Google for Jobs is one of the best job boards on the market, but it’s a peculiar one—it’s not actually a job board. It’s a feature on the search engine which aggregates job listings from various job portals and individual company websites, allowing jobseekers to find new opportunities directly on Google. For example, when someone googles “jobs near me” or a specific position, they’ll see something like this:
To show up on Google, you need to post a job ad on one of the job boards that Google scans for opportunities. Alternatively, you can post a listing on your website and add some HTML magic to the page.
Google for Jobs is a free service with no promotional options, i.e., you can’t pay for your post to show up at the top of the list. That’s why it’s crucial to structure your job ad properly and write a job description that will appeal to potential candidates, as well as Google crawlers.
In this article, we’ll show you how to post jobs on Google and what your job ad has to include to show up on the search engine.
Google Job Posting—Overview
The beauty of Google for Jobs is that it’s a free service that can propel your job ad to the search results of millions of users and get you hundreds, even thousands of applications. It uses machine learning and AI to increase the visibility of a job ad.
It’s a service aimed primarily at jobseekers, and the company doesn’t offer SEM campaigns. You can’t influence your job listing’s ranking. This is a double-edged sword because you don’t have to worry about a large corporation pricing you out of the first page, but you also have hundreds of companies competing for the same spot.
Integrating your company website can be tricky if you’re unfamiliar with HTML, but when you do it once, all other job postings will automatically show up in the results. If you don’t want or aren’t able to go through the trouble of structuring your website slightly differently, you can use job boards that are already integrated with Google. There is no available data showing whether you get more traction if your job post is available on multiple job portals or not.
Since Google for Jobs is not a job board but a search engine feature, it lacks many of the functionalities that other dedicated job boards have, such as candidate matching, ATS integration, and a resume database. You also can’t find user reviews, and it’s impossible to say how many users visit the website to seek jobs. In the United States, it’s estimated there are around 150 million monthly searches.
Google for Jobs—Highlights and Features
Check out the table below to learn more about Google for Jobs and what it offers:
Feature
Google for Jobs
Job listing price
Free
Industry
Global
Audience
Global (with some regional restrictions)
Monthly visitors
Over 150 million in the United States
Candidate matching
No
Social media promotion
No
Resume database
No
Customer support
Yes
Access to company reviews
Yes
Application tracking
No
Candidate screening and matching tools
No
Promoted posts
No
How To Post a Job on Google for Free
While you can’t post a job on Google directly, you can take steps to make it show up there. The two ways to post a job on Google for free are:
Posting on an integrated job board
Adding structured data to your website
Posting on an Integrated Job Board
In the same way that you can add HTML code to your website and let Google create a job listing in their search results, job portals do it too. Google takes their job posts and publishes them on its platform. You don’t have to take any additional steps to get your, say, LinkedIn post on Google for Jobs.
Interested candidates can apply by clicking on a link that leads them to the job board from which the job post has been taken.
Google hasn’t published a list of job boards it uses, but after a simple search, it’s evident that the list is extensive. Some job boards they integrate with are as follows:
How To Format a Job Post for Google Jobs Using Structured Data
If you create a web page with your job posting, you need to add structured data to the page to make your job listing eligible for showing up on Google. It’s best to leave it to an IT professional at your company. If you don’t have one, Google provides extensive guides and will hold your hand through the entire process.
Without getting too technical, you can make your job posting visible by:
If you’re unsure whether you’ve made your job post page eligible, you can use the checklist below to be on the safe side:
Field
Required
Description
Company name
Yes
Your company’s name shouldn’t provide any information about a specific office location. It’s best if it matches your domain name
Job title
Yes
Use a job title that’s concise and likely to be searched for by candidates without any promotional lingo (e.g., “hiring now”)
Job description
Yes
Add a thorough job description that details the ins and outs of the job position you’re offering
Location
Yes
Use the street location of where the employee will be, not your headquarters. If it’s a remote job, don’t add an address
Date posted
Yes
Enter the date of the original posting, not when you submitted it to Google indexing
Expiration date
Yes
Enter the post’s closure date. If it’s a perpetually open position, leave this field empty
Employment type
No
Full-time, part-time, contract, internship, etc.
Pay
No
Add an honest pay base or a pay range. You can also determine the rate (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly)
Job ID
No
Insert a unique job ID you can use to differ it from other job posts for the same position
The last three fields (not required ones) are on the checklist because Google lists them as recommended fields that will help boost your job post’s ranking.
How To Remove a Closed Job Post
If you don’t inform Google that your job listing has expired, Google will take manual action. A human reviewer will find your job listing and label it “not compliant with Google’s quality guidelines.” In other words, they will remove the post, and your website will receive a lower ranking or get omitted from search results altogether.
You can avoid this and remove an expired job post by:
Using the indexing API to inform Google and request a job posting URL removal
Removing the page in one of the following ways:
Remove the JobPosting structured data from the post
Make sure the validThrough property is not empty, and the entered date is in the past
Remove the page entirely (producing a 404 or 410 status code)
If you’re using a sitemap instead of the indexing API, you can send a GET request to Google using the following URL: http://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=location_of_sitemap (for example, http://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=http://www.yourcompany.com/yourjobpost.xml)
Pricing—How Much Does It Cost To Post Jobs on Google?
Google for Jobs is free and doesn’t offer promoted posts. If you want your job listing to show up on Google via a third-party job board, the actual price of the post on Google for Jobs will be equal to how much you paid for the services of the job board you use. You can avoid paying anything if you focus solely on free job boards.
