Senior SEO Specialist

Cedar Financial is a leading international financial services company specializing in cross-border Accounts Receivable Management (ARM). Known for its innovative approach, Cedar embraces change and strategic agility to deliver exceptional financial solutions to its clients. The company values continuous improvement and focuses on achieving measurable results rather than routine task completion.

We are seeking a Senior SEO Specialist to lead and expand the organic search performance across Cedar’s websites and brands. This senior, hands-on role involves developing and executing technical, on-page, and off-page SEO strategies. The successful candidate will translate data into actionable roadmaps and adapt our search presence for AI-driven platforms such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. Collaboration with content creators, web developers, designers, and leadership is essential, along with mentoring junior SEO and content team members.

Key Responsibilities:
- SEO Strategy & Roadmap: Develop and own the organic search strategy and quarterly SEO roadmap aligned with business goals, lead generation, and revenue targets across all brands and websites.
- Technical SEO: Conduct regular audits focusing on crawlability, indexation, site architecture, internal linking, Core Web Vitals, mobile usability, structured data, canonicals, hreflang, and redirects. Collaborate with developers to prioritize and implement fixes.
- Keyword & Competitive Research: Lead keyword research, search intent mapping, topic clustering, and competitor gap analysis to identify high-value opportunities for B2B and international audiences.
- On-Page Optimization: Optimize titles, meta descriptions, headings, content structure, internal links, and schema markup on existing and new pages, managing SEO for service and conversion landing pages.
- Content Strategy Partnership: Create SEO content briefs and editorial guidelines, review drafts for search intent and E-E-A-T compliance, and plan content refreshes or consolidation to maintain traffic.
- AI Search & GEO: Enhance brand visibility on AI answer engines through entity optimization, structured data, and authoritative content.
- Link Building & Digital PR: Define off-page strategy, oversee link-building and digital PR efforts, and monitor backlink profile health, including toxic link management.
- Local & International SEO: Manage multi-location and multi-region SEO, including Google Business Profiles, hreflang implementation, and localized content strategies.
- Analytics & Reporting: Build and maintain dashboards in GA4, Google Search Console, and Looker Studio; provide monthly and quarterly performance reports with actionable insights.
- Algorithm & Industry Monitoring: Track Google updates, SERP changes, and industry trends; diagnose traffic drops and lead recovery plans.
- Mentorship & Process: Document SEO procedures, establish quality standards, and mentor junior team members.
- CRO Collaboration: Partner with design and paid media teams to improve organic conversion rates through A/B testing, UX enhancements, and landing page optimization.

Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Minimum 5 years of hands-on SEO experience, including at least 2 years in a senior or lead role, preferably within B2B, financial services, or SaaS sectors.
- Proven track record of growing organic traffic and leads, supported by case studies or measurable results.
- Advanced proficiency with Google Search Console, GA4, Looker Studio, and Google Tag Manager.
- Expert user of SEO tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush, Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, and PageSpeed Insights/Lighthouse.
- Strong technical SEO knowledge including HTML, CSS, JavaScript rendering, XML sitemaps, robots.txt, schema markup (JSON-LD), and site migrations.
- Experience working with CMS platforms like WordPress, Webflow, or HubSpot CMS.
- Excellent analytical, project management, and communication skills, with the ability to translate data into actionable business recommendations for non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience optimizing for AI search, including Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
- Expertise in international and multi-language SEO, including hreflang implementation.
- Familiarity with YMYL (“Your Money or Your Life”) content standards and regulated industries such as finance, collections, or healthcare.
- Certifications in Google Analytics, Google Ads, or HubSpot; basic knowledge of SQL, Python, or spreadsheet automation for SEO data analysis.
- Experience managing freelancers, agencies, or small SEO and content teams.

This role offers the opportunity to lead SEO initiatives in a dynamic, growth-focused environment, driving measurable impact on Cedar Financial’s global digital presence.