Freelance Search Marketing Lead

Freelance Search Marketing Lead (SEO, AEO & Paid Search)

Remote, UK | Freelance / Contract - 1-2 days per week initially

Harbour24 is a small digital agency working across digital strategy, content, UX, design and web.

We’re growing the search marketing side of our business and are looking for an experienced freelance Search Marketing Lead to own SEO, AEO and paid search.

You’ll work as part of the Harbour24 team and collaborate with content, UX, design and development specialists. This is initially focused on one client, with the opportunity to work across additional Harbour24 accounts as our retained marketing offering grows. We’re particularly interested in people who are both strategic and hands-on - someone who can build the search strategy, explain it clearly to a client, and then personally execute and optimise the work.

The client

An established premium medical clinic looking to evolve from a strong local clinic into a destination for expertise, technology and experience. The focus is on clinical authority, practitioner expertise, considered treatment planning and a premium client experience. We’re looking for someone who can translate that positioning into an intelligent search acquisition strategy.

The structure

The engagement will begin with a focused strategy and setup phase across approximately two weeks, followed by approax 1-2 days per week ongoing.

What you’ll own as part of the focused strategy phase:

- Full keyword and search-intent strategy

- Organic and paid search opportunity analysis

- Technical SEO audit with prioritised recommendations

- Local SEO audit, including Google Business Profile, directories and NAP consistency

- Google Ads account audit/setup and campaign builds

- Search competitor analysis

- AEO audit covering FAQ/content gaps, structured data and AI-search readiness

- Review of GA4, Search Console, conversion tracking and Google Ads measurement

- Recommendations for concern-led, treatment-led, comparison and practitioner-led search journeys

- Initial roadmap for ongoing SEO, AEO and paid-search activity

We are close to launching a new website for the clinic on a headless CMS. We need someone who can turn that into an effective search architecture rather than simply producing a generic SEO audit.

Ongoing responsibilities

Approximately 1-2 days per week you’ll own:

- SEO/AEO monitoring and ongoing optimisation

- On-page SEO/AEO recommendations

- Keyword and content opportunity research

- Search-led briefs for a regular editorial/blog programme

- AEO and structured-data recommendations

- Google Ads campaign management and optimisation

- Search-term, bidding, budget and conversion-performance analysis

- Local SEO monitoring

- Landing-page and conversion recommendations

- Monthly performance reporting with clear actions and next steps

- Regular calls with Harbour24 and the client

- Collaboration with our content, UX, design and development team

The client already has a strong content programme and practitioner-led strategy, so we’re particularly interested in someone who can connect search demand, content opportunities and paid acquisition. They also have someone focused on Social Content and Paid Social who you will be collaborating with.

What success looks like

- qualified consultations

- consultation-to-treatment conversion

- growth in higher-value treatments

- geographic expansion / becoming a destination clinic

- reduced reliance on offer-led marketing

You should be comfortable connecting search performance to commercial outcomes.

What we’re looking for

- A strong track record across both technical and content SEO

- Deep hands-on Google Ads experience with measurable commercial results

- Experience developing keyword and search-intent strategies

- Strong knowledge of GA4, Google Search Console and Google Ads

- Experience with conversion tracking, attribution and performance reporting

- Strong understanding of local SEO

- Genuine AEO experience, or a strong current understanding of optimisation for AI-led discovery including ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI search

- Strong client-facing communication

- Experience working within a small agency or multi-client environment

- The ability to work independently while collaborating closely with content, UX, design and development teams

Ideally you'll have:

• Experience in Healthcare/Medical/Surgical or Aesthetics industry
• Experience in a regulated sector
• Strong understanding of ASA/CAP requirements around healthcare and medical advertising and be comfortable working within the restrictions around treatment claims, prescription medicines and promotional messaging

Bonus points

Particularly useful experience would include:

- Next.js or headless websites from an SEO perspective

- regional/local search expansion

- high-consideration consumer services

- luxury or premium brands

- structured data and schema

- HubSpot or CRM attribution

- multi-location or location-led SEO

The opportunity

We're a small and friendly senior team who value outcomes over hours. Flexibility and work/life balance is important to us so we consider this as much as we can around client needs. This is initially a freelance engagement focused on one client, but we’re actively building search marketing into Harbour24’s wider service offering.

For the right person, there is scope to become our long-term Search Marketing Lead, working across a growing portfolio of clients as the agency develops.

Location: Fully remote, UK

Engagement: Freelance / contract

Rate: Negotiable

Start: As soon as possible