Guides
Optimising your careers page for Google: SEO that actually brings applications
A step-by-step guide to setting up your careers page and job postings so Google finds them, shows them in the jobs box, and sends qualified applicants straight to you - without job-board fees.
Key takeaways
Set up a careers page on your own domain
Create a careers page running on your own domain (e.g. careers.yourcompany.com or yourcompany.com/careers). Your own domain builds ranking over time that you own - unlike a role on a job board.
Mark up each role with JobPosting structured data
Make sure every published role ships JSON-LD of type JobPosting with all required fields: title, description, date, location, organisation, employment type. Without this markup the role won't appear in Google for Jobs.
Assign friendly, stable URLs
Give each role its own URL with a readable slug from the role title. Keep the URL stable and redirect it cleanly when closing instead of leaving a 404.
Align titles with real search queries
Name the role the way applicants would type it into Google - real job title plus location, no marketing slogans. Put tasks and location in the first two sentences of the description.
Verify and measure in Search Console
Register the careers page in Google Search Console, use the Rich Results Test to confirm the JobPosting is recognised, and watch impressions and clicks over four to eight weeks.
Why your careers page is your best recruiting channel
Job boards cost money per role and per duration, and they deliver applicants scrolling between twenty other ads. Your own careers page costs nothing per role, ranks over time for your company name plus role title, and brings applicants who searched for you actively - already a bit more qualified.
The key is Google for Jobs: the jobs box Google shows directly in search results above the organic hits. It pulls its content from the JobPosting markup on your page, not from job boards. If your roles are correctly tagged, you appear there for free - alongside or ahead of the big portals.
JobPosting markup: the technical foundation
Google for Jobs only understands a role if it's marked up as structured data in JSON-LD of type JobPosting. That's not a marketing gimmick but a technical must: no markup, no jobs box. Required fields include the title, description, posting date, job location and hiring organisation.
Good news for KI BMS users: every publicly posted role gets correct JobPosting markup shipped automatically. You neither hand-write it nor maintain a plugin - the markup is generated server-side from the role fields, including date, location, employment type and validity. If you run a self-built careers page, you have to keep that markup clean yourself.
Markup without manual work
KI BMS ships correct JobPosting JSON-LD automatically for every publicly posted role, with date, location, employment type and validity. You focus on a good title and a clear description - the page handles the technical part.
Stable, friendly URLs per role
A role needs its own permanently reachable URL with a readable slug - e.g. /careers/senior-backend-engineer rather than /jobs?id=8472. Friendly URLs rank better, are shareable, and communicate the topic in the link itself. Important: the URL must stay stable. When you close a role, redirect the old URL cleanly instead of leaving a 404 - otherwise you lose the ranking you built.
Titles and descriptions that match the search query
People search for job titles, not marketing slogans. 'Senior Backend Engineer (f/m/d)' ranks for the real query; 'Join our code-ninja team' ranks for nothing. Write the title the way an applicant would type the job into Google, and add the location if it's relevant.
The description should use the first two sentences to clearly state tasks and location - that's the snippet Google shows in the jobs box. Then follow with requirements, benefits and the application call-to-action. Avoid images or PDFs for the role content: Google reads text, not graphics.
Measuring whether it works
SEO isn't a switch but a trajectory. Register your careers page in Google Search Console and watch over four to eight weeks which queries earn your roles impressions and clicks. If applications via the 'organic search' channel rise, the markup is working. If it stays zero, use the Rich Results Test to check whether Google recognises the JobPosting at all.
FAQ
Frequently asked
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Written by
Julia Yukovich
Co-Founder + CEO
Julia is one of the Co-Founders. She handles design, product direction, and most of the support replies that arrive in the morning.
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