SEO/AEO Specialist

Overview Placement Type: N/A Salary: $37-39 Hourly Start Date: Jul 13, 2026 We are seeking a driven and curious SEO/AEO Specialist to join a collaborative, high-performing web team. In this role, you will support and execute SEO strategy—bridging technical implementation, content briefing, project management, and agency collaboration—to grow organic traffic, share of voice, and conversion rates across our digital properties. As search continues to evolve toward AI-driven discovery and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), you will play a key role in ensuring our brand remains visible and competitive across the full search ecosystem—from traditional rankings to AI overviews and answer engines. You will work closely with a tight-knit web team and partner with an external SEO agency to drive measurable, meaningful results. Responsibilities Own the content briefing process end-to-end: conduct keyword research and competitive analyses, develop detailed SEO/AEO briefs for content creators, and ensure search insights are effectively integrated into web pages, articles, landing pages, and content updates. Serve as the project manager for SEO initiatives—maintaining a prioritized workload across technical tasks, content projects, and agency deliverables; tracking progress, flagging risks, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Collaborate closely with the internal web team, development team, marketing technologies team, and external SEO agency—supporting clear communication, accountability, and timely execution across all workstreams. Support and execute SEO and AEO strategies in partnership with the team and external agency, with a focus on driving organic traffic (quantity and quality), improving conversion rates, and growing share of voice. Address technical SEO issues—including site speed, Core Web Vitals, crawlability, and indexation—in collaboration with the development team and external agency. Support structured data and schema implementation to improve visibility across traditional search engines and AI-generated answers. Maintain performance dashboards, track key SEO/AEO KPIs, and proactively investigate anomalies or emerging opportunities. Stay current on the evolving search landscape, including AI overviews, answer engine optimization, entity-based visibility, topical authority, and structured content strategies. Participate in quarterly training sessions and contribute to a culture of continuous learning and experimentation. Complete other duties as assigned. Qualifications Below are the minimum requirements of the education, experience, knowledge, and skills required to competently perform in this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Education & Experience Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, or related field preferred. 2-4 years of experience in SEO, digital marketing, or a related field. Hands‑on experience with SEO/analytics platforms: Google Search Console, Google Analytics (GA4), BrightEdge, and Semrush. Experience with CMS platforms, particularly Drupal or similar (Sitecore, Sitefinity, Episerver, etc.). Demonstrated experience creating SEO/AEO content briefs and managing the briefing process with content creators or editorial teams. Technical Skills Solid understanding of technical SEO fundamentals: site architecture, crawlability, indexation, Core Web Vitals, page speed, and internal linking. Familiarity with structured data, schema markup, and semantic SEO principles. Awareness of AEO and AI-driven search trends, including entity optimization, topical authority, and how AI-generated answers surface content. Basic familiarity with HTML and web technologies; ability to write and communicate development tickets clearly. Experience maintaining SEO dashboards and reporting on performance metrics. Soft Skills & Cultural Fit Highly collaborative with a team‑first mindset—comfortable working across web, development, content, and agency teams. Strong project manager: you keep work organized, deadlines visible, stakeholders informed—even when juggling multiple workstreams simultaneously. Proactive and curious: you seek out information, spot problems before they escalate, and bring ideas to the table. Strong sense of urgency and ownership—you track outcomes, not just activities, and hold yourself accountable for results. Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate complex data and search concepts into clear, actionable recommendations for non‑technical stakeholders. Detail‑oriented with the ability to manage competing priorities and adapt quickly to shifting organizational needs. Comfortable working individually or as part of a team, and willing to go above and beyond when the work calls for it. Eagerness to learn and experiment in a constantly evolving space—this team does not set it and forget it. What Success Looks Like First 90 Days: Establish yourself as a trusted and collaborative team member. Build strong working relationships with the team and external SEO agency. Take full ownership of your execution responsibilities—project management, content briefing, reporting, and day‑to‑day SEO tasks. Ongoing KPIs: Share of voice across priority programs and topic areas; organic traffic quantity and quality; conversion rate improvements tied to SEO initiatives; regular reporting, anomaly investigation, and strategic recommendations delivered to the team and leadership. Candidates local to DC/Baltimore area preferred. #LI-BS1 #J-18808-Ljbffr