SEO Specialist Job Description Template (2026)

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# SEO Specialist — Job Description

## Role summary
An SEO Specialist owns organic growth across technical, on-page, content, and off-page SEO. Accountable for indexation health, Core Web Vitals, Schema.org structured data, E-E-A-T content quality, internal link architecture, and ranking/traffic growth measured in Google Search Console. Runs log file analysis, content briefs aligned to search intent, link building, and AI search (AI Overviews, SGE, ChatGPT web) optimization for citation readiness.

## Responsibilities
- Own technical SEO: crawlability (robots.txt, sitemaps), indexation control (canonicals, noindex), Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS), mobile usability, hreflang.
- Run monthly crawls in Screaming Frog or Sitebulb; triage issues by severity and SEO impact; ship fixes with the dev team via PR.
- Deploy and validate Schema.org structured data (Article, Product, FAQ, HowTo, Organization, BreadcrumbList) and test in Rich Results Test + Schema.org validator.
- Conduct keyword research in Ahrefs/Semrush filtered by search intent (informational/commercial/transactional) and SERP feature opportunity.
- Write detailed content briefs: target query, search intent, SERP analysis, entity coverage, heading structure, internal link targets, word count range.
- Optimize content for E-E-A-T signals: author bios with credentials, original research/data, first-hand experience markers, citations.
- Analyze log files (server logs or Botify/Lumar) to understand Googlebot crawl budget allocation; fix crawl traps and orphan pages.
- Run internal linking audits: topical hubs/clusters, anchor text distribution, orphan page recovery, internal PR flow to money pages.
- Execute white-hat link building: digital PR, resource page outreach, HARO/Connectively, broken link building, unlinked brand mentions.
- Monitor GSC performance: CTR by position, query cannibalization, striking-distance keywords (positions 11-20), index coverage issues.
- Optimize for AI search surfaces: concise direct answers for AI Overviews, Schema + llms.txt, Bing Webmaster for Copilot/ChatGPT web.
- Report monthly: organic traffic, non-brand keyword rankings, top-gaining/losing pages, conversions attributed to organic, link acquisition.

## Must-have skills
- 3+ years of hands-on SEO with direct responsibility for a site's organic traffic (ideally US or European).
- Technical SEO fluency: can read robots.txt, set canonicals, debug hreflang, diagnose rendering issues (JavaScript SEO), and fix Core Web Vitals.
- Schema.org expertise with JSON-LD: can write and validate structured data without a plugin, knows which types earn rich results.
- Screaming Frog at an advanced level: custom extractions, JavaScript rendering, crawl comparison, XPath/CSS selectors.
- Google Search Console mastery: Performance report analysis, Index Coverage, Page Experience, URL Inspection API.
- Content intent understanding: can classify a SERP and write a brief that matches, not just stuff keywords.
- Link building with white-hat tactics only: digital PR, resource pages, HARO, guest posts on relevant sites (not PBNs, not paid links).

## Nice-to-have skills
- Log file analysis (Botify, Lumar, Oncrawl, or raw parsing).
- JavaScript SEO: understands SSR vs CSR vs hybrid rendering, knows how to debug Next.js/React hydration issues.
- International SEO: hreflang implementation across ccTLDs, subdomains, or subdirectories.
- Python or SQL for GSC data analysis at scale, BigQuery GSC export.
- Experience with Ahrefs API, Semrush API, or DataForSEO for automated monitoring.
- AI search / GEO specialization: llms.txt, AI Overviews research, ChatGPT web citation patterns.

## Tools and technology
- Ahrefs / Semrush
- Screaming Frog / Sitebulb
- Google Search Console + GSC API
- Google Analytics 4
- Schema.org validator + Rich Results Test
- PageSpeed Insights + CrUX
- Surfer SEO / Clearscope / Frase
- Looker Studio
- Botify / Lumar (log analysis)

## Reporting structure
Reports to the Head of Marketing or Digital Marketing Manager. Collaborates daily with content writers (briefs, optimization), weekly with engineering (technical fixes via PR), with the paid team on keyword overlap and landing page quality, and with digital PR on link-earning campaigns.

## Success metrics (KPIs)
- Non-brand organic traffic (GSC clicks) quarter-over-quarter.
- Non-brand keyword rankings in top 3 / top 10 on priority terms.
- Organic-attributed conversions and pipeline (GA4 + CRM).
- Core Web Vitals pass rate on priority templates (CrUX field data).
- Indexation health: ratio of indexed URLs / submitted URLs, zero unexpected noindex.
- Referring domain growth and toxic link ratio from clean link profile.