Google for Jobs (GFJ) launched in 2017 aimed to seamlessly connect job seekers with companies with open roles. The goal was to create a platform that would aggregate job postings and job advertisements from job boards, ATSs, RMPs, and other career websites in one place to make Google for Jobs for employers and job seekers the best platform for their search.
While the platform has its pros and cons, by far one of the most controversial features of Google for Jobs is the Google schema requirements. These technical requirements are meant to aid candidates and employers, but they’re ending up harming the experience and the platform overall.
In this post, we’re going to help you understand what Google schema is, how it relates to GFJ, and why, right now, it isn’t working. Let’s get started.
What Is Google Schema?
The premise of schema, also called structured data and Google jobs structured data, is pretty simple.
Google schema, and schema in general, is a type of microdata that helps search engines understand and evaluate the content of certain pages, websites, or, in the case of GFJ, job postings. This data then helps the platform create better search results based on what this schema tells it.
Schema is usually integrated into the HTML code of the page. These little bits of code help search engines interpret the contents of the page, define what it is, and help categorize where it should appear on a search… or if it should appear at all.
Why Use Schema?
With most websites and pages, schema is a great addition that can boost SEO, rankings, and target specific audiences. For Google for Jobs, schema helps get job posts on a platform that will target a larger audience of more motivated applicants.
The information from schema will also help job postings get in front of the people employers are looking to target, as Google will be able to better understand how to categorize and display the posting.
In the grand scheme of Google organic search ranking signals, schema is more of a “nice to have” than it is a “must have.” Especially since the addition of schema is so technical and oftentimes difficult, many find that it falls by the wayside or it’s left out completely.
This is not the case with Google for Jobs. In order for a job posting to appear on the Google for Jobs interface, the posting must have and follow Google schema requirements.
Unless you work with a separate job board or website that’s integrated with Google for Jobs, you’ll need to add in these schema requirements yourself in order for your job posting to end up on the GFJ platform.
And because of the Google for Jobs vs Indeed rivalry, Indeed does not integrate with GFJ. Indeed is one of the most popular job posting sites in the world with 10 new jobs added to the site every second from around the world.
Google outlines how to set-up schema requirements here. It’s quite technical and can also be quite involved. Here’s an example of a portion of a job posting with Google schema requirements included using JSON-LD format code:
You can see various schema indicators that help Google categorize and understand the job posting. This includes job title (“title”), job location (“jobLocation”), company that’s hiring (“hiringOrganization”), the company’s logo (“logo”), and more. This is just a snapshot of all of the schema that you can include.
Other schema details include working hours, whether you can work remotely, the industry the position is in, and more.
Google Schema Checker
As you can see, Google schema is complex and complicated for many without the technical training to understand it. Thankfully, there is a Google schema checker tool to help you test whether you’ve input schema correctly.
You can find Google’s structured data testing tool here.
Problems with Google Schema on Google for Jobs
All that being said, you might be able to tell that there are a few issues with Google’s schema requirements for employers and candidates alike. These issues are harming the overall experience and, if Google isn’t careful, it could mean the end of GFJ.
Let’s look at a few of those issues:
Google Schema Is Technically Difficult
The first problem that you might’ve been thinking to yourself reading the previous section is that Google schema is very technically difficult and tough to understand without specific education or instruction.
Even the tools you use to check whether you’ve input schema correctly are difficult to understand unless you’re trained.
This can push employers to post their jobs on competitor job boards to avoid working with the technically difficult (and technically intimidating) schema. GFJ isn’t making it easy for people to work directly with their platform, which could backfire down the line.
It’s Time Consuming
A consequence of the technical difficulty of the schema is that adding that schema takes significant time, effort, and resources that many organizations don’t have to spare.
Without training or understanding, it could take an employee hours to put up just a few job postings, greatly decreasing the efficiency of the process and taking them away from their other work.
Unless you have a large company with spare resources to dedicate to GFJ, or partner with a Google for Jobs specialist like Jobiak, chances are you’ll be losing time and productivity thanks to these schema requirements.
Many businesses lack the resources and tech to satisfy the schema requirements in general let alone follow them well enough for jobs to be seen, clicked, and applied to on the platform.
And in the end, it may not even be input correctly thanks to the technical difficulty we mentioned earlier.
Hear it straight from the experts. Jobiak CEO Venkat Janapareddy breaks down his opinion on Google’s schema requirements and its impact on GFJ here.
Failing to Follow Schema Requirements
The complexity and number of resources that Google’s schema requires often leads to incorrectly inputted schema. This could be purposeful or not; some job boards and organizations adjust job location, title, and other schema inputs in order to take advantage of the platform.
This can lead to a number of issues, including blank listings, spam, misleading listings, and duplicates that clog up GFJ results.
Not only does this harm smaller companies and organizations that can’t get their jobs on GFJ, but it also harms the candidate experience as well, which could spell trouble for Google.
If candidates aren’t happy and neither are many employers, these schema requirements could be the start of the downfall of GFJ.
In particular, many ATSs and RMPs aren’t able to optimize schema properly thanks to lack of resources & understanding, putting them at a significant disadvantage on GFJ. That’s not great for GFJ as it alienates ATSs and RMPs from using the platform effectively, pushing them to use competitor sites instead.
Learn more about this topic in our article: Why ATSs & RMPs Have Not Been Successful With Google For Jobs.
Get Google Schema Right Every Time with Jobiak
Jobiak’s recruitment technology uses AI and machine learning to optimize and structure job postings in order to get them integrated and ranking on GFJ.
Along with over 25 different ranking signals, Jobiak’s technology implements all of the Google schema requirements your post needs to integrate with GFJ and get in front of the qualified candidates you want to target.
You won’t have to worry about inputting the information yourself or inputting it incorrectly. Jobiak’s algorithm scans and implements targeted keywords, SEO optimizations, meta tags, market & industry signals, location, salary, and all of the necessary schema to get your jobs optimized and posted in as little as 48 hours.
Ready to rid your mind of schema? Let Jobiak focus on that so you can focus on your business.
Contact us today to learn more and to get started with us.
