SEO Specialist (Newsroom SEO) – 6-Month Contract

We are strengthening TheNews21’s digital backbone. We’re looking for a serious Newsroom SEO professional who understands Google News, Discover, and investigative journalism — not generic SEO or marketing. Please read carefully before applying. About TheNews21 TheNews21 is an independent investigative and analytical newsroom based in Maharashtra, focusing on governance, politics, infrastructure, and public-interest journalism. As we expand our investigations and publishing scale, we are strengthening our search and discovery backbone through a dedicated SEO transformation roadmap. This role is strictly for newsroom SEO professionals, not generic digital marketers. Key Responsibilities 1. Technical SEO (News Website Focus) • Conduct full SEO & indexing audit (GSC, sitemaps, crawl errors) • Fix indexing issues and Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP) • Optimise robots.txt, canonicals, redirects, and URL structure • Implement structured data: NewsArticle, Author, Breadcrumb, Organization • Improve mobile performance and page speed • Build and clean category architecture • Create pillar pages for investigative series 2. Content & Editorial SEO • Optimise headlines, meta descriptions, tags, and internal linking • Guide newsroom on SEO-friendly editorial workflows • Image optimisation (alt-text, compression, WebP) • Build content clusters around investigations and explainers • Improve Google Discover visibility for long-form stories 3. Google News SEO • Prepare and manage Google News Publisher Center • Fix feed and policy issues • Ensure structured data compliance for news content • Improve visibility in Top Stories and News surfaces 4. Authority & Trust Building • Ethical backlink and citation strategy (no PBNs or paid link farms) • SEO optimisation of investigative PDF reports • Digital PR and attribution-based link support 5. Reporting & Monitoring • Weekly SEO performance reports • Monthly Search Console, Discover & traffic analysis • Clear deliverables and measurable progress tracking Required Skills & Experience • Proven experience with news or publishing websites • Strong technical SEO (indexing, schema, sitemaps) • Hands-on WordPress experience (TagDiv / SmartMag / JNews preferred) • Knowledge of E-E-A-T, Google News & Discover algorithms • Strong command of GSC, GA4, Ahrefs/SEMRush, Screaming Frog Not Acceptable • Social media managers who think SEO = hashtags • Digital marketers who only know ads • Keyword stuffers • Backlink sellers / PBN users • Candidates with no newsroom SEO experience Compensation ₹25,000 – ₹40,000 per month (based on experience) For exceptional candidates, negotiable for the 6-month contract. How to Apply Email: Hashtags: #Hiring #SEOJobs #NewsSEO #JournalismJobs #DigitalNews #GoogleNews #MediaJobs