Director, SEO

Gartner•Stamford, CT

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Global Marketing is seeking an experienced and highly analytical Director, SEO & AEO to lead the execution, performance, and continued evolution of Gartner’s search strategy. This role owns end-to-end SEO performance across Gartner’s digital ecosystem, leading a team of SEO associates focused on execution while setting strategy, scaling analytics, and driving measurable business impact. The Director will also establish and advance Gartner’s Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) capabilities, ensuring visibility across both traditional search engines and emerging AI-driven discovery platforms. This is a leadership role requiring strong operational rigor, technical depth, and the ability to connect SEO/AEO performance to enterprise business outcomes and executive priorities.

Requirements

10+ years of SEO experience, with ownership of strategy, execution, and performance in enterprise environments
5+ years of experience leading and developing high-performing SEO or digital marketing teams
Proven success driving measurable organic growth tied to business outcomes (e.g., traffic, conversion, pipeline, revenue)
Deep expertise in technical SEO, search algorithms, and modern SERP and AI-driven search features
Experience with AEO/GEO concepts, including optimizing for AI-generated answers, conversational search, and entity-based discovery
Advanced analytical capabilities, with experience building measurement frameworks and delivering executive-level insights
Proficiency with SEO and analytics platforms (e.g., BrightEdge, Ahrefs, STAT, Google Search Console, GA4)
Familiarity with HTML/CSS and technical SEO fundamentals, including site architecture and structured data
Strong leadership, communication, and influencing skills, with the ability to drive alignment across senior stakeholders

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and scale a high-performing team of SEO/AEO associates responsible for day-to-day execution
Set priorities and oversee delivery of SEO/AEO initiatives across on-page, technical, and off-page workstreams in partnership with Global Marketing and key stakeholders
Influence product, IT, and content roadmaps to prioritize SEO/AEO impact and drive enterprise adoption, while serving as a senior subject matter expert advising stakeholders across the organization
Develop and deliver executive-level presentations on performance, insights, and strategic direction while translating complex concepts into clear recommendations
Define and lead Gartner’s SEO/AEO strategy aligned to business priorities and ownership of acquisition, pipeline, and business growth
Lead the adoption and scaling of AEO best practices and frameworks, optimizing for AI-driven discovery and evolving search behaviors
Identify and prioritize opportunities to increase search visibility, traffic quality, and conversion efficiency by strengthening Gartner’s topical authority and recognition
Build and scale SEO/AEO processes, frameworks, and governance across the enterprise
Lead complex, cross-functional SEO/AEO initiatives, including site architecture improvements, migrations, and platform changes
Own SEO measurement strategy, including reporting, dashboards, performance tracking, technology stack and adoption of new tools or automations
Partner with analytics to ensure data accuracy, integrity, and scalability of measurement and translate data into actionable insights
Establish measurement frameworks for SEO and AEO, including emerging AI visibility metrics and deliver regular reporting on performance
Drive a test-and-learn culture, implementing experimentation frameworks to validate and scale new SEO and AEO tactics