Indeed announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire ClickIQ, a programmatic job advertising platform based in the UK.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Indeed’s owners, Japanese staffing giant Recruit, is one of the most aggressive acquirers in the online job advertising space having already completed four acquisitions since January 2018 (Workopolis, Glassdoor, Resume.com and Syft). SIA corporate members can read more about the sector in our recent Online Job Advertising Market Update.

Founded in 2017 by Richard Collins and Beverly Shaw, ClickIQ is an AI-powered programmatic recruitment technology platform.  Programmatic job advertising is a method of algorithmically placing job ads on websites that candidates visit, which can then follow them across other web pages. For instance, if a candidate searches for information about java developers online or visits the career site of a staffing firm, these firms can “programmatically” place job advertisements at the various sites the candidate later browses. While programmatic ad buying is common among marketers, it is a newer development in the talent acquisition space.

ClickIQ’s proprietary technology manages, tracks and optimises the performance of enterprise clients’ recruitment advertising in real-time, focusing job advertising spend where it is needed to reach the best candidates in the most cost-effective way.  

Maggie Hulce, SVP Sales Strategy at Indeed, commented, “The team at ClickIQ have built an innovative technology solution for optimising job advertising spend to reach both active and passive jobseekers. In partnership, we will strengthen our ability to deliver qualified applications - and ultimately hires - to employers quickly and cost-effectively. Using AI to deliver the right number of candidates in a more effortless way, we will free recruiters to focus on what they do best - engaging candidates and ensuring great hires - which ultimately supports our mission to help people get jobs.” 

Richard Collins and Beverly Shaw, co-founders at ClickIQ, issued a joint statement, “In Indeed we have found a partner who is truly aligned with our own business objectives and mission. We set out to build a technology platform that offers companies more cost-effective results, greater insight and more effortless control over their recruitment advertising budgets. With Indeed’s support, we look forward to scaling this model to employers around the world.”