Director, SEO

Gartner, Inc.; Stamford (CT); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Generous PTO

Medical, Dental & Vision Plans

Parental Leave

401K matching

Professional development

Job summary

Gartner, Inc. is seeking a Director of SEO & AEO to lead end-to-end search strategy across the digital ecosystem and manage a team of SEO associates. The role focuses on strategy, scaling analytics, and driving measurable business impact within an enterprise environment.

The incumbent will advance Gartner’s Answer Engine Optimization capabilities, ensuring visibility across traditional search and AI-driven discovery platforms while aligning with executive priorities and enterprise roadmaps.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of SEO experience with ownership of strategy and performance.
• 5+ years leading and developing SEO/digital marketing teams.
• Proven success driving organic growth tied to business outcomes.
• Deep expertise in technical SEO, search algorithms and AI-driven search features.
• Experience with AEO concepts, including AI-generated answers and entity-based discovery.
• Advanced analytics capabilities with measurement frameworks and exec-level insights.

Responsibilities

• Lead a high-performing team of SEO/AEO associates and drive execution.
• Set priorities and oversee on-page, technical, and off-page initiatives.
• Influence product, IT, and content roadmaps for SEO/AEO impact.
• Deliver executive-level performance insights and recommendations.
• Define and lead Gartner’s SEO/AEO strategy aligned to business priorities.
• Scale AEO best practices and frameworks for AI-driven discovery.
• Improve search visibility, traffic quality, and conversion efficiency.
• Build scalable SEO/AEO processes, governance, and cross-enterprise initiatives.
• Lead cross-functional projects including site migrations and platform changes.
• Drive analytics, reporting, and data-driven optimization.

Skills

SEO strategy

Team leadership

Analytics

Stakeholder engagement

AEO

Tools

BrightEdge

Ahrefs

GA4

STAT

HTML/CSS

Job description

About The Role:

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.

What You Will Do:

Lead Team, Execution & Stakeholder Engagement 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

Own SEO & AEO Strategy

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

Drive Analytics, Reporting & Insights

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

What You Will Need:

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

What You Will Get:

Competitive salary, generous paid time off policy, charity match program, Medical, Dental & Vision Plans, Parental Leave, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), 401K matching and more! Collaborative, team-oriented culture that embraces diversity Professional development and unlimited growth opportunities

Gartner offers world-class benefits, highly competitive compensation and disproportionate rewards for top performers. In our hybrid work environment, we provide the flexibility and support for you to thrive — working virtually when it’s productive to do so and getting together with colleagues in a vibrant community that is purposeful, engaging and inspiring.

Who are we?

At Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT), we guide the leaders who shape the world. Our mission relies on expert analysis and bold ideas to deliver actionable, objective business and technology insights, helping enterprise leaders and their teams succeed with their mission-critcal priorities. Since our founding in 1979, we’ve grown to 20,000 associates globally who support over 13,000 client enterprises in ~90 countries and territories. We do important, interesting and substantive work that matters. That’s why we hire associates with the intellectual curiosity, energy and drive to want to make a difference. The bar is unapologetically high. So is the impact you can have here.

What makes Gartner a great place to work?

Our vast, virtually untapped market potential offers limitless opportunities - opportunities that may not even exist right now - for you to grow professionally and flourish personally. How far you go is driven by your passion and performance. We hire remarkable people who collaborate and win as a team. Together, our singular, unifying goal is to deliver results for our clients. Our teams are inclusive and composed of individuals from different geographies, cultures, religions, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and generations. We invest in great leaders who bring out the best in you and the company, enabling us to multiply our impact and results.

Gartner is the world authority on AI

At Gartner, you’ll join a company at the very center of the AI revolution. Gartner has proactive, objective guidance throughout clients’ AI journeys. We set the standard for how organizations leverage artificial intelligence to drive meaningful impact. You’ll have access to unmatched resources, expertise, and technology, and play a key role in helping Gartner and our clients innovate and grow as we leverage AI to transform business and technology landscapes. It’s an exciting time to be at Gartner, with limitless opportunities to make a real impact, grow your skills, and build a lasting, meaningful career in a field that’s reshaping the way we operate. If you’re passionate about AI and want to be part of a team that’s guiding the leaders who shape the world, Gartner is the place for you.

What do we offer?

Gartner offers world-class benefits, highly competitive compensation and disproportionate rewards for top performers. In our hybrid work environment, we provide the flexibility and support for you to thrive — working virtually when it’s productive to do so and getting together with colleagues in a vibrant community that is purposeful, engaging and inspiring.

The policy of Gartner is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status and to seek to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity. Gartner is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers opportunities to all job seekers, including job seekers with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access the Company’s career webpage as a result of your disability.