Associate Director, SEO

VaynerMedia

New York (NY)

Hybrid

USD 105,000 - 125,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Employer 401k match

Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage

Unlimited PTO

Parental Leave

Health & Wellness benefits

Job summary

VaynerMedia, a global creative and media agency, seeks an Associate Director of Organic Search to lead SEO and AEO engagements across high-profile client accounts. You will architect a strategic vision spanning traditional SEO and AI-enabled search, guiding a team of SEO professionals and collaborating with media, content, creative, and engineering teams.

You will drive technical SEO programs, optimize for AI-driven retrieval, and define KPIs to measure brand visibility inside LLMs while

Qualifications

5–8 years of progressive SEO experience, with 2–3 years in leadership managing multiple client accounts
Deep, hands-on expertise across technical SEO, on-page optimization, content strategy, link acquisition, and local/multi-location SEO
Experience leading and developing SEO teams and cross-functional initiatives

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor a team of organic search Managers, setting goals and applying best practices
Define and lead the overarching organic search strategy across client accounts
Analyze performance data from GSC, GA4 and enterprise platforms, translating insights into strategy
Collaborate with paid media, content, creative, and engineering to embed SEO and AEO best practices
Present strategy and performance to senior client stakeholders with ROI focus
Lead technical SEO programs: site architecture, Core Web Vitals, mobile optimization, crawl/index health
Experiment and scale AEO strategies for AI-generated answers and LPMS, KPIs
Drive local SEO for multi-location clients with Google Business Profile optimization
Implement AI-powered tooling to optimize workflows and automate linking/entity extraction
Monitor Google algorithm updates and AI-search shifts and brief clients on impacts

Skills

SEO leadership

Strategic planning

Cross-functional collaboration

AEO implementation

Data-driven decisions

Tools

Google Analytics 4

Google Search Console

SEMrush

Ahrefs

Screaming Frog

BrightEdge

Job description

ABOUT VAYNERMEDIA

VaynerMedia is a global integrated creative and media agency, built for today's consumers. As the Modern Agency of Record, it understands the nuances of today's attention landscape, empowering brands to win attention, drive relevance, and deliver business results. Founded in 2009, by Gary Vaynerchuk, the independently owned agency operates in 15 offices worldwide, including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Chicago, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, New York, Tokyo, Toronto, Singapore, and Sydney. VaynerMedia is part of the VaynerX family of companies.

ABOUT VAYNERMEDIA

OVERALL PURPOSE

VaynerMedia is looking for an Associate Director of Organic Search to lead SEO & AEO engagements and elevate our agency's organic search offering across a portfolio of high-profile client accounts. In this senior role, you will architect the strategic vision spanning traditional SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), ensuring our clients achieve meaningful visibility not just in blue-link results, but inside AI-generated answers on major LLM platforms like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Gemini. You will guide a team of organic search professionals, collaborate cross-functionally with media, content, creative, and engineering teams, and serve as a thought leader who keeps VaynerMedia's search practice on the cutting edge. This is a role for someone who can think at a systems level, drive measurable outcomes, and bring contagious energy to a fast-moving, culturally plugged-in agency.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Lead and mentor a team of organic search Managers by setting performance goals, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and learning, and ensuring consistent application of best practices across all campaigns
Define and lead the overarching organic search strategy across all assigned client accounts, aligning SEO & AEO initiatives directly to each client's business objectives, revenue targets, and customer growth goals
Analyze performance data holistically across Google Search Console, GA4, and enterprise SEO platforms (SEMrush, Ahrefs, Conductor, BrightEdge, etc.), translating insights into clear strategic adjustments and executive-ready reporting
Collaborate cross-departmentally with paid media, content, creative, and engineering teams to embed SEO & AEO best practices into every touchpoint of the digital experience
Present organic search strategy, performance, and competitive landscape to senior client stakeholders in a clear, compelling, and ROI-focused manner
Lead comprehensive technical SEO programs, including site architecture, Core Web Vitals, mobile optimization, crawl/index health, and advanced schema markup implementation to ensure client sites are structurally sound for both traditional crawlers and AI-driven retrieval systems
Experiment and scale AEO strategies: optimize content and structured data to earn citations within AI-generated answers, develop new KPIs to quantify brand visibility inside LLMs, and systematize proven tactics across accounts
Drive local SEO strategy for multi-location and regional clients, including Google Business Profile optimization, local listing management, geo-targeted content, and localization frameworks for international, multi-language accounts
Implement AI-powered tooling and automation across the organic search workflow. Leverage generative AI for scalable content optimization, automate internal linking and entity extraction pipelines, and monitor real-time intent shifts to keep strategies ahead of algorithm changes
Track Google core algorithm updates, the rapid evolution of AI-search features, and industry shifts while proactively adapting strategies and briefing clients on impacts and opportunities

EXPERIENCE / KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

5–8 years of progressive SEO experience, with at least 2–3 years in a senior or leadership capacity managing SEO strategy across multiple client accounts or websites
Deep, hands-on expertise across all SEO disciplines: technical SEO, on-page optimization, content strategy, link acquisition, and local/multi-location SEO
Demonstrated hands-on experience with AEO, including optimizing content and structured data for citation in AI-generated answers in the major LLM platforms
Strong command of core analytics and SEO tooling: Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, BrightEdge, or comparable enterprise platforms
Proven track record of measurable organic growth across multiple accounts that increased rankings, traffic, and conversion from organic search channels
Experience leading and developing SEO teams, with strong project management skills and the ability to orchestrate cross-functional initiatives
Advanced analytical skills and the ability to synthesize large datasets, identify trend patterns, and translate data into actionable strategy
Familiarity with AI/ML-powered SEO tools, workflows, and enthusiasm for experimenting with generative AI applications in search marketing
Excellent communicator capable of translating technical SEO complexity into business value for non-technical clients and internal stakeholders
Current knowledge of Google algorithm updates, E-E-A-T principles, Core Web Vitals, and the evolving AI search landscape

This position is currently designated as hybrid and is subject to the Company's workplace attendance and in-office work requirements, as in effect from time to time. The Company reserves the right to modify these requirements at any time.

All information submitted with this application and disclosed in the interview and screening processes must be truthful. The Company reserves the right in its sole discretion, to disqualify a candidate from consideration, withdraw a conditional offer of employment, or terminate employment, if it discovers a candidate provided false, misleading, or materially incomplete information during the application process.

VaynerX is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military status, veteran status, citizenship or immigration status (as permitted by applicable law), or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Unsure if you meet the qualifications?

We are always looking for talent which will continue to cultivate an inclusive and representative team that will enhance our perspectives, skill sets, background, and behaviors. We encourage those who are passionate about what we do to apply!