In order to get more applicants, consider sponsoring your job on Indeed. Sponsoring a job on Indeed gives your job posting priority placement in their search results so that more applicants see it.
In this article:
- How to sponsor your jobs
- Sponsor your job through CareerPlug
- Stop sponsoring a job
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How to sponsor your jobs
There are two ways you can sponsor your CareerPlug jobs on Indeed. Regardless of which option you choose, billing is always handled through Indeed, not CareerPlug.
- CareerPlug offers an integration that makes it fast and easy to sponsor your job postings on Indeed without ever having to leave CareerPlug! This option is incredibly convenient but has some customization limitations.
- If you need to create a more customized advertising campaign with Indeed, an alternative option is to contact an Indeed sales representative after posting a job within CareerPlug and work with them to set a specific budget and timeline for sponsoring selected jobs coming from your CareerPlug account.
If you want to sponsor jobs from multiple separate Indeed accounts within a single CareerPlug account (like if your CareerPlug account includes many locations or partnered brands), you will need to reach out to your Indeed representative to sponsor those jobs directly in Indeed and they will tie them back to your CareerPlug account.
Sponsor your job through CareerPlug
Indeed directs you to post your first job directly on Indeed. After posting it, you need to pause this job from your Indeed Employer account before posting or sponsoring the job on CareerPlug. Otherwise, it could be flagged as a duplicate posting and removed entirely by Indeed — negatively impacting your applicant flow.
You can sponsor a job from two places within CareerPlug:
1. From the Jobs page, locate the job you want to sponsor and click the Indeed Start Sponsoring link under the job title.
2. From a job's profile page — which you can access by clicking the job's title from the Jobs page — click the Sponsor on Indeed button.
Clicking either option will open the Sponsor Job page. The first time you sponsor a job in CareerPlug, you must authorize your Indeed Employer account. If you need to create one, that option will be within the guided experience.
Indeed handles all billing for sponsored jobs on their site, and you will need a valid form of payment on file. You can access your Indeed billing information here: https://billing.indeed.com/
Authorize your Indeed account through CareerPlug
The first time you sponsor a job, you'll need to authorize your Indeed account through CareerPlug. If you have already authorized your account and posted jobs through CareerPlug before, you'll be taken directly to the Schedule & Budget tab.
1. Enter your Indeed Account Email (i.e. the one associated with your Indeed Employer account).
2. Click the Start Setup button.
3. Click the Authorize with Indeed button to proceed to the Schedule & Budget tab to configure your job sponsorship.
If your Indeed account is missing payment information, instead of the Schedule & Budget step, you will be taken to Indeed's billing information or credit card information page, where you can enter your missing billing/credit card information to proceed. Once your Indeed account is complete, you will be redirected to the Schedule & Budget step.
4. Choose whether to set your sponsorship budget as either a One-time Sponsorship (with fixed dates) or a Monthly Recurring Sponsorship.
One-time Sponsorship
A one-time sponsorship allows you to choose a fixed end date for your campaign.
- Select a Start Date.
- Enter a One-time Budget Amount ($).
- Choose a Fixed end date if you want to close the one-time campaign when the specific date is reached.
- Choose a Target end date if you want to run the campaign until the specific budget is depleted.
Monthly Recurring Sponsorship
A monthly recurring sponsorship allows you to set a budget that will refresh monthly until you choose to stop the sponsorship.
- Select a Start Date.
- Enter a Per Month Budget Amount ($).
- If you start your campaign after the first day of the month, you can prorate the budget for your first month by flipping on the optional toggle.
5. When you're finished setting up your job sponsorship, click the Save Changes button.
Indeed Prediction tool
Before you even set your own sponsorship budget, the Prediction tool on the right side of the screen will offer a recommended budget for your job and the number of clicks expected within the suggested time-frame. This is Indeed's suggestion for getting the most value out of your job sponsorship.
To take advantage of Indeed's suggestion, click the Use Recommended Budget button. This will auto-fill the One-time/Per Month Budget Amount field.
Indeed Performance estimator tool
Once you've set your budget and schedule, the Performance estimator tool will appear on the right side of the screen (under the Prediction tool).
Indeed will estimate the number of applicants your sponsored job might receive and the average cost-per-apply during your campaign.
Indeed's estimates are based on past performance of similar jobs and are not a guarantee of future performance. These estimates only pertain to Indeed Sponsored Jobs and are not indicative of CareerPlug's effectiveness.
Once you've configured and saved your sponsorship settings, your sponsorship request will be sent to Indeed to be processed. Sponsoring your job through CareerPlug is not instant — it may take up to 12 hours to be promoted on Indeed.
You can tell that your job is actively sponsored when a green ACTIVE $ pill appears underneath the job title.
If Indeed has questions or needs to collect payment or other information from you, they will do so outside of CareerPlug.
If you have more complex needs than the sponsoring options provided through CareerPlug, we recommend contacting Indeed directly. Clients can sponsor their jobs directly through Indeed and still have those applications feed back into CareerPlug. Your Indeed representative will handle the setup of this configuration.
If you don’t have an Indeed representative or don't know who your Indeed representative is, you can contact one here.
Indeed Sponsorship analytics
With the Indeed Sponsorship integration, you have access to the following key metrics:
- Sponsorship Applies - the number of applications submitted to your sponsored job
- Sponsorship Clicks - the number of times your sponsored job ad is clicked
- Average Cost Per Apply (CPA) - the total cost of your sponsorship divided by the number of sponsored applies
- Total Cost - the full amount paid so far to sponsor a job
Stop sponsoring a job
To stop sponsoring a job, click the Edit link under the job title on your Jobs page.
