Marcus Thomas LLC is seeking a freelance SEO & Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Specialist to improve client brands’ visibility across traditional search engines and AI-powered search platforms. The role combines SEO strategy and execution, AI search optimization, technical and local SEO, content and entity optimization, and measurement and reporting.

Responsibilities:

Conduct keyword, topic, competitor, SERP, search-intent and content gap research to identify opportunities to grow organic visibility, qualified traffic, engagement and conversions
Develop and execute SEO recommendations for landing pages, blogs, product/service pages, resource hubs and other digital experiences that support each brand’s broader strategy
Optimize title tags, meta descriptions, headings, content structure, internal linking, anchor text, images and other on-page elements
Monitor rankings, traffic, conversions, indexing and organic search performance for assigned brands
Translate SEO findings into clear, prioritized recommendations for content, development, UX and marketing teams
Support strategies to improve brand visibility within AI-generated answers, AI search results and LLM recommendations
Monitor and analyze how brands and competitors appear across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and other emerging AI platforms, including brand mentions, citations, cited domains/pages, prompts, topics and competitive visibility
Identify content gaps that prevent brands from being selected, referenced, cited or recommended by AI systems
Optimize content for both traditional search retrieval and AI answer retrieval, including clear answer structures, definitions, comparisons, FAQs, supporting evidence and strong entity relationships
Evaluate how third-party sources, publishers, directories, reviews, forums and other external websites influence brand visibility within AI-generated answers
Test emerging AIO/GEO tactics, share what you learn and recommend approaches the team can scale
Stay current on developments in AI search, generative search, LLM discovery, retrieval systems and evolving optimization practices
Conduct technical SEO audits covering crawlability, indexability, rendering, response codes, canonicalization, redirects, duplicate content, internal linking, XML sitemaps, robots.txt directives and site architecture
Identify technical barriers, including JavaScript rendering issues, that limit search-engine and AI-system access to important content
Develop and validate structured data recommendations using Schema.org and JSON-LD, including appropriate schema types
Collaborate with developers to translate technical findings into actionable requirements
Help shape content strategies based on search demand, audience questions, competitive gaps and emerging AI discovery behaviors
Create content briefs that incorporate keywords, entities, questions, semantic relationships, internal links and user intent
Improve content so important information can be easily understood and retrieved by both search engines and AI systems, with clear relationships among brands, products, services, experts, locations and topics
Identify opportunities for authoritative supporting content, original research, expert insights, statistics, FAQs, comparisons and other citation-worthy resources
Balance optimization for search visibility with usefulness, readability, brand voice and conversion goals
Optimize location pages or professional profile pages for local discovery, and recommend local structured data and scalable location-page optimization approaches
Support Google Business Profile optimization and governance
Monitor local rankings and competitive visibility, and identify opportunities involving reviews, citations, directories, location content and local authority
Identify inconsistencies between websites, business profiles, directories and other sources that may affect local discovery or entity understanding
Build and maintain reporting that shows visibility and business impact across traditional and AI-driven search for assigned brands
Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as organic visibility, rankings, traffic, conversions, local visibility, AI mentions, citations, share of voice and competitive presence
Turn data into concise insights explaining what happened, why it matters and what we should do next
Help design testing methodologies to evaluate whether SEO and AI discovery initiatives are improving visibility

Requirements:

Candidates must be based in Ohio or one of the approved states listed above
Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States
Marcus Thomas is unable to provide employment visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future
3+ years of hands-on SEO experience
Demonstrated experience analyzing, testing, or implementing AI search optimization (AIO/GEO) strategies, including improving or measuring brand visibility across AI-powered search platforms
Strong understanding of on-page, technical, content and off-page SEO
Experience conducting keyword research, competitive analysis, SERP analysis and content gap analysis
Working knowledge of Google Search Console and modern SEO platforms such as Semrush, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, BrightEdge, ArcAI or similar tools
Understanding of structured data, Schema.org, JSON-LD, canonicalization, robots.txt directives, XML sitemaps, internal linking and indexation
Experience using analytics platforms to evaluate organic performance
Working knowledge of local SEO and Google Business Profile optimization
Strong understanding of how generative AI and LLM-based discovery are changing how people search for information, brands, products and services
Ability to translate complex SEO and AI search concepts into clear recommendations for nontechnical stakeholders
Strong analytical, writing, research and problem-solving skills
LOCATION: Cleveland or Cincinnati, Ohio, preferred
Enterprise or multi-location SEO
Entity-based SEO and knowledge graphs
Schema.org implementation
Log-file or crawler analysis
JavaScript SEO
Local SEO at scale
Conversion-focused SEO
Working with large datasets in Excel or Google Sheets
Systematic testing and analysis of how brands appear in AI search results
Experience in highly competitive or regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, insurance or ecommerce

SEO & Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Specialist

Key skills

About this role

Responsibilities:

Requirements: