Quick answer. Skilled workers skip postings that hide the pay, bury the job details or take too long to apply for on a phone. In Appcast's 2026 benchmark, 70.64% of applies came from mobile, and short applications converted best. Sixteen states plus DC now have pay transparency laws. Put pay, location, schedule and the work up front.
You posted the job, it's been up for two weeks, and the applicants are either wrong for the role or missing entirely. Meanwhile the shop down the road seems to fill its openings without trouble.
If no one applies to your job posting, the cause often has less to do with the job than with how the posting reaches people. Most good electricians and welders check jobs on a phone, often in a truck between calls, and often after a search engine has picked which listings to show them. Our guide to job posting mistakes that scare off tradespeople covers the writing itself. This one is about getting found and read in the first place.
Your posting is read on a phone
Appcast's 2026 benchmark report analyzed 2025 data from paid job ads placed by nearly 1,200 US employers, covering 302 million clicks and 27.4 million applies. It found that 70.64% of applies came from mobile devices and 29.36% from the web. For most of your candidates, the first screen of your posting is the whole first impression.
On a phone, that first screen holds the title, your company name and a few lines of text. If those lines are a mission statement, many people scroll past before they reach the pay or the location.
Put the facts a tradesperson decides on into the first few lines:
- the pay range, stated hourly for hourly roles;
- the city or area, and whether the work travels;
- the schedule, including typical weekly hours;
- the type of work, such as commercial new construction or residential service.
Company history and benefits detail can sit further down.
The length of the application matters as much as the layout. In Appcast's 2025 data, applications that took 1 to 5 minutes converted at 5.37% of clicks, against 3.09% for those that took 16 minutes or more. Ask for the basics first and collect the rest after the first call.
Pay first, and in some states it's the law
Showing pay helps measurably. In Appcast's 2025 data, postings that showed pay had a 5.03% apply rate, compared with 4.51% for postings that didn't. Increasingly, leaving pay out isn't an option anyway.
As of August 1, 2026, 16 states plus Washington, D.C. have statewide pay transparency laws in effect, according to a National Law Review analysis by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. The rules differ a lot. California, Colorado and New York require a pay range in essentially every posting, while some other states require disclosure only on request or later in the process. New York's rule applies to employers with four or more employees, and Colorado's applies to all employers. Some states, including Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington, also require you to describe benefits or other pay. Several cities have their own rules on top.
My recommendation is to post a real range everywhere, even where it isn't required. If you're worried about anchoring, give a range you'd genuinely pay and explain what moves someone up it, such as a license, certifications or years running service calls.
Getting your posting into Google's job listings
Many job seekers start with a Google search, and Google's job listings show openings drawn from postings across the web. To be eligible, a posting's page needs job posting structured data with a few required details, namely the title, a description, the date posted, the hiring organization and the location. Google also recommends adding the base salary, the employment type and an expiration date. Meeting the requirements makes a posting eligible, which isn't the same as guaranteed.
Two of Google's rules often trip up employers:
- The description must be complete. Google says it must cover responsibilities, qualifications, skills, working hours, education and experience requirements, and it doesn't allow postings with incomplete descriptions.
- Filled jobs have to come down. Google doesn't allow expired postings, so close the listing once the role is filled.
Google also notes that only employers can provide the base salary, and that it should be the actual figure rather than an estimate. If you post on your own website, ask your web developer to add the structured data. If you use a job board, check that it supports Google's job listings and fill in every field it offers, because those fields usually feed this data.
Test your posting the way a worker would
Before you blame the market, spend ten minutes looking at your posting from the other side.
- Open it on your phone. Can you see the pay, location and schedule without scrolling?
- Time the application. If it takes you more than five minutes, it will take a tradesperson on a jobsite longer.
- Search for it. Type the trade and your city into Google, such as "journeyman electrician jobs Tacoma", and see whether your opening appears in the job listings.
- Read it as a stranger. Could a working electrician tell what kind of work it is, who they'd work for and what it pays?
Each "no" is a fix you can make the same day.
The writing itself
Titles, descriptions and requirements matter too. Use the plain title people search for, such as journeyman electrician or HVAC service technician, rather than an internal grade, and post one role per listing. Separate legal requirements, like a state license, from preferences. Our guide to writing a trade job description includes a template you can adapt.
A before-and-after example
This is a made-up example to show the difference.
Before. "Electrician needed for growing company. 5+ years experience required. Competitive pay. Must be a team player. Apply online."
After. "Commercial journeyman electrician, $38 to $44 an hour based on experience. Tenant improvement work in the Tacoma area, day shift Monday to Friday, about 40 hours a week. State journeyman card required. Health insurance and a 401(k) match. Apply with your name, phone number and license number, and we'll call within one business day."
The second version answers the questions a working electrician asks before they've finished reading.
Post where tradespeople look
On Qiggz, employers post jobs free, and workers browse and apply free. Put the pay, the place, the schedule and the work up front, and the posting will do its job wherever it appears.
Frequently asked questions
Why does no one apply to my job posting?
Common causes are hidden pay, vague job details and a slow application on a phone. In Appcast's 2026 benchmark, 70.64% of applies came from mobile, and applications that took 1 to 5 minutes converted far better than long ones. Put pay, location, schedule and the type of work first.
Do I have to include pay in a job posting?
In some states, yes. As of August 1, 2026, 16 states plus Washington, D.C. have statewide pay transparency laws. California, Colorado and New York require a range in essentially every posting, while others require disclosure on request or later in hiring. Some cities add rules, so check yours, and consider posting a range everywhere.
How do I get my job posting on Google's job listings?
The posting's page needs job posting structured data with a title, full description, date posted, hiring organization and location, and Google recommends base salary, employment type and an expiration date. Most job boards supply this when you fill in every field. Meeting the rules makes a posting eligible, not guaranteed, and filled jobs must come down.
How long should a trade job posting be?
Long enough to be complete. Google requires the description to cover responsibilities, qualifications, skills, working hours, education and experience. Keep it easy to scan on a phone by putting the key facts first and using short paragraphs.
Sources
- Appcast, 2026 Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report (2025 US data, nearly 1,200 employers, 302 million clicks, 27.4 million applies; mobile share, apply rate by apply time and by salary transparency). https://info.appcast.io/hubfs/Whitepaper/Final%20Content%20PDFs/Whitepapers/%5BWhitepaper%5D%202026%20Recruitment%20Marketing%20Benchmark%20Report.pdf
- National Law Review, "Show and Tell: New State Salary Disclosure Laws Go into Effect," Lily Rucker Othmer and Jennifer M. Trulock, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings (July 23, 2026). https://natlawreview.com/article/show-and-tell-new-state-salary-disclosure-laws-go-effect
- Google Search Central, Job posting structured data (required and recommended properties, content guidelines). https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/job-posting
