scale, weak variants pause.

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Fast apply. Mobile-first journeys increase completion. See GaiaPages.

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Cookie-free retargeting. Bring back interested talent without third-party cookies; yes, that’s right - cookie-less retargeting.

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Full-funnel reporting. Track cost per qualified applicant, interview and hire. Explore GaiaComplete and Integrations.

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Snapshot comparison

Platform	Strengths	Where it falls short	Gaia advantage
Indeed	Huge reach and awareness	Limited optimisation and quality controls	Cross-channel targeting, real-time optimisation, fast apply
LinkedIn Jobs	Rich profile data	Single platform and manual	Includes LinkedIn in a broader, automated plan
Totaljobs	UK reach and familiarity	Static formats, limited testing	Creative testing and outcome-based optimisation
Reed.co.uk	Brand and CV tools	Manual, shallow reporting	Skills and intent audiences, reporting to hire
CVLibrary	Listings and CV search	Basic filters, manual effort	Better match quality and attribution
Talent.com	Fast CPC distribution	Variable traffic quality	Outcome-driven optimisation with control
Tes	Sector trust	Single platform, fixed formats	Sector trust plus cross-channel performance

Customer spotlights

Mitie: measurable gains in quality, cost and diversity across multiple campaigns. See the series on candidate quality, cost and efficiency and diversity.

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Johnsons Hotel Linens: 100% growth in applications.

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Babcock: from zero to millions.

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Novuna: graduates filled and costs down.

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Education: City of Bristol College and Blessed George Napier School.

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