Fractional SEO Lead - Programmatic/Local SEO for Travel Marketplace (Next.js)

We’re a fishing charter booking marketplace competing against a 10-year entrenched incumbent that dominates organic search. We have the right page architecture already built (city pages, species pages, technique pages on Next.js with SSR) and real supply live in our launch markets. We need a specialist to own SEO strategy and turn that skeleton into rankings. This is fractional, ongoing (est. 10-15 hrs/week), starting with a paid 2-week trial project. WHAT YOU’LL OWN: • Page architecture and content specs for city, species, and technique pages (you spec, our dev implements, our writer executes your briefs) • Technical SEO direction: schema (LocalBusiness, Product, Review, FAQ), indexation strategy, internal linking • Local link building plan: tourism boards, CVBs, vacation rental partners, supplier backlinks • AEO: structuring content to get cited in AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity • Ranking roadmap: long-tail first (species, trip types, guide names), head terms over 12-24 months WHAT YOU DON’T DO: write the content yourself, touch code, or manage paid ads. You direct; the team executes. TRIAL PROJECT (PAID, 2 WEEKS): Full SEO spec for our #1 launch city — URL structure, page-by-page content briefs, schema requirements, internal linking map, and a prioritized fix list. Judged on whether our developer can build directly from it without follow-up questions. REQUIREMENTS: • Proven programmatic or local SEO work for a marketplace, directory, or travel/booking site (show us the site and the architecture you built) • Experience ranking a new domain against entrenched incumbents • Comfortable specifying work for developers (you’ll work directly with our lead dev) BUDGET: $1,500–$3,000/month ongoing after trial. Trial project fixed-price, quote it in your proposal. SCREENING QUESTIONS (answer all three or your proposal is skipped): 1. Link one marketplace or local-services site you grew organically. Describe the page architecture you used and why. 2. How do you approach a new domain competing against an incumbent with 10+ years of authority? Be specific about sequencing and timeline. 3. What specifically would you change about a standard local SEO playbook to also win AI-generated answers (AI Overviews, ChatGPT)?