What is backfill and why do job boards use it?

This month’s gathering of dozens of leaders of job boards globally — our 8th since August 2024 — discussed backfill, which is when Job Board A sends some of its job posting ads to Job Board B.

Not all job boards send or receive postings this way, but almost all of the higher-traffic ones do. There are many reasons why a job board will distribute (syndicate) some or even all of its postings to other job boards, and many reasons why a job board will import those jobs. One is revenue: driving candidate traffic from your site to another can result in getting paid for that traffic, typically per click or application. Another is content: if you have only a posting or two of interest to a candidate, they’ll be unlikely to respond to either and even less likely to come back.

Should your job board engage in backfill? What are the pros and cons? What are some tips and tricks?

A big thank you to Job Boards Connect for sponsoring!