Guide: Setting Up Google for Jobs
Overnight, everyone was suddenly talking about Google for Jobs, and excitement was running high. Many people are asking themselves: How do I get my job postings onto the Google job board?
Here’s how to set up Google for Jobs yourself and how to make the process easier:
How It Works
First, it’s important to understand how Google for Jobs works. The job search functions similarly to a regular Google search, and Google for Jobs is essentially an “extension” of the classic Google search. Similar extensions include, for example, Google Image Search, Google Shopping, Google Flights, etc. These widgets expand the standard search and are tailored and developed for specific purposes. These widgets appear in the search results when Google recognizes that the current user is, for example, looking for a flight or a new job.
As with web search, there is no built-in interface that allows you to post jobs on Google. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not still possible to publish job listings directly on Google for Jobs via an interface.
If you do not wish to use a third-party provider, Google must index your job posting. To do this, Google visits and analyzes all websites known to the search engine at regular intervals. To ensure that the website is recognized as a job listing and is indexable in the first place, certain technical requirements must be met.
Technical Requirements
Since Google itself is a massive system, certain technical requirements must be met for a new job posting to be recognized as such.
The basic requirement is that the job posting be publicly available on the web as an HTML page. Job postings that, for example, link to a PDF or are embedded as an image cannot be indexed directly as job postings. If you only have your job posting available as a PDF, you can use our service.
Another important point is that each job posting must have its own unique link through which it can be accessed. You should also ensure that the job posting is loaded directly into the HTML source code when the page is accessed, rather than being loaded later, for example, via JavaScript or AJAX. This is often the case with some plugins for WordPress or other content management systems.
Unlike regular website content, which Google can parse without any special measures, job postings require so-called schema data to be included. This is absolutely essential if you want to set up Google for Jobs yourself. Schema data consists of special markup that can be embedded in the HTML source code to provide search engines with semantic information about the nature of the content. The Schema data relevant to job postings is of the“JobPosting”type. You can find an overview of all possible attributes on the schema.org website (https://schema.org/JobPosting).
As mentioned earlier, Schema data consists of cues for (search) engines so they can recognize what information is on the current page. This Schema data is not visible to regular visitors. You can use our service to for free.
Once all of the above requirements are met, Google just needs to find the new job posting for indexing to begin. Depending on the domain’s popularity and content, this may take some time. For websites whose content doesn’t change frequently and that aren’t very well-known, it can take several weeks for Google to revisit the site and begin indexing it. In order for Google to find the job posting at all, it must be linked to via at least one link—for example, through the menu > Careers > Job Postings.
In summary, the following points must be observed
Each job posting requires its own unique URL
Google must be able to crawl the page
The page must be made known to Google
Schema data of the
“JobPosting”type must be included on the page and maintained as completely as possible
Problems and Pitfalls
Anyone who wants to set up Google for Jobs on their own often has to overcome many hurdles, even if the topic sounds fairly simple at first. To avoid reinventing the wheel and having to sort through every problem individually online, you can use our convenient service , which is specifically tailored to Google for Jobs.
Formatting
Even though Google for Jobs offers very few formatting options, you don’t have to do without formatting entirely. Many job postings on Google Jobs consist of unformatted blocks of text without any paragraphs or structure. The reason for the lack of formatting is often the use of plugins that, while they generate Schema data and display it on the website, also remove all formatting. In addition, it’s possible that CSS and HTML markup used for display on the website isn’t supported by Google.
Currently, Google only supports the following formatting elements:
Tags: Paragraphs for sections
Additional HTML formatting in the job posting description does not cause any issues, but it is ignored by Google. For example, if job postings include headings , etc., the job posting will definitely look different on the website than it does in the Google Job Box.
One URL per job posting
Depending on how the website is programmed and what software is used to publish job postings on the website, it’s possible that not every job posting has its own URL. This is the case, for example, when all job postings are displayed one below the other on a single page, or when the job postings are loaded later in the background—for example, via JavaScript.
You should ensure that each job posting has its own URL. Some plugins only appear to provide a unique URL for each job posting. This can often be identified by the presence of an anchor link (#) in the URL or by the fact that the URL does not change when a job posting is viewed.
Button Label
Google for Jobs displays relevant results for the searcher, just as in a standard web search, and then links to the original source for further details. On the Google Jobs portal, these links are provided via blue buttons labeled“Apply to: ….” Ideally, of course, the company’s name should appear there. However, the Schema data does not allow you to configure which text should be displayed here. Google’s complex artificial intelligence is responsible for this. It decides how the button should ideally be labeled. Unfortunately, the choice often isn’t what you’d hope for.
Logo
Next to each listing on Google for Jobs, there is a placeholder for a logo. If Google has not yet assigned a logo to the job posting, you’ll see a colored square with the first letter of the company name. The situation with the logo is similar to that of the button text. Here, too, Google AI (artificial intelligence) decides which logo is displayed. Although you can specify a logo in the Schema data, this does not guarantee that the logo will always be displayed.
