Apply on Employer Site

DEPT® · 2 months ago

Associate Director, SEO Strategy

United States

Full-time

Remote

Senior Level, Lead/Staff, Director/Executive

$95K/yr - $130K/yr

7+ years exp

DEPT® is a Growth Invention company that helps ambitious brands grow faster through technology and marketing. The Associate Director, SEO Strategy will lead the development and execution of innovative SEO programs for mid-market and enterprise clients, combining traditional SEO with AI-driven discovery to drive account growth and mentor a team of strategists.

AdvertisingBrand MarketingDigital MarketingInternetMarketing

Responsibilities

Prepare and confidently present advanced Technical SEO, Content, AIO / GEO, and other SEO-adjacent capabilities to internal and external clients

Own the full strategic direction for multiple mid-market and enterprise SEO clients, ensuring all initiatives ladder up to business outcomes and integrated marketing goals

Proactively identify growth opportunities within content, technical, and authority strategies, ensuring ongoing innovation and measurable improvement across all areas of organic performance

Demonstrate deep technical proficiency across crawling, indexing, rendering, structured data, Core Web Vitals, and JavaScript frameworks

Drive innovation through AI-driven initiatives such as AIO / GEO audits, AI Overview visibility analyses, semantic similarity assessments, passage-level optimization, and synthetic query testing

Translate emerging AI search opportunities and trends into actionable deliverables, training, and measurable KPIs

Collaborate cross-functionally with Paid Media, Conversion Rate Optimization, Social, and Content teams to translate opportunities into integrated holistic search strategies that drive unified channel growth

Demonstrate experience in App Store Optimization (ASO), Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), eCommerce, and Local Search (desired)

Serve as the senior strategic lead for organic search, driving growth and long-term partnership success

Lead executive-level presentations and quarterly business reviews (QBRs), sharing clear performance stories backed by data and actionable insights

Oversee client communication, expectation management, and escalation resolution with clarity and confidence

Identify and pursue upsell and cross-channel expansion opportunities based on performance insights and business evolution

Ensure all project plans, timelines, and reporting cadences are effectively managed by the account team

Directly manage a small team of Account Managers and Associates, fostering growth through clear milestones, feedback, and coaching

Conduct regular 1:1s and reviews, providing both strategic guidance and performance development

Support hiring, onboarding, and skill-building within the SEO Strategy team

QA all deliverables produced by direct reports, ensuring strategic depth, data accuracy, and client-readiness

Build team knowledge in AI / GEO Search frameworks, audits, and emerging optimization methods to keep deliverables innovative and future-ready

Oversee and contribute to core deliverables, including:

Technical site audits (responsive, dynamic, JS-rendered)

Keyword research, clustering, and persona mapping

Reporting and performance forecasting

Content gap analysis and optimization strategy

Website migration planning and auditing

AI Search visibility audits, entity, and schema optimization (for AIO / GEO readiness)

Act as the final QA and accountability point for all client deliverables while maintaining the highest standards of quality and consistency

Develop frameworks that scale across clients (templates, dashboards, methodologies)

Stay ahead of search evolution, particularly AI Search, generative results, and multimodal retrieval models

Lead internal education and POVs on AI Search (AIO / GEO) and new optimization frontiers

Support creation of internal documentation, playbooks, and training materials for the wider SEO team

Collaborate with internal Specialization Captains (AI Search, Technical SEO, Holistic Search, Brand Reputation, etc.) to pilot and refine new approaches

Contribute to case studies, blog posts, or conference materials that showcase DEPT’s leadership in AI-driven SEO

Qualification

Technical SEOAI OptimizationSEO StrategyContent OptimizationData StorytellingClient CommunicationTeam ManagementCuriosityPerformance ForecastingUpsellingSEO Tools ProficiencyPresentation SkillsCollaborationOrganizational SkillsWriting SkillsCross-Functional CollaborationMentoring

Required

7+ years of professional SEO experience (agency experience strongly preferred)

Proven track record of leading successful enterprise-level SEO strategies

Deep expertise in advanced technical SEO, content, and authority

Curiosity and working knowledge of AI Search / AIO / GEO principles

Experience mentoring and managing small teams or project pods

Excellent communication and presentation skills for executive audiences

Strong proficiency in tools such as Google Search Console, GA4, Screaming Frog, Semrush, Ahrefs, Looker Studio, BigQuery, Scrunch, Profound, Otterly, and AirOps

Strong understanding of data storytelling and performance forecasting

Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally and build consensus

Excellent writing, communication, and organizational skills