## Why It Matters

When candidates search for jobs on Google, results appear in a dedicated Google Jobs widget at the top of the page. Listings in this widget get significantly more visibility than regular search results. Kit automatically does everything needed to get your published jobs into Google Jobs — no configuration required.

## How It Works

Kit uses three mechanisms to make your job postings visible to Google:

### Structured Data (JSON-LD)

Every published job posting page on your career portal includes machine-readable structured data in the [JobPosting schema](https://schema.org/JobPosting). This tells Google exactly what the job is — title, description, salary range, location, employment type, and how to apply.

Google uses this structured data to display rich results with your company name, logo, salary, and location directly in search.

### Sitemap

Kit generates an XML sitemap for your career portal that lists every published job with its last-updated timestamp:

```
https://startupkit.app/careers/your-subdomain/sitemap.xml
```

If you use a [custom domain](/docs/setting-up-your-career-portal#custom-domains), the sitemap is available at the root:

```
https://careers.yourcompany.com/sitemap.xml
```

The sitemap updates automatically as you publish, close, or modify job postings.

### Real-Time Indexing

When you publish, close, pause, or reopen a job posting, Kit notifies Google directly through the Indexing API. This means Google learns about changes within minutes rather than waiting for the next crawl cycle (which can take days).

| Action | What happens |
|--------|-------------|
| Publish a job | Google is notified immediately to index the page |
| Close or pause a job | Google is notified to remove it from results |
| Reopen a job | Google is notified to re-index the page |

This is fully automatic. You don't need to do anything beyond publishing your job.

## What You See in Google

Once Google processes your job posting, it can appear in:

- **Google Jobs widget** — the dedicated job search box at the top of Google search results
- **Rich results** — enhanced search listings showing salary, location, and an "Apply" button
- **Google for Jobs** — Google's standalone job search at [google.com/search?q=jobs](https://www.google.com/search?q=jobs)

Processing typically takes a few minutes to a few hours after publishing.

## Kit Subdomain vs Custom Domain

| Setup | What Kit handles | What you need to do |
|-------|-----------------|-------------------|
| **Kit subdomain** (`startupkit.app/careers/...`) | Everything — structured data, sitemap, indexing, and search engine verification | Nothing |
| **Custom domain** (`careers.yourcompany.com`) | Structured data, sitemap, and indexing notifications | Verify your domain in [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console) if you want to monitor performance |

With a custom domain, Kit still handles all the technical SEO automatically. Verifying in Google Search Console is optional but recommended — it lets you monitor how your jobs appear in search and troubleshoot any issues.

## Tips for Better Visibility

- **Write descriptive job titles** — "Senior Backend Engineer" works better than "Engineer III" for search
- **Include salary ranges** — Google highlights jobs with salary information, and they rank higher in results
- **Use specific locations** — "Berlin, Germany" is better than just "Berlin" for structured data accuracy
- **Keep descriptions detailed** — Google uses the full description to match candidate searches

## Quick Checklist

- [ ] Publish at least one job posting to your career portal
- [ ] Verify your job appears in Google search after a few hours (search for your job title + company name)
- [ ] Optionally, verify your domain in [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console) to monitor performance
- [ ] Use the [Rich Results Test](https://search.google.com/test/rich-results) to check your job posting's structured data