Short answer: The Indeed Trusted Media Network (TMN) is a group of partner job sites where Indeed can show your sponsored jobs, in addition to Indeed and Glassdoor. Indeed picks the partner sites for each job based on details like location and job type, pays for them out of your existing sponsored job budget, and sends every candidate back to Indeed or your career site to apply. It costs nothing extra to turn on and is most useful for hard-to-fill or specialist roles.
This guide is for owners and managers who sponsor jobs on Indeed and want to know where their ads really run. It explains what the Trusted Media Network is, how it works, how it differs from Indeed's other ad placements, how to turn it on, what budget it needs, how location targeting works, and when it is worth using.
What is the Indeed Trusted Media Network?
The Indeed Trusted Media Network is a set of vetted partner job sites, many of them built for one industry or one type of worker, that can carry your Indeed sponsored jobs. When Indeed announced it in March 2022, it described a network of 160+ specialized, vetted media partners (Indeed, 2022 announcement, worldwide data). Indeed does not publish the current partner list. Its help center says to ask your Indeed Client Success Specialist which partners are in the network.
The Trusted Media Network is part of Indeed's paid Sponsored Jobs. A free job post on Indeed does not go to TMN partner sites. Only sponsored jobs can, according to Indeed's help article on the Trusted Media Network (checked October 2026).
How does the Trusted Media Network work?
The Trusted Media Network works in four steps, all run by Indeed once it is on:
- You sponsor a job and set a budget, the same way you would for Indeed alone.
- Indeed picks partner sites for that job based on job details such as location and role type. You do not choose or manage the partners.
- A job seeker clicks your ad on a partner site and lands on your job on Indeed.
- The candidate applies through Indeed Apply or your company career site, the same way every other candidate does.
Indeed spreads one budget across Indeed and the Trusted Media Network on its own, and the results show in your normal Sponsored Jobs reports, not in a separate TMN report (Indeed Help Center, checked October 2026).
Sponsor Indeed jobs from the same place you track and screen applicants. See how IdealTraits works with Indeed.
Trusted Media Network vs Indeed, Glassdoor and the Audience Network
Indeed now shows sponsored jobs in up to four places. The Trusted Media Network and the Audience Network both reach people outside Indeed, but they are not the same thing. The Audience Network uses other ad placements, such as social channels like Meta and a large demand-side ad platform, and Indeed alone decides when a job qualifies for it (Indeed Help Center, About Indeed's Audience Network, checked October 2026).
| Placement | Where the ad shows | Do you turn it on? | Where the candidate applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indeed | Indeed search results and job pages | Yes, by sponsoring the job | Indeed Apply or your career site |
| Glassdoor | Glassdoor, which Indeed also runs | Part of Indeed's ad placements | Indeed Apply or your career site |
| Trusted Media Network | Vetted partner job sites, often for one industry or skill | Yes, in the campaign's ad placements | Redirected to Indeed, then Indeed Apply or your career site |
| Audience Network | Other websites and social channels | No, Indeed decides which jobs qualify | Indeed Apply or your career site |
All four placements report inside the same Sponsored Jobs numbers. If you want to know which channel brought a candidate, Indeed's reports will not split it out for the Audience Network, and its TMN article points you to the same campaign reports.
How to turn on the Trusted Media Network
You turn on the Trusted Media Network when you create a sponsored job campaign in Indeed. Indeed's help center lists these steps (checked October 2026):
- Set up a new Sponsored Job campaign.
- Go to Ad placements under Select ads placement.
- Select Edit (Advanced).
- Choose Trusted Media Network and save.
The TMN setting cannot be changed after a campaign starts. To add or remove it, create a new campaign (Indeed Help Center). If you sponsor jobs from your IdealTraits account, the campaign still lives in your Indeed employer account. Open it there and check its ad placements to see whether the Trusted Media Network is on. Our help center explains how to sponsor a job on Indeed from IdealTraits.
If you already pay a job site directly and Indeed sends a job to that same site, Indeed's copy will not appear there. Your direct deal keeps its traffic, according to the FAQ in Indeed's TMN article.
What does the Trusted Media Network cost, and what budget do you need?
The Trusted Media Network has no separate price. Indeed pays TMN partner sites out of your existing sponsored job budget, and it manages the split between Indeed and TMN on its own (Indeed Help Center). So the real budget question is the same one you face for any sponsored job.
How does Indeed decide the recommended budget?
Indeed recommends a daily budget for each job based on the job title, the location and how much competition there is in that market. Indeed also says there is no fixed public price list, and the minimum amount for each job can change with the market (Indeed Help Center, Managing Sponsored Job Budgets, checked October 2026). When you sponsor from IdealTraits, the sponsor screen shows Indeed's minimum and Indeed's prediction of how many applications your budget should bring,, using Indeed's own budget recommendations (see the help article linked above).
What is a reasonable budget for a sponsored job?
