SEO Strategist + Execution Lead (12-Month Retainer)

SEO Strategist + Execution Lead (12-Month Retainer) — Rank a B2B Finance Niche to #1 in India (CGTMSE / MSME Loans) Overview We are an MSME credit advisory firm based in Pune, India. We help businesses secure collateral-free and structured bank funding (CGTMSE and related MSME credit). We have a live, professionally built website and a strong local presence, and we are ready to invest in a serious, 12-month SEO program to become the most authoritative organic resource in our niche across India. We are looking for an experienced SEO strategist who can both plan and execute — own the roadmap, do the technical and on-page work, build authority, and report against real outcomes. This is a long-term retainer, not a one-off project. The right person stays with us for the full 12 months and beyond. Important — read this before applying: Ours is a niche, low-volume, high-value B2B finance market. We are NOT chasing 100,000 monthly visitors — that is not our keyword universe and anyone promising it has not understood the brief. Our goal is to own a specific, high-intent keyword cluster nationally, dominate our home city locally, and convert a steady flow of qualified, high-ticket enquiries. If you optimise for vanity traffic, we are not a fit. If you optimise for qualified leads in a focused niche, read on. The goal (12 months) National Page-1, then Top-3 for our core keyword cluster (collateral-free MSME loans / CGTMSE and closely related terms). Local dominance in our home city (Pune) and across our home state (Maharashtra) — local pack + local organic. A long-tail content moat — the most complete, current, authoritative resource in the niche. Measurable qualified-lead growth from organic — the real KPI, tracked monthly. What is already in place (so your bid is accurate — don't re-quote this work) A live, professionally written WordPress site (on a managed host) with a clean structure. A fully optimised, verified Google Business Profile with a strong review rating. Structured data already implemented (organisation / financial-service + FAQ schema). One strong pillar page and an initial guide already published. AI-crawler access already configured at the robots level. Strong in-house domain expertise. We can provide expert input and final review on all content for technical/financial accuracy — you do not need to be a finance expert, but you must work with ours. Analytics and Search Console already set up. You are inheriting a solid foundation, not starting from zero. Scope of work You will own and execute the SEO program end to end: Strategy & research Own the 12-month SEO roadmap and keyword strategy for the niche cluster (national + local + long-tail). Full keyword research using premium tools (real search volume, difficulty, intent, prioritisation). Competitor and SERP analysis; identify and exploit content/freshness gaps. Technical SEO Site architecture optimisation, including a careful pillar-page restructure/migration (an existing page must be repositioned without losing equity). Core Web Vitals / page-speed improvement to the practical limit of the current platform. Schema markup expansion across page types; internal-linking architecture and automation. Crawl/index hygiene, sitemap management, ongoing technical audits. On-page & content On-page optimisation of existing and new pages (titles, metas, headings, structure). A 12-month content plan with detailed briefs (titles, structure, target/secondary keywords, internal links, CTAs). Content production is collaborative: you can draft SEO-structured content, but it passes our expert review for domain accuracy. (We are open to you writing it, us writing it, or a hybrid — propose what you'd recommend.) Topical-authority / cluster build-out. Local SEO Google Business Profile management (posts, services, photos, Q&A). NAP/citation consistency and cleanup across Indian directories; local landing pages for target cities. Support our review-acquisition process. Authority & off-page White-hat link building and digital PR (finance / MSME / business media, relevant directories, editorial outreach). Brand/entity consistency across the web. AI search Optimise for AI Overviews and citation/recommendation in AI search (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini). Conversion Improve landing pages, forms, and lead funnels (including WhatsApp/call) to maximise qualified enquiries. Reporting Monthly reporting against agreed KPIs: rankings (priority keyword set), organic traffic, local visibility, links acquired, content shipped, and — most importantly — enquiries/qualified leads from organic. Must-have experience Proven SEO results in a competitive or YMYL niche (finance, legal, health, or B2B) — share case studies with before/after rankings or traffic. Indian-market SEO experience (Indian SERPs, local SEO, Indian directories) — strongly preferred. Strong technical SEO — WordPress, schema, Core Web Vitals, site migrations/restructures. Strictly white-hat. This is a finance/YMYL site; a Google penalty would be serious. No PBNs, paid link schemes, or grey-hat tactics — state your stance clearly. Premium SEO tools of your own (Ahrefs, SEMrush, or equivalent) — name what you use. Excellent written English and disciplined, transparent monthly reporting. Nice to have Familiarity with Indian MSME / business-finance topics. Digital-PR relationships with Indian business/finance publications. Experience getting sites cited/recommended in AI search results. Engagement 12-month retainer, monthly deliverables and reporting, starting as soon as we find the right person. Budget: [set your monthly budget / range here]. Time commitment: [e.g. ~X hours/week, or deliverable-based — set per your preference]. Long-term relationship for the right candidate — we want one partner for the full program, not a rotating cast. How to apply (please follow this — it tells us you read the brief) Start your proposal with the word "CGTMSE" so we know this isn't a copy-paste application. Share 2–3 relevant case studies — ideally finance/YMYL/B2B and/or Indian-market — with concrete before/after results (rankings, traffic, or leads). In 3–4 sentences, outline how you'd approach a niche, low-volume, high-value B2B finance keyword set (we want to see strategic thinking, not a generic checklist). List the SEO tools you'll use. Tell us your availability and whether you work solo or as a small team. We'll share our website URL and a deeper brief with shortlisted applicants. Generic, templated proposals will not be considered. We're looking for a specialist who gets that depth and qualified leads beat vanity metrics.