Trade Me has quoted Nielsen Online figures when it says that the site claimed the top spot (over rival Seek) after it attracted 860,922 domestic unique browsers in October.

The last time Trade Me spoke about being New Zealand biggest jobs site, Seek quickly disagreed.

Head of Trade Me Jobs, Peter Ashby, explained, “Attracting more Kiwis than any other job site has been a milestone in our sights since Trade Me Jobs officially passed Seek on domestic page impressions back in July 2009. Getting to this position has taken a lot of hard work by a lot of people and we're absolutely rapt.

Ashby said his team felt like it was on the right track after Trade Me Jobs picked up its first-ever win as the country's favourite job site at the 2010 NetGuide Awards in August.

He attributed the rise to a couple of key differences in Trade Me Jobs' approach.

“Firstly, from day one Trade Me Jobs has focused on Kiwi consumers – it's simple and easy to use and reflects the way Kiwis look for jobs. Secondly, we've grown the market by catering to the non-metropolitan areas under-served by others, and through making job advertising more affordable.

We've contacted Seek for a response to Trade Me's latest claim. Stay tuned...

Update: Senior Executive Helen Souness has responded to Trade Me's claim. Full story here.