Manager, SEO & AI Discovery

dentsu•Chicago, IL

10d•$65,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Manager, SEO & AI Discovery at Merkle, you will lead SEO strategy across a portfolio of client accounts, setting program direction, owning complex audits and recommendations, and translating search performance into business outcomes. This role is built for a senior individual contributor who can move comfortably between technical SEO, content and on-page strategy, AI-driven discovery, performance measurement, and client advisory. You will serve as a trusted lead for assigned accounts, helping clients understand what is happening, why it matters, and what to do next.

Requirements

3+ years of progressive SEO experience, preferably in an agency, consultancy, or complex multi-stakeholder environment.
Strong technical SEO capability across crawl, indexation, rendering, site architecture, internal linking, Core Web Vitals, structured data, migrations, and JavaScript SEO.
Demonstrated capability in SEO analysis and measurement, including the ability to combine multiple data sources and translate findings into business-relevant recommendations.
Hands-on experience with tools such as Google Search Console, GA4, Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Ahrefs, SEMRush, enterprise crawlers, rank tracking platforms, Data Studio, and AI visibility tracking platforms.
Ability to build clear, persuasive client deliverables, including audits, executive summaries, dashboards, roadmaps, and strategic recommendation decks.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to adjust communication for executives, marketers, engineers, content teams, and internal stakeholders.
Experience leading client conversations, answering questions in real time, and explaining and supporting recommendations with evidence, context, and judgment.
Working knowledge of AI Search, including AI Overviews, LLM-powered discovery, citation visibility, entity authority, and AI-assisted SEO workflows.
Strong project and workstream ownership, including the ability to manage timelines, flag risks early, coordinate with PMs and cross-functional teams, and keep stakeholders informed.
Comfort mentoring consultants and staff consultants and reviewing their work for analytical accuracy, strategic clarity, and client readiness.

Nice To Haves

BigQuery, SQL, Python, server log analysis, API-based reporting, or other scalable data workflows.
Experience with international SEO, e-commerce SEO, local SEO, video/image SEO, link building, digital PR, or SEO testing.
Experience developing reusable SEO templates, processes, playbooks, training materials, or productized service offerings.

Responsibilities

Lead SEO strategy across assigned accounts: Set search program direction, prioritize workstreams, and ensure recommendations connect to client business goals, marketing priorities, and measurable outcomes.
Serve as the day-to-day search lead: Build trusted relationships with client stakeholders, understand their goals, KPIs, business context, priorities, and decision-making dynamics, and translate search priorities into clear, business-relevant action.
Own complex SEO / AI audits and analyses: Independently diagnose performance opportunities across technical SEO, content and on-page optimization, AI Search visibility, competitive landscape, and site architecture.
Develop measurement frameworks: Define SEO reporting structures that connect organic visibility, technical health, content performance, classic SERP visibility, AI Overview presence, LLM visibility, and business outcomes.
Turn data into decisions: Analyze data from GSC, GA4, crawl tools, rank tracking, log files, AI visibility platforms, and third-party tools to identify patterns, explain performance shifts, and prioritize action.
Create actionable recommendations: Translate findings into prioritized recommendations with clear impact, effort, dependencies, confidence level, and implementation guidance for client, content, and engineering teams.
Lead technical SEO workstreams: Guide recommendations across crawl, indexation, rendering, JavaScript SEO, Core Web Vitals, site architecture, internal linking, schema, structured data, migrations, and re-platforming.
Advance content and AI Search visibility: Lead search intent mapping, topical authority planning, SERP feature analysis, AI Overview evaluation, LLM visibility analysis, entity and brand authority recommendations, and scalable on-page optimization frameworks.
Own delivery quality: Manage assigned SEO workstreams end-to-end, including scoping, work planning, QA, stakeholder updates, timeline management, and on-time delivery.
Mentor and review junior work: Coach consultants and staff consultants on analysis planning, data interpretation, recommendation quality, deliverable structure, and client-ready communication.
Support account growth: Identify organic growth opportunities, contribute SEO expertise to pitches, RFPs, renewals, and SOW scoping, and help shape work that is clearly scoped, valuable to clients, and feasible for the team to deliver.
Improve the SEO practice: Contribute to internal templates, playbooks, QA standards, training materials, AI-assisted workflows, and process improvements that help the team deliver better work at scale.