About the Role
Lizard Marketing is a Phoenix-based digital agency with a reputation for doing things right and saying the quiet parts out loud. We’re looking for a sharp 1099 Tech SEO Specialist who doesn’t just chase rankings—someone who understands how search actually works in 2025: across traditional search engines, AI answer engines, and the growing universe of generative experiences.
You’ll work across client accounts—primarily local service businesses—auditing, optimizing, and building strategies that make content findable, parseable, and citable by both algorithms and AI systems. If you know the difference between getting ranked and getting surfaced, you’re already our kind of person.
What You’ll Do
- Conduct comprehensive technical SEO audits: crawl health, site architecture, Core Web Vitals, indexation, schema markup, and mobile performance.
- Execute traditional keyword research and on-page optimization—titles, meta descriptions, header hierarchy, internal linking—with a sharp focus on local and service-area intent.
- Develop and implement Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) strategies targeting featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and structured answer formats.
- Build out Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) frameworks to ensure client content is cited, surfaced, and represented accurately by AI-generated answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, etc.).
- Perform gap analyses on existing content: identify missing geographic context, service-area signals, and natural language patterns that limit discoverability across both search and AI surfaces.
- Optimize captions, metadata, and on-page copy for semantic richness—ensuring NLP systems can accurately parse location, service type, and intent.
- Implement and maintain structured data (JSON-LD) for local businesses: LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Service, BreadcrumbList, and beyond.
- Collaborate with content and social teams to ensure captions, descriptions, and platform-specific copy meet discoverability standards.
- Report on performance across SEO, AEO, and GEO metrics; translate findings into plain-language client-facing recommendations.
- Stay ahead of algorithm updates, AI search developments, and emerging best practices—because this space moves fast and we move with it.
What We’re Looking For
- 3+ years of hands-on technical SEO experience, with demonstrable results across organic traffic and ranking improvements.
- Solid working knowledge of AEO: you understand how to structure content to win answer boxes and how AI systems extract and validate information.
- Practical GEO experience: you’ve thought about—or actively optimized for—how AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s SGE/AI Overviews surface and cite content.
- Fluency with Social SEO principles: you know that platform captions aren’t just for humans, and that geographic and semantic signals in copy affect algorithmic discoverability.
- Strong grasp of NLP concepts as they apply to SEO: entity recognition, semantic context, natural language patterns, and how search engines and AI systems parse meaning.
- Proficiency with core tools: Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs or SEMrush, PageSpeed Insights, and Schema.org markup.
- Experience working with local service businesses is a strong plus—you understand service areas, proximity signals, and the nuances of local pack optimization.
- Ability to communicate technical findings clearly to non-technical clients and internal teams.
- Self-directed work ethic. You manage your time, hit your deadlines, and ask good questions when you need to.
Nice to Have
- Experience in the home services, pest control, HVAC, plumbing, or related local service verticals.
- Familiarity with social media platform algorithms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) and how caption/description optimization intersects with SEO.
- Exposure to AI content tools and how to QA AI-generated copy for SEO integrity.
- Knowledge of citation-building and off-page authority strategies for local businesses.
Engagement Details
Type
Independent Contractor (1099)
Location
Remote
Commitment
Part-time to start; potential to scale based on client growth
Rate
Commensurate with experience; project-based or retainer TBD
Start Date
ASAP
How to Apply
Send us a brief intro, your resume or LinkedIn, and two or three examples of SEO work you’re proud of. If you’ve done anything specifically around AEO or GEO, lead with that—we’re impressed by people who are thinking ahead of the curve.
Pay: $35.05 - $55.00 per hour
Benefits:
Work Location: Remote
