SEO strategy consultant needed to validate 12-month organic growth roadmap

Project Overview ExactCare currently purchases leads (co-registration, Medicare broker cross-sell) and would like to complement this with an owned, compounding organic search channel. Before we commit budget and hire an in-house SEO & Content Lead, we need an experienced strategist to validate the roadmap and lay the operational groundwork. This is a 4-6 week engagement, with a clear end point once deliverables are complete. Deliverables -Technical SEO audit: site speed, mobile experience, indexing, broken links, duplicate content, Core Web Vitals, schema, and sitemap review. -Tracking setup guidance: recommend and help configure GA4 (enrollments, assessment requests, forms, calls, chat) plus Search Console and call tracking, kept separate from existing co-registration/broker tracking. -Baseline KPI report: organic sessions, keyword rankings, form submissions, calls, cost per lead, and enrollment rate. -Keyword strategy validation: sanity-check proposed keyword clusters (medication management, home delivery pharmacy, caregiver solutions, chronic conditions, Medicare-related, referral-partner intent) against real search data. -Roadmap review: assess feasibility of a proposed 7-phase, 12-month plan (foundation → keyword strategy → site architecture → content → local SEO → link building → AI-search optimization) and flag risks or adjustments. -Compliance workflow input: help define how Medicare-related content will move through a separate CMS/compliance review gate before publishing (we handle legal/clinical sign-off, we need your input on how the workflow should be structured operationally). Final output: a validated roadmap and a go/no-go recommendation we can bring to leadership. Skills Required -Marketing Strategy -SEO Audit -SEO Keyword Research -Google Analytics -Search Engine Optimization Experience in a regulated industry (healthcare, pharma, or similarly compliance-heavy) is strongly preferred, you should be comfortable working within E-E-A-T/YMYL considerations and structured compliance review processes. Communication Expectations -A weekly check-in call (30 min) to review progress and surface open questions early rather than at the end. -Async updates via Upwork messages or email between calls, we're responsive and expect the same. -Deliverables shared as documents we can review and comment on, not just a verbal readout - we need something leadership can read independently. -Please flag blockers or scope questions as soon as you spot them rather than waiting for the check-in. This is a short engagement and we'd rather course-correct in week 2 than week 5. How We Work -Small, lean internal team. -We value clear, direct recommendations over exhaustive options, tell us what you'd do and why, not just a menu of possibilities. -Compliance considerations are required -This is a validation and planning role, not execution. You're setting the foundation an in-house SEO & Content Lead will build on, not writing content or running campaigns yourself.