CRAIG KIESSLING Atlanta, GA craig[at]craigkiessling.com PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY SEO & WordPress Optimization Specialist with 10+ years driving measurable organic growth across local, lead-gen, ecommerce, and content-driven websites. Proven ability to increase traffic, rankings, and conversions through technical SEO, on-page optimization, content strategy, and analytics-driven execution. Hands-on operator experienced working independently or within cross-functional teams to turn audits into results. WORK EXPERIENCE Melone Hatley, P.C. SEO & Website Optimization Manager November 2024 - July 2025 VA Beach, VA (Remote) Assisted with transition of Agency-provided services to In-House. Kept website up-to-date with staff changes, new content, new offices and locations, etc. Partnered with Content, Social Media and Digital Strategy teams to align content and marketing campaigns with search. Ran online audit. Managed Google Business Profiles for multiple locations. Fixed various technical issues. Implemented On-Page optimization. Provided Keyword Research and Competitor Analysis for insightful action. Created monthly Google Studio reporting dashboards and more. Increased traffic & rankings by 50%. CSKnet SEO Consultant 2015 - Present Atlanta, GA Consulted with diverse clients on Search Engine Optimization or SEO implementations based on in-depth audits, Social Media, Web Design & Development, Strategy, Oftentimes this involved WordPress site building, re-design and development work from a PHP, HTML, CSS, JS perspective to improve SEO and all of its various holistic factors. A bit of my work: Vivian's Muse * Full SEO Audit * Re-design of site (has since been toyed with by someone else) * Basic optimizations for Search Engine Optimization * Created Google Looker Report (auto-updates) Personal Organizer Just for You * Full SEO Audit * Re-design of site * Basic optimizations for SEO * Created Google Looker Report (auto-updates) * Advised on Social Media Strategy and offsite campaigns Kung Fu Connection * Full SEO Audit * Re-design of site * Implemented basic optimizations for SEO GriffinWink Advertising / Warehouse75 * Full SEO Audits * Monthly Reporting - Analytics, Moz, Audits * Consulting, Advising and Implementing on all aspects of Search Engine Optimization for 8 client accounts TrustWorkz * SEO Audits & Hands-on Implementation * Monthly Billable Hours for 5 Clients Trekerie * Website Transfer from SquareSpace to WordPress * Created onpage optimization guide for ecommerce content Hiyaa!! Martial Arts Podcast (www.hiyaapodcast.com) * Co-Host, Webmaster & Online Marketing Manager * Custom Design & Development of Website, utilizing WordPress * Social Media Optimization * Content Development * Some very basic SEO - Search Engine Optimization Atlanta Mahjong * Design & Develop informational, yet converting & engaging website * Implement customized CMS * Initiate Competitive Research, SEO, SMO, Online Marketing, etc. * Engage in blogging and other Web 2.0 practices PATHS Atlanta * As a founding member of this non-profit, I built the website, and provide webmaster-ing, SEO, Content Management, Competitive Research & Benchmarking, analytics, Video Production & Marketing, blogging, as well instruct in martial arts * Increased overall traffic by 400% * Brought desired queries to page 1, local pack, zero click and more Central Equine * Consulted & Implemented SEO strategies & techniques, competitive landscape benchmarking, monthly analytics and competitive progress reports, keyword research, offsite strategies, etc. Sagal Radio * Consulted on Web Development & Online Marketing implementation Brocket Pub & Grill * Consulted on Web Development, Content Management & SEO, increasing traffic by 150% Definition 6 * Initiated in-house SEO process with aligned Analytics Twenty-Six Two Marketing Agency * Consulted, Advised & Implemented strategies for Competitive Research, Benchmarking, SEO, SEM, SMO, Reporting, Development, Blogging, Content Management Systems, Online Marketing efforts and more for various clients. Sampling of clients include: M9 Solutions, Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia, Rilko Kids, LimeDot, Christian City, ChoicePoint’s IRM (Identity Risk Management), National Disability Lawyers, 755 Club, etc. [Name Withheld] Manager, SEO Nov 2022 - Aug 2023 Atlanta, GA (Remote) As SEO Manager, I was responsible for developing, managing, and executing strategies for short and long-term SEO departmental growth while leading a team, including the Content and Technical SEO Managers. I allocated workloads and clients to the team (ecommerce, saas, B2B, B2C, lead-gen). I helped develop and define clients' SEO strategies, spearhead on-page optimizations, create content briefs, and conduct technical site audits. * Managed timelines and prioritized tasks among team members to meet client expectations. * Kept team members and clients up to date on industry and algorithm changes. * Monitored organic search performance for all SEO clients. * Created team processes and resources. * Provided training to help the team develop their technical SEO skills to improve templates and code behind content. * Provided project/client support when necessary. Know Agency SEO Manager August 2021 - October 2022 Atlanta, GA (Remote) Reporting to the CEO, I got into the technical SEO weeds, along with on-page SEO and off-page SEO. Working with code and content management systems, I applied fixes and optimizations from technical SEO audits. I also met with clients to advise on best practices, explain certain issues, concepts and tactics and more. Bright Edge, Lumar (Deep Crawl), SEMRush, Screaming Frog and other tools helped me to help my book of 15+ clients. InterCoastal Net Designs (ICND) SEO Executive March 2016 - December 2018 Ocean Isle Beach, NC (Remote) A focus on SEO for 10+ clients and over 100 billable hours monthly within WordPress environments (and a migration or two into WP), involving all aspects of SEO, Analytics and Reporting. Responsible for implementing SEO programs across 10+ accounts. * Advanced Technical Site Analysis Including but not limited to: canonicalization, site architecture optimization, inbound/outbound link analysis, error reporting, 301 redirects, metadata optimization, page load speed analysis, on-page optimization including textual content optimization, image optimization, internal linking, and more. * Content Strategy Conducted keyword research used to inform original, unique, informative, helpful and converting content, while managing and educating content writers on SEO. Often involved proofreading, editing, optimizing, etc. * Company-Wide SEO Education Developed educational programs for SEO best practices. Created educational documents, presentations, etc. for team leaders to increase efficiency and productivity in terms of Search. * Website Management (HTML / CSS / PHP / WordPress) - Administration of all WordPress sites - customization, SEO, back-end usability for clients, white-labeling and much more. * Reporting Created in-depth monthly reports for clients, utilizing a variety of data sources (Google Analytics, GSC, GMB, Ahrefs, SEMRush, Screaming Frog, Excel Spreadsheets, etc., with customized explanatory text and began the creation of custom Google Data Studio reporting that would automatically update. ASSOCIATIONS The National Eagle Scout Association The Internet Society The Online Marketing Research Organization The Management Solutions Network The International Webmaster Association The HTML Writers Group The Web Design and Developers Association The Atlanta SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Association CERTIFICATIONS (See full list: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigskiessling/) EDUCATION University of Georgia - Athens, Georgia Business Administration / Marketing