LinkedIn Corp (LNKD)’s Stock: Getting Engaged With It

After growing revenue by an average of 100% over the last two years, LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) has designs on continuing its fantastic growth rate. But with 97.3% of staffing professionals already using LinkedIn to find candidates, some investors might have their doubts that LinkedIn can pull off such a feat. However, LinkedIn has plans to capitalize on that very fact to continue growing its top line when it released its revamped Recruiter homepage on Wednesday by improving user engagement.

Engaging Talent Solutions

LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD)’s Talent Solutions service is the largest part of its business representing 53% of the company’s revenue in fiscal year 2012. More importantly, it’s the fastest growing segment of the business, improving 90% year-over-year in the fourth quarter to $161 million in sales.

While the service was certainly in need of an aesthetic overhaul, it’s not just the new look that has me excited about the prospects for the new Recruiter page to improve revenue. LinkedIn has improved its search functionality lately, and has extended it to the Recruiter page. The company clearly wants recruiters using it as the search bar will follow you up and down the page.

Perhaps a direct response to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s Graph Search, the new search features boast improved auto-complete and suggested searches that may provide recruiters with better results. Better results ought to lead to a decreased churn rate from subscribers, and improved signup rates as the product becomes increasingly useful at filtering through LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD)’s quickly expanding user base.

This is akin to the reason Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) made Graph Search – so users can find the information they’re looking for more easily. And while Graph Search could potentially pose a threat as a recruiting tool as it improves in functionality, LinkedIn is staying ahead of the curve with its newest search functionality.

The second focus of the new recruitment page is improving user engagement. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) made numerous improvements last year in engaging its consumers with improvements to its homepage and user notifications. Engagement is just as important on the enterprise side. A new section for “People You May Want to Hire” gives recruiters a few new faces to click on. A focus on messaging keeps them on the site longer.

The benefits of increased engagement are two-fold. First, the longer LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) can keep a customer on its page, the more invested she becomes with the service. She’s unlikely to unsubscribe after investing so much time building connections and learning the value of Talent Solutions. Second, LinkedIn sells ads by impressions and not by clicks, which means an increased number of page views, or increased time spent on the site, will directly translate into higher ad revenues.

Engaging job seekers