Timeliness of the Job Posting
For a new job posting to appear on Google for Jobs, it must be indexed by Google. The way this works is that so-called crawlers continuously search the internet for new or updated pages. Since there are an extremely large number of websites on the internet, it may take a long time for the Google crawler to revisit your website and, hopefully, find the new job posting. Only after the website has been crawled again and the job posting has been indexed can it appear on Google for Jobs. The same applies, of course, if changes are made to the job posting or if the position has already been filled.
Troubleshooting
You may encounter some issues when listing job postings on Google’s job board. Follow this step-by-step guide to troubleshooting and resolving errors to ensure your listing is successful.
Check Structured Data
A basic requirement for Google to index the job posting is the inclusion of Schema data of the “JobPosting” type directly on the job posting’s website. Google itself provides testing tools to verify the structured data. There, you can either enter the link to the job posting or copy and check the source code directly. Once the analysis is complete, an element of the “Job Posting” type should appear on the results page as a recognized element.
Check indexing via Google Search Console
Now it’s time to find out whether Google is already aware of the new or updated job posting. To check this, Google Search Console is the right place to start. If you haven’t set up Google Search Console yet, we strongly recommend doing so, as it’s not only helpful for checking indexing status but also provides a wealth of additional information, such as ranking, keywords, clicks, and general suggestions for improving your website.
After logging into Google Search Console, select“URL Inspection” from the menu on the left. Enter the link to the job posting there and press “Enter” to start the inspection.
If Google already recognizes the URL and has successfully processed it, the report will also show which elements were detected. It’s important that “job postings” were recognized here. A yellow exclamation mark provides information about potential improvements. These are optional, but they can improve your ranking on Google.
If Google does not yet recognize the URL, a page similar to the screenshot below will appear. You can then activelyrequest indexing by clicking“Request Indexing” to notify Google that the page exists or has changed. Once indexing has been requested, it takes a moment—usually no longer than an hour, and often much faster. Afterward, the URL can be checked again and should then be recognized by Google.
Using the Google Indexing API
Google Search Console allows you to check the indexing status as well as specifically request indexing for individual pages. This process is primarily intended for individual cases and debugging.
With the introduction of Google Job Box, the search engine giant has also recognized that job postings differ from regular web pages. For job postings, it’s essential to ensure they’re up to date so as not to frustrate potential candidates. To this end, Google provides a new interface: the Google Indexing API.
Through this API, Google can be automatically notified of changes to job postings. This ensures that job postings are added to the index much faster than through standard crawling. With standard crawling by Google bots, it can sometimes take several weeks for Google to detect a change. However, the Google Indexing API may only be used for pages containing elements of the JobPosting or BroadcastEvent type.
In addition to integrating the Google Indexing API, it is also recommended to include all pages with job postings in the sitemap.xml.
Check Logo Indexing
Many users have reported issues on various forums regarding the display of company logos on Google for Jobs. The official documentation also includes a separate section on company logos in job postings.
In general, the logo should be specified using the `hiringOrganization` attribute. You can then use the test tool to verify that Google can parse the Schema data. After that, you must ensure that Google has already found the page, which can be checked via Google Search Console.
Once all these requirements are met, it’s time to be patient. Google’s AI must now learn that the logo belongs to the company and establish the internal connection. This can take a few days or weeks.
In addition, you can create a Google My Business profile and upload the company logo there.
Find the Job Listing on Google for Jobs
Last but not least, you should check how the job listing appears in the Google Job Box. But even that isn’t always quite so simple. Because even if Google Search Console confirms that the page has been indexed, that doesn’t guarantee the job listing will appear on Google for Jobs.
To find your own job listing on Google for Jobs, we recommend the following steps:
Search for your company name + location. For example: ACME GmbH Hamburg
If necessary, set the location filter to “Anywhere”
Go through the results one by one
Of course, the goal is not only to be found under your company name, but also under the job title. Here, it’s important to secure one of the top spots through optimization.
The most common reasons why your job posting can’t be found right away are:
The location isn’t specified in full. A complete location is important because results are based on your current location.
The job was also posted on other job portals. Google recognizes this and consolidates the job listings. Only one additional “Apply” button will appear.
The job hasn’t been indexed yet. In that case, it’s best to wait a day and then try again.
The job posting is too old and is no longer considered relevant by Google.
Conclusion
To list job postings correctly on Google for Jobs, a basic technical understanding and expertise are required. Additionally, the website must support the ability to embed Schema data. This isn’t always a given—for example, when an external content management system or applicant tracking system is in use.
SEO for Jobs offers the ability to post job listings on Google for Jobs without modifying the website or requiring technical expertise. For companies using a content or applicant tracking system, the Job Crawler is the right solution for synchronizing the career portal with Google.
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