Technical SEO Specialist | iGaming | Remote | J580

We are an acquisition agency operating across multiple GEOs in iGaming. We place and rank editorial content on licensed, high-authority publisher domains across multiple markets. This is a hands-on technical SEO role: take an article placed on a publisher's domain and make it rank. You will execute on-page and off-page optimization, backlink strategy and link building, silo placement, internal link routing, anchor velocity, freshness cadence and SERP diagnostics. This is not a content seat; writers produce the articles. You must understand how authority flows into pages you do not control, how to read and improve backlink profiles, how rankings are built in layers and maintained under competitive pressure, and how Google updates affect publisher-hosted content.

TOP PRIORITY | CLIENT PERFORMANCE TARGETS:

For a newly published “best online ...” iGaming toplist, the client's early target is 10+ distinct keywords
reaching Google first-page positions 3-5 within the first few days.
Longer term, the target is to sustain positions 1-3 while expanding the page's ranking footprint to 20-40+ relevant keywords. Positions 3-5 mean positions on page one, not pages 3-5.
These are desired performance targets and evidence to discuss, not guaranteed outcomes. Rankings vary with competition and Google's systems.

THE ROLE IN PRACTICE

You personally execute the on-page and off-page work, including backlink profile analysis, link strategy and backlink building. The role is for an operator who can build, broaden, and defend multiple rankings over time, not someone who only supervises SEO or writes content.

• Own the pre-publish technical sign-off. Check every article before it goes live: meta title, slug, schema, image file naming, alt text, H1/H2 structure, canonical, robots, and index confirmation.
• Lead the new-toplist ranking campaign. For priority “best online ...” iGaming toplists, combine diversified keyword targeting, on-page execution, internal-link routing and executed backlink activity to pursue 10+ distinct keywords at positions 3-5 on Google's first page within the first few days, then sustain positions 1-3 and expand to 20-40+ relevant keywords over time. These are client targets, not guaranteed results.
• Diagnose live articles that are indexed but underperforming. Make a documented drop, fix or accelerate recommendation, then execute it.
• Map publisher-host silos by subfolder. Identify which placements receive internal link equity and which are orphaned. Build topical hub structures that legitimately move authority between articles on the same host.
• Analyze backlink profiles and decide what action is needed. Assess anchor distribution, referring-domain quality, toxic links, and Tier 1 signal versus noise. Distinguish link-volume noise from meaningful equity and build toward
what the profile needs.
• Set and execute backlink reinforcement within campaign structures. Decide where link activity should point and explain the rationale; this is a specific kickoff question.
• Plan and manage anchor schedules as timelines. Map a day-by-day sequence across campaign phases, rather than a static ratio, and be ready to walk through it in conversation.
• Plan internal-link schedules across week 0, 7, 30 and 90. Use staged activity rather than one-shot insertions.
• Pair link activity with content-freshness triggers. Know when and how to push links alongside a content update to compound the ranking signal. This is a standing operational requirement.

• Build and execute event-driven campaign windows. Plan around NHL playoffs, NFL season, the World Cup, the Super Bowl and major scheduled events relevant to the active market. Sports betting and casino rankings are not purely evergreen.
• Run live SERP audits per market. Track competitors, identify DR top-10 inflation, and surface keyword-difficulty mismatches before committing to a target.
• Conduct keyword and SERP analysis for every campaign. Translate findings into diversified keyword targets and clear article briefs that writers and editors can execute without interpretation.
• Read raw view-source on publisher WordPress installs you cannot edit directly. Spot canonical drift, robots contradictions, schema bugs and stale plugin overrides.
• Monitor ranking positions weekly per article and per GEO. Flag drops of 5+ positions within 24 hours.
• Maintain basic awareness of AI Overview and AI citation signals. Understand structured data, entity optimization and People Also Ask targeting. You do not need to be an LLMO specialist, but should know how FAQ schema and topical depth affect dual SERP presence.
• Join weekly campaign reviews with the CEO. Translate diagnostics into clear actions for the following week.
• Document everything. Tracker discipline is the standing rule.

• Exceptional, demonstrable hands-on on-page and off-page SEO execution, including backlink profile analysis, link strategy and backlink building. You personally carry out the work. Oversight, supervision or content writing alone is not enough.
• Evidence of growing and defending diversified keyword footprints. Be ready to show comparable work toward 10+ distinct keywords reaching positions 3-5 on page one within the first few days, followed by sustained positions 1-3 and expansion to 20-40+ relevant keywords. These are desired targets for evidence and discussion, not guaranteed outcomes.
• Technical SEO execution on hosts you did not own. Publisher-hosted editorial, affiliate placements,
sponsored-content partnerships or licensed-content programmes count. In-house brand SEO on your own domain does not.
• iGaming, sports betting, gambling affiliate or comparable high-competition vertical experience. Forex, crypto or finance affiliate experience can be comparable. You know what KD 70+ looks like, have ranked within it, and can do it again.
• Backlink-profile judgment. Read a profile and make a drop, fix or boost call. Identify toxic links, analyze anchor distribution and score referring-domain quality. Know the difference between link-volume noise and real equity.
• Anchor-schedule fluency as a timeline, not a ratio. Be able to give a day-by-day sequence for a 30-day campaign window in conversation. A percentage breakdown is not an anchor schedule.
• Understanding of how freshness and link activity interact. Explain what may happen to a ranking when a page is updated but no external signal follows, and what action you would take.
• Experience with multi-article campaigns on one publisher host. Identify equity flow between articles, manage topical-cluster coherence and avoid cannibalization.
• Comfort with publisher CMS quirks. WordPress primarily, plus Yoast, RankMath and cache plugins that conflict with them.
• Knowledge of recent Google updates and publisher-hosted content. Name at least three updates from the last 24 months and explain what they specifically did to content on publisher domains, not brand sites.
• Multi-market and multi-language awareness. Campaigns run across EN, FR, PT, IT and ES markets, in licensed and offshore regulatory contexts. On-page compliance requirements differ by GEO, and you understand why.
• Tracker discipline and discretion. If it is not logged, it did not happen. You will handle confidential publisher relationships and proprietary methodology under a signed NDA from day one.

What disqualifies you

Do not apply if any of the following are true:
• Your experience is limited to SEO-informed content, working alongside SEO specialists or supporting an SEO team. The role requires the person who executes the work.
• You list Ahrefs, SEMrush and GSC without a ranked article or domain you can point to on a host you did not own. You must be able to show what you ranked and what you did.
• You have only worked in-house on a single brand or SaaS site. Publisher-hosted content works differently, and this role requires direct experience with it.
• Your strongest credentials are content-marketing certifications.
• You can describe anchor distribution as a ratio but not as a sequence.
• You are uncomfortable with iGaming. The work involves gambling and sports-betting brands.

What this role does not do
• Does not write articles. Writers handle the content.
• Does not negotiate commercial terms with brands. That is a separate role.
• Does not own publisher relationships. Operations owns those relationships; you are part of the conversation.
• Does not post publicly about the employer, publishers, methods or clients. Ever.

A HANDS-ON TECHNICAL SEAT
This role is accountable for analysis and execution across technical on-page work, backlink building, keyword expansion and ranking maintenance. It is not a writing, account-management or SEO-supervision position.