With 300 million monthly job searches on Google, or where 73% of all job searches start(1), Google For Jobs (GFJ) is a major tool used by hundreds of business types. The list of those relying on the popularity of Google as the go-to starting place includes recruiters and staffing agencies, recruitment service providers such as ATSs, programmatic job advertisers, business owners, and job boards.
On October 1, 2021, Google declared enough-is-enough with the diminishing quality of job advertisements on their platform and tightened guidelines for using their tool to clean up and improve the applicant experience. The GFJ platform has been routinely updated these past four years, but none as disruptive as this recent update, specifically the addition of the Direct-Apply feature.
In addition to the new GFJ direct-apply requirement, there is also a new editorial content policy. Things like avoiding spammy posts and ensuring the dates on the job description are correct; the job is accurately described, current, and accepting applications are some of the top things Google’s AI is looking for in job posts. Just like with the direct-apply repercussions, the same holds with the editorial content – while it’s all optional right now, not adhering to the changes means a likely drop in applicants for your open jobs.
This new update caught my attention because direct-apply is already a foundational aspect of what we do at Jobiak. Since 2017 my team and I have watched the GFJ platform closely. I started Jobiak directly responding to GFJ and its shortcomings, specifically in the complex job description schema and posting requirements imposed on recruiting companies and not emphasizing Direct Apply and eradicating spammy jobs, which were and still are the primary cause for 34% of job seeker drop-off rates during the application process. Only those jobs on career pages that meet the old requirements appear in Google’s search results, currently a meager 30% of all online jobs. This number will be substantially lower with the recently announced requirements unless the employers understand and take immediate steps to meet the requirements. I have been a proponent of eliminating barriers between applicants and employers and making the whole process of applying a simple and direct experience since day one.
Because of this core vision and the resulting Google for Jobs optimization platform, Jobiak’s 40 enterprise customers receive 2-20 times more applicants than those who do not work with us. Additionally, we see the quality of applicants is much higher, which results in a higher applicant-to-hire ratio.
Ahead of Google’s update, we’ve seen first-hand the advantages of having a clean user experience and its correlation with applicant numbers. By delivering on this since our launch, our AI-based platform has helped our clients achieve an industry-leading job-to-applicant-hire ratio.
Google will certify sites that offer job seekers the direct-apply experience. It defines the direct-apply criteria as:
- The user completes the application process on-site.
- Once arriving at your page from Google, the user doesn’t have to click apply and provide user information more than once to complete the application process.
Google has a reputation for being opaque with how its algorithms function, whether its search result criteria or, in this case, how the October 1 changes will affect those with open jobs to fill. However, so far, I have seen some interesting early results from our clients who were already in compliance with the new guidelines, such as:
- The overall click-through rate has improved by 25%
- The number of applicants has increased by 25% for many of our clients
- Out of the six apply buttons on Google for Jobs, those with direct-apply are ranking higher, and many are in position number one
- Our clients are reporting higher quality of applicants
Don’t let technology stand in the way of receiving a steady stream of quality candidates. Whether you are an employer lacking in-house technical resources, an ATS with the technical capability but not the know-how to adhere to the new GFJ updates for your clients, or a recruitment firm not sure where to get started, Jobiak can help. We produce better results at a lower cost. As a bonus, working with Jobiak will also guarantee you a top 10 position for your jobs on GFJ so you can have peace of mind knowing applicants will easily find them.
Reach out to a team member if you’re not getting a high volume of quality applicants for your open jobs.
About Jobiak
Jobiak’s mission is to fuse machine learning technology with practical recruitment approaches and proven marketing funnel strategies to transform the candidate recruitment process, accelerate qualified candidate flow, and reduce hiring costs and time.
Jobiak has accomplished this by introducing an industry first by automating the conversion and optimization of job descriptions to meet Google’s schema requirements. This has enabled Jobiak to fully leverage the power of Google to make any online job available in the top 10 search results to its customers’ job seekers. In addition, it is also the first in the industry to scrape 100% of all online jobs in real-time by fully leveraging its AI and ML capabilities. The AllJobs database currently consolidates 8 million open positions from across the United States, and the jobs are available as a service via our Global Jobs Distribution Platform (GJDP)
The 8 million jobs illustrate the widespread need for Jobiak’s optimization services; 60% don’t use the Javascript Object Notion (JSON), a core Google requirement, which means they don’t appear on GJF with the direct-apply option. Working with Jobiak, the owners of this 60% of unoptimized jobs would qualify for GFJ Direct Apply practically overnight and would reap the benefits of being in the top 10 search results as well.
Our GJDP service has attractive benefits for job board owners, programmatic job advertisers, and businesses in the search and social recruiting space. By forming a strategic licensing partnership with Jobiak to access the jobs data, our partners have scaled their businesses exponentially in a short time. Here are some examples from three of our partners.
If you’re looking for a way to expand your business or fill positions quickly, learn more about becoming a strategic partner of Jobiak and AllJobs.