How To Get a Job Posting To Show Up on Google’s First Page
As with everything else, Google has strict policies regarding the content of your job posting page. If you adhere to every policy, your job posting will be eligible, but this won’t ensure it will show up on the first page. You need to make sure you use a common job title that people search for and write a super detailed job description that will explain the role you’re offering.
A well-written job description will help you with Google ranking, speed up your hiring process, and keep the number of unwanted applications to a minimum. You should go into detail about the minimum requirements applicants must meet and the responsibilities your future employee will have.
The more information you include, the more discouraged underqualified candidates will become, and most will decide against applying.
You should also be open about the benefits and salary you offer—this way, your job listing will be more attractive to the best candidates and sway them to apply for a position in your company rather than someone else’s.
Make sure that your job description:
Uses relevant keywords and phrases
Uses bullets for requirements and responsibilities
Avoids jargon
If you’re having problems coming up with a detailed job description, we have hundreds of job description templates that you can use for free. All you need to do is adjust them slightly to fit your company’s needs, and you’re good to go.
Regional Restrictions—Can You Post Jobs on Google From Anywhere?
If you’re looking to hire remotely and want to find someone located outside of the U.S., you should know that the Google for Jobs feature is not universally available. Check out the table below to see where candidates can find job opportunities on Google:
Region
Countries Where Google Job Posting Is Available
North America
Available in the entire region
Latin America
Available in the entire region
Europe
Denmark
France
Greece
Netherlands
Switzerland
Germany
Austria
Spain
Belgium
Italy
United Kingdom
Russia
Belarus
Portugal
Asia
Bangladesh
Vietnam
Sri Lanka
Uzbekistan
Thailand
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
Kazakhstan
Hong Kong
South Korea
Japan
Indonesia
India
Taiwan
Kyrgyzstan
Malaysia
The Middle East and North Africa
Lebanon
Egypt
Libya
Saudi Arabia
Oman
Palestine
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
Algeria
Tunisia
Iraq
Kuwait
Morocco
Jordan
Bahrain
Sub-Saharan Africa
Available in the entire region
How Google for Jobs Compares to Other Job Boards
While Google lacks most job board functionalities, it has a massive number of users. With over 90 billion monthly visits (admittedly, not all of them are job-related), you shouldn’t neglect Google’s ability to attract candidates. According to ZipRecruiter, the conversion rate with Google is 4.5x higher.
It’s worth noting that Google is not a direct competitor and uses job boards to aggregate listings. You shouldn’t think of it as posting on Google versus somewhere else. Still, we’ve compared it with the following major job boards to see what you can expect:
When Google first came out with a dedicated jobs feature, Indeed wasn’t having it, and they refused to integrate with the search engine. That has changed, and now, Indeed’s job listings also show up in search results. Indeed is the most popular job board in the United States, with over 250 million monthly visitors. It has a resume database you can search through, as well as candidate-matching tools.
While listing a vacancy is free, you’ll need to promote your post if you want to find candidates on Indeed. The good news is Google isn’t affected by this and will rank your post naturally.
Check out what the two platforms have to offer:
Feature
Google for Jobs
Indeed
Pricing
Free
Free (sponsored post starts from $10 per received application)
Global reach
Yes (with some regional restrictions)
Yes
Focus
Global
Global
Monthly users
Over 150 million in the U.S.
250 million
Resume database
No
Yes
Applicant tracking
No
Yes
Company reviews
Yes
Yes
Candidate matching
No
Yes
Ad distribution to other websites and/or social media
No
No
Integration with an ATS
No
Yes
Customizable branding
Yes
Yes
Customer support
Yes
Yes
Google for Jobs vs. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most popular business network that professionals use to connect and find new job opportunities. It also lacks a resume database, but it integrates easily with an ATS and has advanced features for recruiters. While Google indexes LinkedIn job posts, you will profit from posting on the platform. Many professionals that used the network to find a job in the past will use LinkedIn as the starting point for their future searches.
Find more info in the following table:
Feature
Google for Jobs
LinkedIn
Pricing
Free
Free (sponsored post starts from $5 per day)
Global reach
Yes (with some regional restrictions)
Yes
Focus
Global
Global
Monthly users
Over 150 million in the U.S.
300 million
Resume database
No
No
Applicant tracking
No
Yes
Company reviews
Yes
Yes
Candidate matching
No
Yes
Ad distribution to other websites and/or social media
No
No
Integration with an ATS
No
Yes
Customizable branding
Yes
Yes
Customer support
Yes
Yes
Job Posting on Google—Frequently Asked Questions
Check out the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Google for Jobs.
Is Google for Jobs Free?
Yes. Google doesn’t charge companies for listing their posts. It also doesn’t offer the ability to promote a job post and influence its visibility with a paid campaign.
How Does a Job Posting Appear Automatically on Google Search?
You need to post your job ad on one of the job boards that are integrated with Google. Alternatively, you can make your job post crawlable and add structured data to its HTML code to make it eligible to appear in Google search results. When you do one (or both) of the mentioned, your job posting will appear automatically.
How To Make My Indeed Job Posting Appear on Google Search Results
You don’t have to do anything. Although Indeed refused to cooperate with Google in the past, the two platforms are now integrated. Your Indeed job posting will appear on Google search results by default.
What Are Some Alternatives to Google?
You can use the job boards listed below besides Google to find the best talent. Just note that listings from the majority of these job boards will find their way on Google automatically anyway.
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