Web Optimization and Support Analyst

Scheduled hours per week: 40

Scheduled months per year: 12

Remote work eligibility: Hybrid

Hiring range: $68,700 to $85,900

Position purpose

Serves as Geisel’s specialist in search engine optimization (SEO) and generative/AI engine optimization (GEO), and as the primary point of hands-on WordPress support and training for departments and end users across the Geisel web.

Working under the direction of the Web Architect, audits and measures the discoverability and performance of the Geisel web (approximately 20,000 pages and 15,000 associated documents across a hybrid Apache/WordPress multisite/MariaDB environment), develops a prioritized, phased plan for improving search and AI visibility across subsites, and implements or oversees implementation of the resulting page-structure, content, metadata, and markup changes.

Continues Geisel’s WordPress training and page-building support for departments without dedicated web staff, balancing reactive, ticket-driven support work with proactive, planned optimization work, and reports progress to the Web Architect and Director of Communications.

Key accountabilities

Search & AI Visibility Strategy

• Conducts ongoing technical and content audits of the Geisel web using SEO/GEO tools (e.g., Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Screaming Frog, and a paid rank-tracking/competitive tool) to identify visibility gaps.
• Develops, in consultation with Geisel Communications, and maintains a prioritized roadmap of subsites/programs to address, based on criteria such as competitive pressure, current visibility gap, application/inquiry volume relative to capacity, and availability of departmental web staff.
• Stays current on evolving GEO practice (structured data, content designed for extraction/citation by AI answer engines, E-E-A-T signals) and adapts the roadmap as the discipline matures.

Technical Implementation

• Implements approved page-structure changes: URL/redirect strategy, canonicalization, internal linking, heading structure, and page templates — working within the constraints of the files-first Apache/WordPress routing model.
• Implements structured data/schema markup and other technical GEO elements on priority pages.
• Diagnoses and resolves technical SEO issues (broken links, duplicate content, crawl/indexing problems, page speed) in coordination with the Web Architect for anything touching server configuration.

Department & Content Collaboration

• Works directly with department stakeholders on priority subsites to plan and execute content and structural redesigns, including for departments without their own web staff.
• Advises content owners on writing and structuring content for both traditional search and AI-generated answers.

WordPress Support & Training

• Provides day-to-day WordPress support to end users: troubleshooting, page building assistance, and guidance on the multisite environment.
• Develops and delivers training (documentation, mini-courses, office hours) for faculty, staff, and department editors on WordPress and content best practices.
• Builds out pages and simple sites on behalf of departments that lack the staff capacity to do so themselves.

Measurement & Reporting

• Tracks and reports on organic search performance, AI-visibility indicators, and the impact of completed optimization projects.
• Provides regular updates to the Web Architect and Director of Communications on roadmap progress and results.

Collaboration

• Works closely with the Web Architect on any change that touches site architecture, server configuration, or the applications layer (faculty profiles, recruitment system, forms).

• Works closely with Geisel Communications and Marketing staff to align optimization priorities with broader marketing goals and consistent presentation of content.

• Coordinates with Dartmouth’s central Web Strategy, Design, and Infrastructure department as needed.

Professional Development

• Maintains current knowledge of SEO, GEO, and WordPress developments and shares relevant findings with the team.

Required qualifications: education and experience

Bachelors or equivalent combination of education and experience

Required qualifications: skills, knowledge and abilities

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (marketing, communications, computer science, information science) or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• 2–4 years of experience in SEO, digital marketing analytics, or web development with meaningful SEO/optimization responsibility.

• Working knowledge of technical SEO fundamentals: site architecture, redirects/canonicalization, structured data/schema, crawlability, and page performance.

• Hands-on experience with standard SEO/analytics tooling (e.g., Google Search Console, Google Analytics, a site-crawling tool such as Screaming Frog, a rank-tracking/competitive-analysis tool).

• Working knowledge of WordPress administration, including theme/template structure and multisite environments, sufficient to make and support page-structure changes.

• Basic literacy in HTML/CSS; enough familiarity with PHP and Apache configuration (e.g., .htaccess, redirects) to work safely in a files-first hybrid environment without breaking existing static content.

• Strong consultative and training skills; ability to work effectively with non-technical department staff and translate technical recommendations into plain language.

• Solid project management skills; ability to plan and execute a phased, prioritized program of work across many stakeholders.

• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce documentation and training materials.

Preferred qualifications

• Direct experience with generative/AI engine optimization (GEO) concepts and practice.

• Experience in a higher education or other large decentralized organization, where content ownership is distributed across many departments.

• Familiarity with MariaDB/MySQL-backed applications and multisite WordPress at scale (tens of thousands of pages).

• Experience with structured data/schema.org markup implementation.