Sr. Strategist, SEO & AI Discovery

dentsu•Toronto, ON

10d•$65,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Sr. Strategist, SEO & AI Discovery at Merkle, you will lead SEO strategy across a portfolio of client accounts. You will set program direction, own complex audits and recommendations, and connect search performance to business outcomes. This senior individual-contributor role spans 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. The position combines client leadership, technical and strategic analysis, measurement, workstream ownership, mentoring, and contributions to account growth and SEO practice improvements. The role is based in Chicago, with a flexible working model that calls for in-office collaboration three days per week for employees within commuting distance of a hub office. Employees outside commuting range may be designated remote depending on the role and business needs, and may still need to attend an office as business needs require.

Requirements

At least 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 SEO analysis and measurement capability, including combining multiple data sources and translating 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 create clear, persuasive client deliverables, including audits, executive summaries, dashboards, roadmaps, and strategic recommendation decks.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate with executives, marketers, engineers, content teams, and internal stakeholders.
Experience leading client conversations, responding to 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 managing timelines, flagging risks early, coordinating with project managers and cross-functional teams, and keeping stakeholders informed.
Comfort mentoring consultants and staff consultants and reviewing their work for analytical accuracy, strategic clarity, and client readiness.
Proactive, responsive, and self-directed approach to work.
Ability to manage multiple accounts or workstreams without losing quality, context, or follow-through.
Comfort with ambiguity and ability to develop structured analysis plans and practical recommendations.
Ability to raise risks early, propose paths forward, and balance client needs with team capacity and scope boundaries.

Nice To Haves

BigQuery, SQL, Python, server log analysis, API-based reporting, or other scalable data workflow experience.
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 connect recommendations to client goals and measurable outcomes.
Serve as day-to-day search lead, build trusted client relationships, understand client goals and decision-making context, and translate search priorities into business-relevant actions.
Own complex SEO and AI audits and analyses across technical SEO, content and on-page optimization, AI Search visibility, competitive landscape, and site architecture.
Develop measurement frameworks connecting organic visibility, technical health, content performance, SERP visibility, AI Overview presence, LLM visibility, and business outcomes.
Analyze data from GSC, GA4, crawl tools, rank tracking, log files, AI visibility platforms, and third-party tools to identify patterns and prioritize action.
Create prioritized recommendations with impact, effort, dependencies, confidence levels, and implementation guidance for client, content, and engineering teams.
Lead technical SEO workstreams involving 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 through 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 SEO workstream delivery end-to-end, including scoping, work planning, QA, stakeholder updates, timeline management, and on-time delivery.
Mentor consultants and staff consultants on analysis planning, data interpretation, recommendation quality, deliverable structure, and client-ready communication.
Identify organic growth opportunities; contribute SEO expertise to pitches, RFPs, renewals, and SOW scoping; and help shape valuable, feasible client work.
Improve the SEO practice by contributing templates, playbooks, QA standards, training materials, AI-assisted workflows, and process improvements.
Provide proactive status and account updates, flag risks and next steps, and manage multiple accounts or workstreams while maintaining quality and follow-through.
Turn ambiguous client questions into structured analysis plans and practical recommendations, raise risks early, and balance client needs with team capacity and scope boundaries.
Share knowledge, improve team processes, and support the growth of consultants and staff consultants.