Indexed vs hosted jobs on Indeed

Here’s a quick breakdown of the two types of jobs on Indeed:

Indeed hosted jobs are jobs that have been created and posted directly on Indeed by employers.

Indexed jobs are simply jobs on the internet that an employer has posted and made publicly visible. Indeed takes those jobs and shows them to relevant jobseekers in our jobseeker search results .

It used to be that you could only access all of Indeed’s features if you posted directly on Indeed with a hosted job. Now, when jobs posted on your career site or ATS are put on Indeed, you can update, optimise and sponsor them, all from your Employer Dashboard. Not only that, but you can see your hosted and indexed jobs in a single list for a seamless experience. There’s no need to toggle back and forth or search through scattered information.

How to optimise your indexed jobs on Indeed

Whether you post your jobs directly on Indeed, your career site or somewhere else online, your jobs will be in one unified jobs list in the Jobs section of your Employer Dashboard. You can tell which jobs you’ve posted directly on Indeed as opposed to indexed jobs that have been pulled from somewhere else online by looking for the link icon to the left of the job title. Jobs with this link icon have been sourced from outside Indeed (e.g. your company site, ATS feed).*

You can now perform the full range of job edits on your indexed jobs.** To do so, click on the job title and you’ll be prompted to add important information, such as how many people you want to hire for the role, the job location, and schedule information.

As you’re editing your indexed job, think like a jobseeker and consider including these details:

• Strong job title: Effective job titles help jobs appear in relevant search results and attract quality candidates. Take a look at these tips for writing effective job titles.
• Salary or salary range: Jobs with salary information have 15% more started applications per impression.²
• Schedule/shift information: jobseekers have certain schedules that their job must fit into. Sharing this information upfront ensures there isn’t a mismatch in requirements or expectations.
• Benefits: People often look for benefits that align with their family or personal needs. Listing your top benefits and perks can also help you stand out from the competition.

Including this information can have a big impact. In fact, indexed jobs on Indeed that have salary, schedule and benefits information included receive 50% more started applications.³

To unlock even more capabilities, click Use Indeed Apply next to one of your indexed jobs. This enables you to receive jobseekers’ applications directly on Indeed. It also allows you to access the full range of Indeed features, including Screener Questions, Matched Candidates and more.

With Indeed Apply, when jobseekers find your indexed job on Indeed, they’ll no longer be redirected to your website. Instead, they’ll apply directly through Indeed. Any applications you receive through Indeed are managed on Indeed, not through your career site. You can always turn this off later. Simply go to the Application Settings section of your job and choose Application URL.

You can also now give your indexed jobs an additional boost by sponsoring them directly on Indeed. Just click Sponsor job next to one of your indexed jobs. This helps you get better visibility and attract more of the right applicants. When you add Screener Questions to your job post and mark one or more of them as ‘deal-breakers’, you’ll also only pay for candidates that meet those minimum requirements.***

*Experience differs for larger employers

**Edits you make to your jobs through Indeed will only be reflected on Indeed. Changes won’t be updated on your website or ATS.

***Not available to all users

Why edit your indexed jobs?

You may be wondering why you should update your indexed jobs directly on Indeed if you can just do so in your ATS or career site. Here are a few reasons why optimising your indexed jobs can help you hire better candidates, faster:

Enhance your presence on Indeed

Optimising your indexed jobs works a bit like search engine optimisation (SEO). When you include the right details in your Indeed job post, it’s more likely to be seen by the right candidates. But some of the jobs sourced from your company career site or ATS may be missing details that jobseekers want to know.

For example, you may be required to retain internal titles like software engineer II within your company’s ATS. However, these job titles may not work as well for external candidates on Indeed, where 36% of jobseekers search by exact job title.⁴ By clarifying the job title on Indeed (and keeping what’s required in your ATS), your job may show up in more relevant jobseekers’ search results.

We also know that jobseekers tend to engage more with jobs that have the key pieces of information they need to move forward with an application. Job details like salary, schedule and benefits are key features for many of Indeed’s automated solutions like matched candidates.

Easily screen and filter applicants

When you enable Indeed Apply on your indexed job, you’ll be able to add Screener Questions. When candidates apply, they’ll be prompted to answer your pre-selected Screener Questions (e.g. ‘Do you have a driver’s licence?’).

As applicants appear in your Employer Dashboard, you can filter them automatically based on their answers to your Screener Questions.

Streamline candidate communication and interviews

Indexed jobs can now benefit from our messaging and interviewing tools. Use message templates and bulk messaging features on Indeed to communicate with candidates. You can also schedule and coordinate virtual interviews, then share feedback with your team directly on Indeed.

Manage all jobs and candidates in one place

Manage and track jobs efficiently in your Indeed dashboard, where you can search across all roles and locations, track progress towards hiring a candidate, export candidates and edit job posts. View all your jobs in a single list (no matter the source) and track candidate applications in one place. This allows you to see all of your hosted and indexed jobs in a single view.

Candidate status reporting is another feature you can now take advantage of. Share where you are in the recruitment process by assigning your candidates statuses like Reviewed, Contacted or Rejected. Let your colleagues know information such as how many applicants and interviews you’ve got lined up for a specific job. Learn more about managing candidates on Indeed.

Unlock data to help you make better recruitment decisions

Get competitive and market analytics by job type and location when you use Indeed. For example, see how your pay aligns with your competitors, see what search terms candidates are using to find jobs and use interactive charts to view how markets are changing over time.

Indexed jobs on Indeed also now come with performance reports. Use metrics like clicks, impressions and cost to see how your job is performing and optimise it as necessary. To access your performance reports, click on the three dots to the right of the job you’re interested in and select View performance report.

¹SimilarWeb, Average Monthly Total Visits, Q1 2025

²Indeed data (UK)

³Indeed data (US)

⁴Indeed survey, n=2,091