How to get your job offer found on Google for Jobs

Google for Jobs is one of Google's first attempts at recruiting. This form of a "job search engine" increases awareness of your job openings so that you can attract more relevant candidates for your positions. That is, Google for Jobs is specifically targeted as an offering to job seekers as well as a service to employers. The latter may be associated with some hurdles, which we clarify below.

The basic idea of Google for Jobs originated several years ago and launched in the U.S. back in 2017. Google for Jobs is an advanced search function that aggregates listings from job boards and career sites and displays them prominently in Google Search. It is currently being rolled out in various countries. In addition, Google is continuously expanding the reach of this function.

The starting point of Google for Jobs

Increasingly, people are searching online for job offers in their own regions as well as in regions foreign to them. Various portals became aware of this years/decades ago and created sites that adapted the principle of the job offer page of the daily press. 

Google has now created a way to display job listings via collected without requiring a searcher to first access a specific platform. 

Why use Google Jobs?

It is estimated that over 80% of all job searches start on Google. However, up to now this has been a time-consuming search. Primarily, job boards ranked high in the results lists via paid ads. But an exact job was not displayed unless the searcher clicked through the vastness of the displayed subpages. 

Since Google now subjects the ads to optimizability (SEO) with Google for Jobs, website operators can (and should) respond to this. In short: Google has also been listing job offers for the German-speaking market as part of its own results lists for a few months now. This will drastically change the search behavior of employees. At the same time, employers have the opportunity to influence the placement of their offers through strategic SEO.

Can I post job listings directly on Google?

No, BUT: You can make the offers available for Google through third-party providers or integration work. You can read how this works below.

Google for Jobs collects, organizes, and displays job openings from various job boards and career sites without requiring any additional action from you. This means job seekers can view open positions with a quick Google search. Employers extend their reach to a wider audience.

How to use Google for jobs

Now, when you search for jobs using Google Job Search, you will see job openings in a special section at the top of the search results, like this:

You can also use the Google job search engine to search for jobs with different filters, such as category, location, date and company type. You do this by clicking on "MORE FILTERS" and making an appropriate selection.

Potential candidates can apply directly to job descriptions on Google for Jobs. You can also share listings and learn more about your company and employer brand through search results.

In summary: 

This advanced search is designed to improve the hiring process for job seekers and employers. Google for Jobs... 

• ... displays job offers in a highly visible place in Google search results; including your logo, ratings and job details,

• ... promotes more motivated applicants through filters such as job title and location: These search engine filters help you attract applicants looking for your type of job,

• ... increases the attention for your offers: Google for Jobs makes it easier for applicants to find your offers and apply for your vacancies.

How to design your job listings on Google for Jobs

While you can't post jobs directly to Google, there are two ways to list jobs on Google for Jobs: by using a third-party job board or by directly integrating pieces of code on your site that can be found by Google.

Use of an external service provider

Google for Jobs is not a job board. It is an advanced search tool. Therefore, there is no way to actually post jobs on Google for Jobs. Instead, it collects, transforms and displays already published job postings.

So if you have posted your listings on job boards that are already integrated with the Google job search engine, you are done. Your listings are now eligible to show up in Google for Jobs. 

Here is an example of some jobs posted on LinkedIn:

Using job boards that are integrated with Google for Jobs

Three of the most popular sites that have integrated with Google for Jobs include Facebook, LinkedIn, and Monster. New jobs on these platforms are eligible to appear in Google for Jobs. Jobs from active customers are automatically recognized by Google and displayed in Google for Jobs. 

Direct integration on your own website

There is another way to get your job postings displayed on Google for Jobs. If you have a website where your job postings can be published (for example, a career page) and you can edit the HTML code of your job postings, this is the most reliable way to ensure that Google indexes your ads.

This method may require the help of your development team. Google describes how to do this in a technical guide. Before you follow it, there are some prerequisites for integrating directly with Google:

• Make sure that your website is accessible for the Googlebot (a robots.txt file or a meta tag must not block your page); this is also referred to as indexability of a page.
• Include structured job posting data in your job postings.
• Update and use sitemaps to notify Google of changes to your posts.
• Use Google Search Console to view analytics including clicks and impressions.

For one of our job postings, the code looks like this bsw:

<script type="application/ld+json">
    {
        "@context": "https://schema.org/",
        "@type": "JobPosting",
        "title": "Online-CRM-Marketing-Manager (m/w/d)",
        "description": "<h1>SEO-Manager (m/w/d) gesucht</h1> <h2>Das ist Golden Web Age</h2> <p>Golden Web Age ist eine Web- und SEO-Performance-Agentur aus München. <br />Wir sind ein junges und dynamisches Team mit flachen Hierarchien. Wir sind datengetrieben, kreativ und machen das Internet so jeden Tag ein Stück schöner. Für unser weiteres Wachstum suchen wir eine/n echte/n digitale/n Helden/in und spannende Persönlichkeit, die Spaß daran hat, sich Herausforderungen zu stellen und sich weiterzuentwickeln.</p> <br> <h2>Deine Aufgaben bei uns</h2> <p>Du bist grundsätzlich wissbegierig und online-affin, außerdem:</p> <ul><li>Liebst Du es mit Zahlen zu spielen, Daten auszuwerten und hast ein ausgeprägtes logisches und analytisches Denkvermögen</li> <li>Hast Du ein gutes Gespür dafür, was Nutzer suchen – und finden wollen</li> <li>Fühlst Du Dich sicher im Umgang mit Excel, Word & PowerPoint</li></ul> <br> <h2>Idealerweise bringst Du mit</h2> <ul> <li>Hast Du bereits erste Erfahrung im Bereich SEA und Online Marketing</li> <li>Hast Du ein Grundverständnis von HTML und CSS (Programmieren musst Du nicht)</li> <li>Interessierst Du Dich für User Experience und Conversion-Optimierung</li> <li>Hast erste Erfahrung mit Content Management Systemen wie WordPress</li> <li>Besitzt Du eigene Internetprojekte</li> </ul> <br> <h2>Du hast Interesse?</h2> <p>Wir freuen uns über eine aussagekräftige Bewerbung von Dir mit Lebenslauf, Gehaltsvorstellungen und frühestmöglichem Eintrittstermin an bewerbung@goldenwebage.de.</p>",
        "datePosted": "2019-09-02",
        "validThrough": "2019-09-30T00:00",
        "employmentType": "CONTRACTOR",
        "hiringOrganization": {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "name": "Golden Web Age",
            "sameAs": "https://www.goldenwebage.de",
            "logo": "https://www.goldenwebage.de/assets/logo.png"
        },
        "jobLocation": {
            "@type": "Place",
            "address": {
                "@type": "PostalAddress",
                "streetAddress": "Reiterweg 9a",
                "addressLocality": ", Puchheim",
                "addressRegion": "BY",
                "postalCode": "82178",
                "addressCountry": "DE"
            }
        }
    }
</script>

You can easily check your finished code using Google's testing tool

SEO optimization of job ads

Optimize your job descriptions for search engines to rank higher in search results. The same SEO techniques that can optimize the Google ranking of your website itself apply here:

• Use relevant keywords and phrases that relate to your job description and job title.
• Avoid jargon and write clear job titles that candidates are likely to search for.
• Since searchers often look for the combination "[job title] + [city]", you should also use the corresponding combination, e.g. "Programmer Munich" or "Copywriter Munich".
• Create a visual experience with photos and videos.
• Write short job ads that include bulleted lists.

Need help creating search engine optimized ads? Feel free to ask your online marketing agency.