Content Optimization Specialist

Content Optimization Specialist Kent Campus - Kent, OH Salary: $67,706 - $86,207 Basic Function:
Drives tactical performance across all digital content, ensuring everything is structured for maximum visibility, discoverability, and engagement. Optimizes content for all audiences across all platforms. Applies best practices, personalization, tagging and testing strategies to continuously improve content across all university owned channels, paid campaigns, earned efforts and customer engagement systems. Reports to the Senior Director, Data Strategy. Additional Basic Function – if applicable:
As Kent State advances its digital transformation vision, the Engagement & Optimization Team (EOT) will play a foundational role in operationalizing a university-wide audience engagement data strategy. This team supports strategic, data-informed communications and marketing through unified content strategy, digital experience optimization, and measurable, personalized engagement across all platforms. These efforts span all university communication and marketing channels—including web, email, mobile, social media, CRM platforms like Slate, Element
451 and other distributed systems. The roles are not limited to web optimization but are designed to elevate the university's total audience engagement strategy across all touchpoints and departments. The EOT will work collaboratively across the university to guide and coordinate institutional data strategy for audience engagement and performance measurement—ensuring alignment, collaboration, and impact  Content Optimization Specialist reports to the Senior Director of Data Strategy and drives tactical performance across all digital content, ensuring everything is structured for maximum visibility, discoverability, and engagement.

This includes optimizations for all forms of content optimization. The specialist applies SEO best practices, personalization, tagging, and testing strategies to continuously improve content across all university owned channels, paid campaigns, earned efforts and customer engagement systems. Examples of Duties:
Duties/essential functions may include, but not be limited to, the following:
· Perform search engine audits and implement keyword strategies across university digital platforms.
· Manage tagging, metadata and personalization structures for smarter audience targeting.
· Optimize content for all audiences across all platforms (i.e., traditional, local/location-based or AI-powered search/chat agents) to enhance user engagement and conversion.
· Provide optimization recommendations to content teams based on real-time performance metrics.
· Develop optimization strategies across all communication channels and audience engagement systems.
· Deploy AI tools for customization of content to each audience/user across all channels.
· Assist Director of Data Strategy in data strategy efforts.
· Coordinate with University Communications and Marketing (UCM) team and other university partners to research, identify and operationalize UX learnings.
· May provide direct supervision of student employees.
· Perform related duties as assigned. Additional Examples of Duties – if applicable:
Not applicable.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, digital media, communications, journalism, UX design, or a related field. Four years' professional experience in content optimization digital engagement roles or related experience. License/Certification:
Certification or training in:
· SEO platforms (SEMrush, Moz, Yoast, Screaming Frog, Site Improve, etc.)
· Google Search Console and Google Analytics (GA4)
· AI search optimization (AEO) tools or courses
· A/B and multivariate testing platforms (e.g., Optimizely, Google Optimize)
· AI-assisted content creation tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Jasper, Surfer

SEO, etc.)
· Customer journey mapping tools
· UX research and optimization platforms Knowledge Of:
· Search engine optimization best practices
· Personalization, tagging structures, and UX testing tools Skill In:
· AI-assisted content tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Jasper, Surfer

SEO)
· Search engine platforms and performance tools (e.g., SEMrush, Moz,…