Jobs site ApplyDirect is hooking into Google’s new cloud employment discovery project, to take advantage of the global behemoth’s move into the lucrative online job search market.

ApplyDirect (ASX:AD1) says it’s gained access to the Google For Jobs beta program, which uses machine learning to match a search term to a range of jobs on a number of sites.

ApplyDirect, which markets itself as a way for companies to make their in-house jobs boards more discoverable online, says the trial will reduce the time to hire.

Integration with the Google program will be complete in three months.

“Arguably, the changes in the recruitment marketing landscape in the last six months have been more profound than in the past 20 years. The launch of Google for Jobs has been an important catalyst in this,” ApplyDirect CEO Lorcan Barden told investors.

ApplyDirect's (ASX:AD1) shares over the past year.
ApplyDirect’s (ASX:AD1) shares over the past year.

“ApplyDirect’s customers will benefit from more traffic and applications from qualified, motivated candidates to their career sites, which will have an optimised recruitment experience developed by us.”

The NSW government, Australia’s largest employer, is ApplyDirect’s biggest customer.

About 75 per cent of job searchers start with Google, and it’s likely that ratio will increase as Google for Jobs gets going, which will rank employer jobs (as original content) ahead of that duplicated by intermediaries, says TechVoyage’s Tim Knapton.

Importantly, ApplyDirect’s solutions are uniquely positioned to enable employers to navigate this opportunity.

Mr Barden told Stockhead Google and Facebook had entered the job search market in the last six months, and this would have big implications for the incumbents in Australia.

“The industry is transforming significantly with Google and also with Facebook to a certain extent, It’s effectively changing the way job ads are served to job seekers.”

Google for Jobs only launched in the US in September and the cloud product will be its first program launched in Australia. It also has a candidate search product.

Mr Barden says already data from the US suggests that job as served up by Google have a higher click-to-apply rate as the search results are better tailored to what seekers are looking for. Because they prioritise ads served by companies directly, it’s easier to see who the employer is and what the job will be.

The company opened up 5 per cent on Tuesday morning at 11.5c.