Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Salt; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 335,000 - 446,000; Full time

Job summary

Salt in Johannesburg is seeking an ambitious SEO & GEO Specialist to lead organic growth across a global portfolio. You will balance traditional SEO with Generative Engine Optimisation, and leverage AI workflows to scale impact.

Reporting to the Head of Digital Product, you will own strategy, optimize site signals, automate workflows with Python/JS, and collaborate with content, UX, and engineering to embed SEO/GEO into briefs and builds.

Qualifications

• 3+ years leading SEO for a large website or portfolio with measurable results.
• Deep GEO/LLM search expertise and understanding of AI answer engines.
• Strong technical SEO foundations: crawl, index, site structure, schema.

Responsibilities

• Strategy & Portfolio Ownership: Own organic performance across a diverse portfolio.
• GEO Strategy & AI Engine Optimization: Develop end-to-end GEO and AI visibility.
• AI Visibility & Tracking: Monitor AI surfaces and build measurement processes.
• Technical SEO Excellence: Lead site architecture, crawl, indexation, Core Web Vitals.
• Keyword, Topic & Prompt Research: Research traditional and prompt-based queries.
• Workflow Automation & Tooling: Build automation with scripts and APIs.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with content, UX, and engineering.
• Testing & Agency Management: Experiment, share learnings, manage external vendors.

Skills

Strategy ownership

GEO strategy

AI visibility

Technical SEO

Content SEO

Automation scripting

Cross-functional collab

Agency management

Keyword research

Prompt research

Tools

Google Search Console

GA4

Screaming Frog

Ahrefs

Semrush

Sistrix

BigQuery

Job description

Salary: R 30 000 - R 40 000 CTC per month (depending on experience)

Location: Johannesburg (onsite)

Why it’s a great opportunity: Step into the future of search and lead organic growth at the intersection of traditional SEO and cutting‑edge Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)! Drive strategy across a premier international portfolio, leverage AI automation to scale your impact, and shape how top‑tier educational offerings are surfaced across traditional search engines and next‑generation AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.

Overview:

We are seeking an ambitious, forward‑thinking SEO & GEO Specialist to lead organic growth across an extensive international portfolio of digital properties. Search is undergoing its biggest transformation in two decades. Traditional search engine optimisation now sits alongside Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), ensuring digital content is surfaced, cited, and recommended by LLM‑powered answer engines including ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews.

In this strategic yet hands‑on role, you will own both sides of the organic search equation. Reporting to the Head of Digital Product, you will drive classic technical and content SEO performance while building out a best‑in‑class GEO strategy from the ground up. We are looking for someone who leans heavily on automation, scripts, and AI workflows to eliminate manual effort and move faster than the competition. If you are deeply curious about the future of search, comfortable experimenting where best practice is still being defined, and eager to make a high‑visibility impact across a global brand portfolio, this is your platform to excel.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Strategy & Portfolio Ownership: Own organic performance across a diverse portfolio of websites, setting the strategy for both traditional SEO and GEO while reporting measurable business impact.
• GEO Strategy & AI Engine Optimization: Develop and execute an end-to- GEO strategy. Optimise site structure, content, and signals to ensure our properties are discovered, cited, and recommended by LLMs and AI answer engines.
• AI Visibility & Tracking: Monitor brand presence across emerging AI search surfaces (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Overviews, etc.) and build processes to track, measure, and improve organic AI visibility.
• Technical SEO Excellence: Lead technical SEO across the portfolio, managing site architecture, crawlability, indexation, Core Web Vitals, and structured data with a focus on schema/markup that helps LLMs parse content accurately.
• Keyword, Topic & Prompt Research: Conduct deep research covering both traditional search queries and the conversational, question‑led prompts typical of LLM interactions.
• Workflow Automation & Tooling: Build automation into every stage of the workflow (dashboards, rank/citation tracking, audits, internal linking, and metadata generation). Use scripts (Python, JS), APIs, and AI tooling to remove manual work and scale operations.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Partner directly with content, UX, and engineering teams to ensure SEO and GEO considerations are integrated into briefs, designs, and technical builds from day one.
• Testing & Agency Management: Stay ahead of search evolution through active experimentation. Test new tactics, share learnings, and manage external relationships with agencies, freelancers, and tool providers.

Requirements:

• Proven Organic Growth Track Record: 3+ experience leading SEO for a large website or portfolio of websites with demonstrable, measurable organic performance results.
• GEO & LLM Search Expertise: A deep understanding of Generative Engine Optimisation and LLM‑driven search, including how AI answer engines surface content, what drives citations, and how to track visibility.
• Strong Technical SEO Foundations: Solid expertise in crawling, indexation, site architecture, structured data, page speed performance, and log file analysis.
• Fluency with the Modern SEO Stack: Proficiency in Google Search Console, GA4, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs/Semrush/Sistrix, BigQuery (or equivalent), and familiarity with emerging GEO tracking tools.

Please note: Due to the high volume of applications, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. If you do not hear from us within two weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful at this time. We thank you for your interest in the role and wish you the best in your career search.