Senior SEO / GEO Specialist - Dental Practice Website (Technical Audit + Long-Term Retainer)

Overview We are a dental practice seeking a senior-level SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) specialist to take technical ownership of our website's search performance - not a generalist who can check boxes on a standard SEO checklist, but someone who can diagnose root causes, prioritize by actual impact, and explain the reasoning behind every recommendation. Our site already has strong content and a completed internal audit (~85% SEO health score). We're not looking for someone to redo that audit - we're looking for someone who can read it, know exactly what it means, and execute a fix plan with the judgment to know what matters most first. If the initial engagement demonstrates that level of judgment, this becomes an ongoing monthly retainer covering technical maintenance, GEO evolution, and performance reporting. Why This Role Requires Genuine Expertise Dental and healthcare websites sit in a demanding category for both traditional and AI search. Content standards, and signals matter more than in most industries, and the margin for technical error is smaller. A generic SEO approach that works for an e-commerce or SaaS site often does not translate cleanly to a practice built on trust, credentials, and local patient relationships. We need someone who understands that distinction natively, not someone who will apply a one-size-fits-all playbook. Scope of Work 1. Technical SEO - Diagnosis and Execution * Full technical audit interpretation and root-cause analysis (not just symptom-fixing) starting from our existing ~85% health score * Crawl and indexing issue resolution * Duplicate content and canonicalization strategy * XML sitemap architecture and robots.txt review * Title tag, meta description, and heading structure optimization at scale * Internal linking architecture - not just "add more links," but a deliberate topical structure that reinforces authority around our core service areas * URL structure recommendations where warranted 2. Core Web Vitals & Performance Engineering * Image compression, WebP conversion, and lazy-load implementation * Reduction of unused JavaScript/CSS (render-blocking resource analysis, not just a plugin toggle) * Caching strategy * Measurable before/after PageSpeed Insights improvement, desktop and mobile, with real numbers attached - not a vague "site should feel faster" 3. Local SEO - Built for a Regulated, Trust-Driven Category * Google Business Profile optimization specific to dental/medical categorization requirements * Service and location page architecture * Local schema markup (Dentist, LocalBusiness) implemented correctly, not just present * Strict NAP consistency audit across all citations * Geo-targeting calibrated to our actual patient service radius 4. GEO - Generative Engine Optimization 
This is where we want genuine, demonstrable expertise, not general familiarity: * Structured data implementation across Dentist/LocalBusiness, FAQ, Service, Review, Organization, Breadcrumb, and Article schema, built to be machine-parseable by AI answer engines, not just search-engine-compliant * Content and page structure optimized to be citation-worthy for AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity - understanding what makes content get selected as a direct-answer source, not guessed at * A clear point of view on how GEO and traditional technical SEO reinforce each other, since we're skeptical of anyone treating GEO as a disconnected add-on service Deliverables * Full issue inventory, cross-referenced against our existing audit * Prioritized action plan, sequenced by actual impact - not alphabetical or checklist order * Documented log of every change implemented, with reasoning * Before/after performance metrics (health score, PageSpeed, indexing status, structured data validation) * A forward-looking recommendations document for the potential ongoing retainer What We're Looking For * Demonstrated, specific experience with technical SEO at a senior level - not entry-to-mid-level task execution * Real experience with GEO/AI search optimization, with a clear explanation of your methodology, not just tool familiarity * Local SEO experience, ideally in a regulated or trust-sensitive category (dental, medical, legal, financial) * Fluency with Screaming Frog, PageSpeed Insights, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs or SEMrush * The ability to explain technical decisions in plain language a non-technical practice owner can act on References Please share 5-8 references or examples of previous work that demonstrate senior-level competence. For each one, include: * The website or client (link if shareable) * What the project involved (technical SEO, GEO, local SEO, speed optimization, etc.) * Measurable results (health score improvement, PageSpeed gains, ranking or traffic changes, structured data implementation outcomes) Generic portfolio links without measurable outcomes will not be considered competitive for this role. We're evaluating a track record, not a list of tools you've used. Screening Question In your proposal, please answer: Based on a starting SEO health score of ~85% on a dental practice website, what are the three most likely issues you'd expect to find, and how would you prioritize fixing them? We're looking for specific technical reasoning, not a generic answer that could apply to any website. Budget & Timeline * Budget: $6,000 fixed-price for the initial technical audit, speed optimization, local SEO, and GEO implementation * Timeline: Please propose a realistic timeline based on the scope above — we'd rather see an honest estimate than an artificially fast one * Long-term: Strong performance on this initial project leads to an ongoing monthly retainer covering technical maintenance, audits, performance monitoring, analytics reporting, and continued GEO evolution Who Should Apply Individual freelancers only - no agencies, no subcontracted teams. We want to build a direct, long-term working relationship with the person actually doing the work, not a rotating account contact.