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How to Optimize Jobs from Your Career Site or ATS Directly on Indeed

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Companies often have their own job boards that live on their website. Indeed’s platform indexes and amplifies jobs from across the web, making them visible to job seekers, creating powerful connections. 

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How Indeed works 

Indeed’s search results include jobs that have been posted directly on Indeed (hosted jobs) and jobs aggregated from various online sources, such as company career sites and ATS feeds (indexed jobs). We do this to make it easier for job seekers to find the opportunities they’re looking for and to put all of your jobs in front of the 295M people who visit Indeed each month.

How does my job make it on Indeed?

There are two types of jobs on Indeed:

  • Indeed hosted jobs are jobs that have been created and posted directly on Indeed by employers
  • Indexed jobs are jobs created and posted on a career site, or an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Indeed’s technology is always scanning career and job sites. Indeed aggregates those jobs, and shows them to relevant job seekers in our job seeker search results. ATS partners can also “push” jobs onto Indeed via an XML feed or by using ATS Sync. All jobs that meet Indeed’s job posting criteria will then show up in job seeker search results.

Eliminating duplicate work 

There’s no need to duplicate posts from your career site or ATS, and you can manage all of your jobs and candidates in one place. You also have the opportunity to access the full suite of Indeed hiring tools such as candidate messaging and virtual interviewing.

What is required for my job to be aggregated by Indeed’s technology

Your job must include:

  • An effective job description: Clearly outline the role and responsibilities.
  • A clear application path: Provide an email address or a link to an online application form.
  • A listed location: Specify the job’s location.
  • A complete job title: Ensure the title accurately reflects the position. 

Previously, you could access all of Indeed’s job editing features only if you posted directly on Indeed. Now, you can view, edit, and sponsor your indexed jobs — all from your Employer Dashboard.

In this article, we’ll break down how to make your indexed job posts more attractive to job seekers by adding important details, as well as how to take advantage of the useful hiring features like Indeed Apply. The best part? Indeed can complement and integrate with your existing process no matter how many jobs you manage. 

How can Job Seekers Apply to my indexed job?

There are typically two ways for a job seeker to apply to a Job found on Indeed. 

  1. Job seekers can apply directly on your website or through an application URL you’ve provided.
  2. Indeed Apply, also known as Easy Apply, helps job seekers seamlessly apply to jobs on Indeed. On average, jobs with Indeed Apply turned on receive 45% more apply starts per job.[1]

Receiving applications 

How job seekers apply is what determines where you can manage your candidates — on Indeed or through your ATS.

Employer Dashboard

  • You have the option to turn on Indeed Apply directly on your jobs to get an ‘Easily apply’ badge on your job posts.
  • Once Indeed Apply is turned on, by job or in bulk, the applications will appear on Indeed — just like if you posted the job directly on Indeed.

ATS:

  • Candidates are directed to your career site to apply or through the application URL you’ve provided, typically linked to your ATS. This is the default for jobs aggregated or “pulled” onto Indeed.

You can utilize Indeed Apply by syncing your ATS. In this case, applications will appear directly in your ATS, where the Indeed Apply integration is typically managed. We integrate with 300+ ATS’s globally.

How to optimize your indexed jobs on Indeed

Whether you post your jobs directly on Indeed, your career site or somewhere else online, your jobs will be in one unified jobs list in the Jobs tab of your Employer Dashboard.

Indexed jobs automatically appear in your account. You can directly edit your indexed job on Indeed. As you’re editing your indexed job, think like a job seeker and consider including these details:

  • Strong job title: Effective job titles help jobs appear in relevant search results and attract quality candidates. Check out these tips for writing great job titles.
  • Salary or salary range: Jobs with salaries listed receive up to 2.5X more applications.[2]
  • Schedule/shift information: Job seekers have certain schedules that their job must fit into. Sharing this information upfront ensures there isn’t a mismatch in requirements or expectations.
  • Benefits: People often look for benefits that align with their family or personal needs. Listing your top benefits/perks can also help you stand out from the competition.
  • Location: Posting your precise location and postal code can make it easier for your job to appear in relevant searches and improve your chances of attracting the right candidates. If your job is hybrid or fully remote, our guide to posting a remote job on Indeed provides detailed information that can help you label your job correctly. 

Including this information can have a big impact. In fact, indexed jobs on Indeed that have salary, schedule and benefits information included receive 50% more apply starts.[3]

You can give your indexed jobs an additional boost by adding Indeed Apply or  sponsoring them directly on Indeed. Just click Sponsor job next to one of your indexed jobs. This helps you get better visibility and attract more of the right applicants. 

Why edit your indexed jobs?

You may be wondering why you should update your indexed jobs and how it will impact your internal workflow.

Indeed provides you with the ability to utilize processes that work best with your company policies and procedures. You have the ability to optimize the job title and description, or to include any additional information that will attract the right job seekers, such as precise location, pay information, benefits, and job schedule.

Turning on Indeed Apply allows you to connect with candidates where they are — right on Indeed! On average, jobs with Indeed Apply turned on receive 45% more apply starts per job.[4] 

No matter how you do it, optimizing your indexed jobs can help you make better hires, faster. Here are a few reasons to get started:

Enhance your presence on Indeed

Optimizing your indexed jobs works a bit like search engine optimization (SEO). When you include the right details in your Indeed job post, it’s more likely to be seen by the right candidates. But if you aren’t using ATS Sync, some of the jobs sourced from your company career site or ATS may be missing details that job seekers want to know.

For example, you may be required to retain internal titles like Software Engineer II within your company’s ATS. However, these job titles may not work as well for external candidates on Indeed where 36% of job seekers search by exact job title. By clarifying the job title on Indeed (and keeping what’s required in your ATS), your job may show up in more relevant job seeker search results.

Easily screen and filter applicants

Adding screener questions to your job is another way to find quality candidates. Jobs with screener questions are 50% more likely to result in a hire.[5] When candidates apply, they’ll be prompted to answer pre-selected screener questions (ex. “Do you have a driver’s license?”) of your choosing to confirm their skills.

Applicants can then be filtered automatically based on their answers within the Employer Dashboard or your ATS. 

Streamline candidate communication and interviews

Indexed jobs using Indeed Apply on Indeed can benefit from our messaging and interviewing tools. If you prefer to use the Indeed Employer Dashboard you can utilize message templates and bulk messaging features on Indeed to communicate with candidates. You can also schedule and coordinate virtual interviews, then share feedback with your team.

Manage all jobs and candidates in one place

Manage and track jobs efficiently in your Indeed dashboard where you can search across all roles and locations. 

Using Indeed Apply you can track progress towards hiring, export candidates and edit job posts all from the Indeed Employer Dashboard. You can also opt to use Candidate Sync* to seamlessly sync actions back to your ATS. Candidate status reporting on Indeed allows you to share where you are in the hiring process by assigning your candidates statuses like Reviewed, Contacted or Rejected. You can view all your jobs in a single list and track candidate applications using the method that works best for you.
* Only available to select ATS partners

Unlock data to help you make better hiring decisions

Get competitive and market analytics using job type and location through Hiring Insights. For example, see how your pay aligns with your competitors, see what search terms candidates are using to find jobs and use interactive charts to view how markets are changing over time.

In conclusion

Indeed has the tools you need to find, interview and hire the right person for your job. Now that you know how indeed works and how to optimize your indexed jobs right on Indeed, you’re on your way to finding your perfect hire. 


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