A reasonable starting budget is Indeed's own recommendation for that job, then an adjustment after a week of results. Your daily budget is an average, not a hard cap: on a continuous plan Indeed will not spend more than 7.5 times your daily budget in a week, and on a set run time it will not spend more than the daily budget times the number of days (Indeed Help Center, checked October 2026). Budgets spread across many jobs in one campaign run out sooner, so Indeed suggests putting limited money on your most important or hardest-to-fill roles first (Indeed Help Center, How Campaign Spend is Paced, checked October 2026).
One IdealTraits customer, Leta Hankins of an insurance agency, described how Indeed's prediction compares with what she sees:
"I always just even do a little less than they say because it always gives me way more. I sponsor it and they'll say whatever, you're going to get 50 candidates in 15 days, I always get more it feels like."
Leta Hankins, insurance agency, in an IdealTraits customer video
One agency's results are not a rule for every job. Hard-to-fill roles in busy markets usually need more than the recommendation. For a step-by-step way to set your number, read our guide on what your Indeed sponsorship budget should be.
How do you target locations with sponsored jobs and the Trusted Media Network?
You target a location on Indeed through the job post itself: the job's location field and title decide which searches it matches. The Trusted Media Network uses the same job details, including location and role type, to pick partner sites, and the Audience Network uses job seeker signals such as location, activity and resume data (Indeed Help Center, checked October 2026). There is no separate map or radius setting for TMN.
Three habits keep your targeted ads in front of the right people:
- Use the real work address or city. A vague or wrong location sends your ad to the wrong searches on Indeed and on partner sites.
- Use a plain job title people search for. Job seekers type titles like "Customer Service Representative", not your internal name for the role.
- Post one job per location when you hire in several towns, so each ad matches local searches.
Getting applicants from far away? Our help center explains why you may get candidates from out of state and what to change.
When is the Trusted Media Network worth it?
Turn the Trusted Media Network on when a role is hard to fill, needs a specialist, or gets too few applicants from Indeed alone. Indeed lists those same cases as the main benefit: more candidates for hard-to-fill or specialist roles, with no extra setup. Leave it off when you already get more applicants than you can review, because more reach then adds work, not hires.
| Your situation | Use TMN? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist or licensed role with few local applicants | Yes | Industry job sites reach people who may not be searching on Indeed that day |
| Job gets few applicants after a week of sponsorship | Yes, in a new campaign | TMN cannot be added to a running campaign |
| Entry-level role that already gets plenty of applicants | Usually no | More reach adds more screening, not better hires |
| You already pay a niche job site directly | Either way | Indeed will not duplicate your job on a site you already work with |
Job boards alone, even with partner sites, only reach people who are looking for work. For other ways to find candidates, read why job boards alone miss great candidates.
After the clicks: how to screen and engage applicants from Indeed
More reach only helps if you can sort the applicants quickly. Candidates from TMN partner sites apply through Indeed like everyone else, so they land in the same list. Three steps keep that list moving:
- Screen for fit before you interview. A short pre-hire assessment shows how a candidate is likely to work, which a resume cannot.
- Replace first phone screens with one-way video. One-way video interviews let candidates answer your questions on their own time, and you review them on yours.
- Reply fast and by text. Text recruiting lets you set up interviews and answer questions where candidates already look, and keeps strong runners-up in touch for your next opening.
How IdealTraits helps
IdealTraits is an all-in-one hiring platform with AI that helps businesses hire for fit, not just experience. You can sponsor jobs on Indeed from your IdealTraits account and see each campaign's Indeed report next to the job. IdealTraits also posts your jobs to 100+ job boards and sorts applicants with AI resume matching, assessments and one-way video interviews in one place.
IdealTraits is an Indeed Platinum ATS Partner, 3 years running (2024, 2025, 2026), and won the 2026 Indeed Partner Award for Technical Excellence (SMB category). 18,000+ businesses have used IdealTraits to hire.
Indeed Trusted Media Network FAQ
Is the Trusted Media Network the same as posting on sites like Indeed?
No. The Trusted Media Network shows your Indeed sponsored job on partner sites, but every candidate still applies through Indeed or your career site. Posting directly to other job boards, such as ZipRecruiter or LinkedIn, is a separate step. IdealTraits does that for you from one job post.
Do I have to opt in to the Trusted Media Network?
Yes. In Indeed's campaign setup, TMN is a choice under Ad placements, and it must be chosen before the campaign starts. The Audience Network is different: you do not opt in, because Indeed decides which jobs qualify.
Can I see Trusted Media Network results on their own?
Indeed shows TMN results inside your existing Sponsored Jobs reports, which cover all channels together. For a list of partners or a channel breakdown, Indeed says to contact your Indeed Client Success Specialist.
Does the Trusted Media Network cost more per click?
Indeed does not list a separate TMN price. It does say that off-site clicks or started applications in the Audience Network may cost more than ones on Indeed, and that Indeed shifts to Indeed traffic when that is more efficient (Indeed Help Center).
This post was first published in June 2023 and fully updated in October 2026 with Indeed's current help center steps, a placement table, budget and location guidance, and a customer quote. Indeed changes its ad products often. Check the linked Indeed articles before you change a campaign.