- What is Google Jobs?
- How to Optimize for Google Jobs?
- Post a Job Offer on Your Website
- Make Sure Google Bots Can Crawl and Index It
- Create a New Page for Each Job Offer
- Follow Google Guidelines for Structured Data
- Use Canonical URLs and Include Pages with Job Offers in Your Sitemap
- Include Dates of Posting and Expiration
- Add Complete Job Descriptions
- Add Location
- Write About Your Brand
- Make Your Job Offer Easy to Find
- Include Salary Range
- Remove Old Listings
- Inform About the Employment Type
- Include Your Job ID
- Check Your Competition
- The Takeaway
What is Google Jobs?
Google for Jobs is a cutting-edge Google’s feature that gathers, organizes, and displays job listings from all over the globe. It helps candidates access relevant offers directly in the search results. [caption id="attachment_62523" align="aligncenter" width="1293"] Source: https://jobs.google.com/about/[/caption] This feature is beneficial for both employers and employees. Apart from helping the first group attract the right talent pool and improve brand recognition, it also makes it easier for job candidates to find the best listings and apply. Since you know what Google Jobs is, it’s time to learn how to optimize job postings and attract the right candidates!How to Optimize for Google Jobs?
Search engine optimization for job postings isn’t rocket science. Keep reading to discover 15 best practices that will help you make your listings more accessible and visible to potential candidates.Post a Job Offer on Your Website
If you’ve ever had open positions at your company, you probably placed listings on dedicated platforms like Indeed Jobs, SimplyHired, or ZipRecruiter. Maybe you’ve even advertised the offer on your social media profiles or LinkedIn Job Search. Well, it turns out it’s not enough to optimize your listing for Google Jobs. If you want to have your job position description displayed directly in the search results, you should place the listing also on your company website. Job listings published on your own website are said to be better perceived by Google, as the search engine prioritizes them over other platforms or portals. So, apart from relying on popular job boards, remember to promote the open position also on your page.Make Sure Google Bots Can Crawl and Index It
Well, even the most lucrative job description won’t generate any leads and attract candidates if it’s not crawlable and can’t be found by Google. Checking the robots.txt file is the cornerstone of search engine optimization for job postings. Make sure your career pages and job listings are indexed and can be visited by Google robots. Otherwise, they won’t appear in the search results.
Want to learn more? Check out: What is a Robots.txt file and how to use it properly?
Create a New Page for Each Job Offer
Staying fresh and organized will show Google that you care about a seamless user experience. Thanks to creating a new page for each job listing, users will be able to easily navigate your site and find positions that are of interest to them.Follow Google Guidelines for Structured Data
Structured data is a must-have if you want to make your appearance in search results more attractive and professional. The situation is no different when it comes to optimization for Google Jobs. If you want to make your listings understandable for the robots, you need structured data. Thanks to it, you can improve the experience of job seekers and make your listings more interactive. All this translates into the possibility to attract more quality candidates and encourage them to visit your website, learn about your company and apply for the job. How to add structured data to your job postings? Check out the official Google guidelines to see step-by-step instructions.Use Canonical URLs and Include Pages with Job Offers in Your Sitemap
Canonical URLs are an effective way to fight duplicate content and make your website more organized. These are the URLs that you want people to see when they visit your website. They are the "true" addresses that represent the page content. Canonical URLs are important because they help search engines understand which version of a page should be indexed and treated as the priority one. They can be set in the <head> section of a webpage, using the rel="canonical" tag. What’s the connection between canonical URLs and Google Jobs? Each job posting should have a unique URL included in the sitemap. If you see any problems with duplicate postings or pages, benefit from Google’s guidelines to learn more about consolidating duplicate URLs.
Want to read more? Check out: Rel = canonical. What is canonical URL?
Include Dates of Posting and Expiration
When optimizing job postings for Google, don’t forget to include the dates when the position was posted and when it expires. This is important to help Google understand how relevant and up-to-date your listing is. Make sure to include the following information:- job posting date,
- expiration date,
- last update.
Add Complete Job Descriptions
When preparing a job listing, try to include as many details as possible. This will help Google better understand the content of your posting and match it with relevant queries. Moreover, transparent job descriptions will bring more value to candidates. They'll also help them decide if the offer is the right fit for them. Remember that Google may not be able to understand complex internal position names or industry jargon. For this reason, make your descriptions clear and descriptive. Don’t forget to include the following information:- job title,
- location,
- job type,
- description,
- responsibilities,
- salary,
- requirements.
Add Location
Your listing should clearly outline where the office and job are located. This will help you reach the right candidates and will make your content more comprehensive. It’s also worth mentioning that Google needs such location-specific information to show candidates the commute times, present your company on Google Maps, and display the listing in the local search results.
Wondering how to do local SEO? We’ve prepared a detailed guide covering this topic. Check it out!
Write About Your Brand
There’s always time for good employer branding, right? Job postings optimized for Google Jobs should include some information about your company. This will help you improve brand awareness and reach out to potential candidates who may not have heard of your business before. Make sure to provide information such as the company name, size, website, description, values, or culture. Complement the listing with your logo to make your offer stand out from the crowd. Remember you have only one chance to make the first impression. Doing it professionally will help you attract top talent.Make Your Job Offer Easy to Find
How to optimize job postings? Think about possible filters! After all, potential candidates will have to use them to get through thousands of listings and find the right one. What information should your listing include to be displayed when users filter the results? The easier it's to find your listing, the greater the likelihood that job seekers will visit your website and apply.Include Salary Range
Including a salary range in your job listing will help you improve the quality of candidates and encourage them to apply. Moreover, many employers feel reluctant about disclosing such information. Therefore, being transparent will give you a competitive edge over other companies. Transparency is key when it comes to job postings. By being upfront about the salary, you can weed out candidates who aren't within your range or aren’t interested in the listing. Moreover, salary information can help you improve your click-through rate, as candidates will be able to quickly assess if the offer meets their expectations.Remove Old Listings
To avoid chaos and situations when candidates reach out to you only to learn that a specific position was filled a month ago, remember to always remove old listings. It’ll help you keep your website organized and up-to-date. This is important to both users and Google, as it improves the user experience and helps to ensure that candidates won’t leave your page frustrated.Inform About the Employment Type
When optimizing job postings for Google, don’t forget to include information about the type of employment. Thanks to it, candidates will learn what they can expect from the job and whether it meets their needs. The most popular types of employment are:- full-time,
- part-time,
- contract,
- temporary,
- internship.
Include Your Job ID
If you want your job listing to be easily identified, include a unique job ID. Google Jobs enables using such numbers internally to monitor applications, positions, and entire recruitment processes. If you have multiple listings, including a job ID will help you keep your content organized. This is important to improve the user experience, make sure that candidates don’t get lost, and streamline the recruitment process.Check Your Competition
Optimization for Google Jobs isn’t possible without competitor analysis. There is no more valuable and accurate source of information about your market and SEO. Monitor your competition to learn about their strategies and to find inspiration for your own job postings. This will help you understand what works in your industry and what doesn’t.
Want to discover the secrets of SEO competitor analysis? Check out our guide!