Senior SEO Specialist

We're Hiring a Senior SEO Specialist! 📊

We don't just run marketing. We scale restaurant brands.

Hook + Ladder is a fast-growing fractional marketing agency that helps multi-location restaurant brands, think QSRs with 100–500 locations, fast casual concepts, and regional chains, grow revenue, drive foot traffic, and win local markets. We operate as a true extension of their marketing teams.

We're looking for a Senior SEO Specialist who knows how to turn Local SEO into measurable business growth. Someone who can own SEO strategy and execution for multi-location restaurant brands across Canada and the US, identify opportunities at the individual location level, and turn data into clear, actionable recommendations. You'll own the SEO work for your accounts end to end, from research and prioritization to implementation briefs and quality assurance. You'll work closely with Client Success, Web, Content, and Paid Media in an Agile environment, helping brands become more visible, competitive, and discoverable wherever customers are searching.

Okay, but why Hook + Ladder? 👀

🏡 Remote-first, flexible, and built on trust. We care about outcomes, not clock-ins. You'll have the autonomy to own your work without micromanagement, while being supported by a collaborative team that has your back.

🚀 Your work creates real impact. Your ideas won't sit in a deck collecting dust. You'll help drive measurable growth for exciting multi-location brands, and your contributions will directly influence client success.

🌱 Built to grow. As the agency scales, so can your career. We invest in your development through coaching, strengths-based growth, continuous feedback, and opportunities to become one of our future leaders.

🤝 A team that genuinely collaborates. You'll partner closely with Client Success, Content, Design, SEO, and Leadership in a fast-moving environment where initiative is valued, ideas are shared, and wins are celebrated together.

💰 Great work deserves great rewards. Enjoy a remote-first culture, flexible PTO, unlimited sick days, and a profit-sharing program. Because when we win, everyone wins!

✨ Who you are & the impact you'll make

• Own Local SEO Strategy – Lead the SEO roadmap for your multi-location accounts, using location-level rankings, Google Business Profile data, and competitor insights to prioritize the work that will have the greatest impact on client KPIs.
• Build Stronger Local Search Foundations – Optimize website architecture, location pages, on-page content, internal linking, and technical SEO to help every restaurant location compete in its market. Write clear recommendations and implementation briefs, then QA changes once they're live.
• Drive Local Visibility Across Platforms – Own Google Business Profile strategy across multiple locations, from categories and descriptions to posts, reviews, Q&A, and listings consistency across platforms like Apple Maps and Bing.
• Turn SEO Data Into Business Results – Monitor performance through GA4, Google Search Console, and GBP tracking. Translate metrics into clear insights for the CSM and client, connecting SEO improvements to visibility, customer actions, and website conversions.
• Collaborate, Optimize & Keep Moving Forward – Work within Agile sprints alongside Web, Content, Paid Media, and Client Success. Manage SEO vendors when needed and help improve the SOPs, tools, and AI-powered workflows that make our SEO processes smarter and more efficient.

This job is for you if:

🔎 You have 5+ years of SEO experience, owning both strategy and hands-on execution for client accounts.

📍 You have strong, hands-on Local SEO experience, including location pages, Google Business Profiles at scale, local listings, and citations.

🛠️ You're confident with technical and on-page SEO, including audits, crawling, indexation, schema markup, internal linking, and website performance.

📊 You use GA4, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Screaming Frog regularly to research opportunities, monitor performance, and make data-driven decisions.

💻 You're comfortable working in WordPress, reviewing website updates, identifying SEO issues, and QAing changes before and after launch.

💡 You understand that SEO is about more than rankings. You can connect recommendations to business outcomes, explain their value to CSMs and clients, and prioritize work based on its potential impact on conversions.

🤖 You're comfortable using AI tools and automation in your day-to-day workflow, especially for keyword research, analysis, and reporting.

🚀 You're proactive, organized, and comfortable owning your work without close supervision. You know how to move projects forward, manage priorities, and take feedback as an opportunity to improve.

Bonus Points For:

• Experience working with multi-location, franchise, restaurant, hospitality, or retail brands.
• Familiarity with listing management platforms like Chatmeter, Birdeye, or similar tools.
• Experience implementing local schema markup, including LocalBusiness, Restaurant, and Menu schema.
• Experience building SEO reports and dashboards in Looker Studio.
• Previous experience working in Agile or Scrum environments.
• Experience managing SEO vendors, freelancers, or external partners.
• Knowledge of both Canadian and US local search markets.

Do NOT Apply If:

• You're looking for a checklist to follow and someone to hand you the next task. This role requires ownership, independent thinking, and the ability to set priorities.
• You see SEO as rankings only and don't care what happens after the click. We care about visibility, customer actions, and business results.
• You avoid learning new tools, processes, or AI-assisted workflows.
• You get defensive with feedback or prefer working completely independently without collaboration.
• You're looking for a slow, corporate pace. We move quickly, work collaboratively, and adapt as our clients and agency grow.

Show us what you got. Tell us how you think. Let's see if we're a fit.

Apply now – we'd love to meet you!