Senior SEO & AI Discovery Lead

Merkle Inc.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, and dental insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401k

Paid time off

15+ paid holidays per year

Paid sick and safe leave

Parental leave

Job summary

Merkle Inc. is seeking a Manager, SEO & AI Discovery to lead SEO strategy across client accounts, driving audits, recommendations, and actions that translate search performance into business outcomes.

The role requires handling technical SEO, content strategy, AI discovery, and performance measurement with senior-level client advisory across multiple stakeholders. The position emphasizes leadership in audits, measurement frameworks, and scalable on-page optimization while mentoring junior staff

Qualifications

• 3+ years of progressive SEO experience, preferably in an agency, consultancy, or complex multi-stakeholder environment.
• Demonstrated capability in SEO analysis and measurement, including combining multiple data sources and translating findings into business-relevant recommendations.
• Hands-on experience with the listed SEO tools and platforms; ability to build client deliverables (audits, dashboards, roadmaps, decks).

Responsibilities

• Lead SEO strategy across assigned accounts and set program direction with measurable outcomes.
• Serve as the day-to-day search lead, building trusted relationships with client stakeholders and translating priorities into actions.
• Own complex SEO / AI audits and analyses across technical SEO, content, AI Search visibility, and site architecture.
• Develop measurement frameworks that connect organic visibility, technical health, content performance, and business outcomes.
• Turn data into decisions by analyzing data from various sources and identifying patterns and actions.
• Create actionable recommendations with clear impact, effort, dependencies, and guidance for teams.
• Advance content and AI Search visibility through governance of topical authority and on-page optimization frameworks.
• Own delivery quality by managing workstreams end-to-end and ensuring timely delivery.
• Mentor consultants on analysis planning, data interpretation, and client-ready communication.
• Support account growth by contributing SEO expertise to pitches, renewals, and SOW scoping.

Skills

SEO analysis

Client advisory

Project ownership

AI discovery

Content strategy

Executive communication

Tools

Google Search Console

GA4

Screaming Frog

Sitebulb

Ahrefs

SEMrush

enterprise crawlers

rank tracking platforms

Data Studio

AI visibility tracking platforms

Job description

Merkle Inc. is seeking a Manager, SEO & AI Discovery to lead SEO strategy across client accounts, driving audits, recommendations, and actions that translate search performance into business outcomes.

The role requires handling technical SEO, content strategy, AI discovery, and performance measurement with senior-level client advisory across multiple stakeholders. The position emphasizes leadership in audits, measurement frameworks, and scalable on-page optimization while mentoring junior staff