This will open the Sponsor Job page. Scroll down to the Status Options section and click the Stop Sponsoring button.
After turning off the sponsorship for your job in CareerPlug, Indeed will be notified within 12-24 hours. If you would also like to close your job, do so only after ending the sponsorship.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
General Questions
Q: How does the partnership with Indeed and CareerPlug work?
A: As new jobs are created in CareerPlug, they are automatically sent to Indeed for inclusion in Indeed's organic job feed. If your jobs meet Indeed's quality standards, they can be posted for free on the site.* Learn more about the relationship between Indeed and CareerPlug.
Q: Where can I learn more about Indeed quality guidelines?
A: This Indeed support page provides a few articles about how search quality works at Indeed, including frequently asked questions. Here are CareerPlug's recommendations for Indeed best practices.
Q: What is the Indeed Sponsored Jobs Integration?
A: This integration allows you to sponsor jobs on Indeed directly through your CareerPlug account. Once a job is created in CareerPlug, you can easily sponsor it and set a schedule and budget for your job's sponsorship campaign. All sponsored jobs will be indexed with an Indeed Apply integration.
Q: My ATS is already connected to Indeed — what changed?
A: You can now create an Indeed Sponsored Jobs campaign directly from CareerPlug. This allows you to select jobs to sponsor from within the platform, as well as customizing how your sponsored job's budget is spent, to help drive additional candidates to your key positions.
Additionally, the setup of your accounts has changed. We now allow you to create your own advertiser accounts on Indeed through the integration while being billed directly through your credit card.
Q: Can I sponsor jobs from multiple locations and/or brands using my shared CareerPlug account?
A: No. The ability to use separate Indeed accounts to sponsor jobs within a single, shared CareerPlug account is no longer an option due to an update with Indeed's integration. To sponsor jobs with this account type, you will need to reach out to your Indeed representative to sponsor those jobs directly in Indeed and they will tie them back to your CareerPlug account.
Q: I don't have an Indeed account. What do I need to do?
A: If you do not already have an Indeed account, you will be able to create one during the setup process for the sponsored jobs integration in CareerPlug.
Q: What are the benefits of using CareerPlug's integration vs. sponsoring directly through Indeed?
A: This depends on your preference: convenience or customization. If you need an easy way to sponsor jobs on Indeed without ever leaving your CareerPlug account, you can sponsor jobs directly through CareerPlug's sponsored jobs integration. Sponsoring through CareerPlug does have some limitations but is fast and easy.
If you need a fully customized advertising campaign, you may want to contact your Indeed representative directly and ask them to assist you with sponsoring your CareerPlug jobs that are being sent to Indeed.
Sponsored Post Questions
Q: What does it mean to sponsor my job?
A: Sponsoring a job means putting a budget behind your job to pay for premium placement in Indeed search results. Sponsored jobs don't fall down in search results over time — unlike free listings. Because of increased visibility over time, sponsored jobs are 3.5x more likely to result in a hire*.
(*Indeed Data Worldwide)
Q: Is there a limit to how many jobs I can sponsor?
A: No, there is no limit, as long as your jobs meet Indeed's quality standards.
Q: Where can I edit my job posting?
A: You can edit your sponsored job posting in CareerPlug. The changes you make will be reflected shortly on Indeed.
Q: I already have a monthly campaign with Indeed. Can I use this integration?
A: Yes. Any jobs you send through the integration will automatically populate to your Indeed Advertiser Dashboard. Just make sure to check in with your Client Services or Sales rep at Indeed to ensure everything is set up properly.
Q: Where can I get information about my sponsored jobs?
A: All jobs sponsored through the CareerPlug integration will show in the dashboard of your Indeed account and include all standard Indeed data (like clicks, applies, budget, etc.) that Indeed usually provides for jobs.
You can also see Indeed Sponsorship Analytics on a job's profile page (found by clicking the job's name from your Jobs page). You'll have access to the number of sponsorship applies and clicks, as well as the average cost per apply (CPA) and the total cost of the sponsorship.
Cost Questions
Q: How do the budgets work?
A: Indeed sponsored job budgets are on a pay-per-click model. You choose your budget and are only charged when a unique job seeker clicks on your job. You will be charged according to your billing settings in Indeed.
Q: What determines cost per click?
A: Cost per click is determined by the budget, the location of the job, and competition on Indeed. Indeed’s Bid Optimizer tool adjusts multiple times per day to get you more applications for the lowest cost per click.
Q: Can I change my budget once my job is posted?
A: You can stop your campaign at any time. It is best not to change your budget mid-campaign, and better to let the 15-day period end and then work with your Indeed rep directly to create the optimal budget moving forward.
Q: How am I billed?
A: You will be charged through the credit card entered in your Indeed billing account. Funds for sponsored jobs through this integration do not route through CareerPlug billing systems. All transactions occur between Indeed and the end-user sponsoring the job.
Other Questions
Q: Who can I reach out to with any other questions?
A: You can reach your Indeed representative using any of the methods listed here or by filling out the form here.
Q: My email is already linked to my company’s other Indeed account, will that affect anything?
A: When you elect to sponsor a job through the integration, this job will go active into your own email address under your own Indeed account, not any accounts that you are linked to. If you wish to have a job under a different account, the job will have to be associated with the email address login for the other account(s) you are linked to. All billing will also be dictated based on account email address and email address associated with the job post.
*Terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits apply