Search Engine Optimization Specialist

About the role

ApplyAZ is an international university admissions consultancy helping students around the world gain access to top European universities — many with heavily subsidised or zero-tuition pathways through government grants. We operate across multiple continents and are growing our digital presence aggressively.

We are looking for one exceptional individual to own our entire digital growth engine: technical SEO, content, backlink outreach, YouTube, email, and eventually paid ads. This is a high-ownership, no-handholding role. You will be handed a detailed 90-day operating plan and will be expected to execute it with precision and report weekly.

If you have done every part of this yourself — not managed an agency, not briefed a team — this is built for you.

What you will own

• Full technical SEO setup: GSC, GA4, Bing Webmaster, Ahrefs, Core Web Vitals, schema markup (FAQPage, HowTo, Course, Article, Person)
• Content strategy and execution: research, write, and publish 4–5 SEO-optimised blog posts per week (2,000–3,000 words each), independently
• Backlink acquisition: directory submissions, guest post outreach, digital PR, and institutional partner link requests
• YouTube: script, record, edit, and upload videos targeting prospective international students
• Email marketing: build and manage a newsletter list, send weekly campaigns via Mailchimp or ConvertKit
• AI visibility: monitor and optimise citations on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview, and Gemini
• Google Ads: set up and manage campaigns from Day 60 onward (branded + high-intent keywords)
• Weekly metrics reporting to the founder with clear, honest numbers — no vanity metrics

You are the right person if

• You have personally executed technical SEO from scratch — GSC, sitemap, schema, robots.txt, Core Web Vitals — not just managed someone who did
• You can write a 2,500-word SEO article that ranks, not just reads well — and you can do it without a ghostwriter
• You know what an answer capsule is, why FAQPage schema matters for AI visibility, and what GPTBot being blocked in robots.txt actually costs a site
• You have built backlinks through genuine outreach — not bought them
• You can manage your own calendar, hit weekly deliverables, and flag blockers early — without being chased
• You are genuinely curious about the international education or study-abroad space

Nice to have

• Experience with Webflow CMS
• Familiarity with the international study-abroad or student recruitment market
• Basic video editing skills (CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, or similar)
• Prior experience managing Google Ads or Meta Ads campaigns
• Understanding of AI SEO and LLM citation optimisation