Director of Organic Search

Director of Organic Search Job Overview

The best organic search strategies don’t just move rankings—they move businesses. As Director of Organic Search, you’ll lead a team of specialists in building strategies that tie SEO and AEO performance directly to the outcomes clients care about: revenue, market share, and competitive advantage. This is a role for someone who thinks like a business advisor first and a search practitioner second.

You’ll set the strategic direction for the organic practice, own the team’s P&L, and be the person clients and internal leaders turn to when the stakes are high. You’ll also shape how the team evolves—driving the adoption of AI tools and workflows, building a consultative culture, and ensuring the practice stays ahead of a rapidly changing search landscape. Our clients range from B2B organizations with long sales cycles and CRM‑integrated marketing to multi‑location businesses across higher education, healthcare, real estate, retail, and grocery.

You’ll need proven experience across the spectrum—driving pipeline for lead‑based businesses and in‑store and e‑commerce impact for bricks‑and‑clicks retail—and the ability to adapt strategy to fundamentally different buyer journeys. If you’re energized by leading through ambiguity, developing people, and making an organic practice genuinely indispensable to clients, this is the role.

• Set the strategic vision for the organic practice, ensuring strategies span SEO, AEO, and content and are anchored in client business objectives.
• Serve as a senior strategic advisor to key clients—leading consultative engagements that translate search performance into business‑level recommendations.
• Stay ahead of shifts in search (algorithm updates, AI‑driven search, answer engines) and guide the team’s strategic response.
• Heavily influence scoping and pricing for new and updated client retainers, ensuring profitability and alignment with team capacity.

• Define and own the organic team’s AI roadmap: evaluate emerging tools, establish governance frameworks, and lead adoption across the practice.
• Champion the integration of AI into core workflows—content creation, keyword research, technical audits, reporting, and predictive analytics—to drive efficiency and quality.
• Develop AI usage guidelines, quality standards, and training programs to ensure responsible and effective use across the team.
• Partner with services leaders and technology teams to evaluate AI investments that serve the broader organization.

• Ensure development and execution of SEO and AEO strategies through managers across the team—keyword research, on‑page optimization, technical SEO, and answer engine visibility.
• Act as the last line of defense for ensuring deliverables meet client expectations.
• Buffer the service team when capacity gets tight; reallocate resources proactively.
• Ensure efficient use of resources and adherence to budgetary constraints for headcount, tools, and training.

• Drive content strategy development, ensuring alignment with SEO and AEO goals and overall client objectives.
• Oversee the creation of high‑quality content that resonates with target audiences and supports organic growth.

• Use analytics tools to analyze organic campaign performance and provide detailed, insight‑driven reports to clients.
• Manage oversight and training on pre‑meeting insights, QA processes, and reporting standards.

• Act as the primary point of contact for key clients, deeply understanding their business models and growth levers.
• Cultivate long‑term client partnerships by delivering strategic value—not just campaign updates.
• Ensure client engagements are structured as consultative advisory relationships, not just reporting cycles.
• Support marketing and sales efforts: scoping, pricing input, pitching, onboarding, expectation management, case studies, and practice‑area SME contributions.

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of organic marketing professionals, fostering a culture that is collaborative, consultative, and…