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Critical Mass

Associate Search Strategy Director

Critical Mass, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60290

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In this role, you’ll lead a high-performing team of SEO and SEM marketers in driving best-in-class search strategies for some of the world’s biggest brands.

As Associate Director of Search, you know how to unlock the stories found in data, and translate those stories into opportunities to meet customers wherever they’re searching across the evolving digital landscape. You’ll use search insights to craft data-driven strategies that demonstrate a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, objectives, and customers. You’ll also develop strategic search roadmaps and processes to drive measurable results through content strategy, user experience, and a strong technical foundation.

You’ll play a critical role in shaping our search services and capabilities, building a high-performance team, and helping our clients achieve top-tier performance.

You Will:

Own the creation, definition, execution, and optimization of integrated SEO/SEM strategies

Represent the Search practice within the agency, serving as a strategic thought leader, entrepreneur, advocate, and educator

Hire, manage, and grow a high-performing team of search strategists

Serve as an integral part of the account leadership team, making recommendations on strategy and approach to drive innovation and performance

Use search data (in conjunction with other research sources) to understand user intent, drive content strategies, and identify business opportunities for clients

Pitch and implement new search projects and service offerings

Define success metrics and translate SEO/SEM results to business objectives

Align paid and organic search strategies to reduce costs while maximizing key business activities

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to incorporate SEO & SEM strategies and best practices

Deliver actionable insights and strategic recommendations to clients through insightful, visually compelling reports

Optimize social search channels (e.g. YouTube, TikTok) to maximize brand and content visibility across the digital landscape

Conduct regular SEO/SEM audits and competitive analyses

Develop and implement AI Search Optimization/GEO strategies

Effectively convey SEO/SEM concepts and success stories in a concise and easy-to-understand manner

Develop frameworks and processes to systematically track and improve search performance

Define search-driven guidelines and requirements for page content, copy, page speed, accessibility, indexability, structured markup, site architecture, URL structure, page titles, meta descriptions, headings, anchor text, internal linking, site maps, etc.

Monitor, analyze, and report on search results and performance to both internal and external stakeholders

Keep current with the latest digital trends and changes in the search marketing landscape, identifying new opportunities for clients (e.g. AI search, ML-driven automation, visual search, voice search, social search, etc.)

You Have:

7+ years of search experience

Experience leading both paid and organic search strategies, and the integration of both

Strong communication and presentation skills, with an emphasis on crafting compelling visual stories in slide format

Experience leading and managing a team of search specialists

Proven track record of developing and implementing search strategies that successfully drove performance and conversion growth

Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to drive progress and manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously

Experience defining and documenting cross-disciplinary internal processes to improve search implementation and best practices

Experience managing SEM campaigns with large budgets (>$100,000)

Deep understanding of search engine algorithms, ranking factors, SEO best practices, and technical SEO

Proficiency in third-party SEO/SEM tools, such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, ScreamingFrog, etc.

Proficiency in data analytics and visualization tools, such as Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, Adobe Analytics, Google Search Console, Tableau, etc.

Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, vlook-ups, and comfort working with large datasets

Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions

Experience developing and executing content strategies that improve brand visibility, traffic and engagement through content creation and optimization

Experience managing large-scale website migrations and redesigns

Excellent business acumen, results-orientation, and written communication skills

Experience with testing and leveraging AI tools (ChatGPT, etc.) for search tasks

Experience with GEO and AI search optimization for both AI Overviews and LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Mode, etc.)

Passion for staying current in a rapidly evolving digital environment, leveraging new tools, and digital marketing channels to gain a competitive edge

What We Offer:

Global maternity and parental leave

Competitive benefits packages

Vacation, compassionate leave, sick days, and flex days

Access to online services for families and new parents

Extensive winter holiday office closures

Diversity and Inclusion Board with 12 affinity groups

Internal learning and development programs

Enterprise-wide employee discounts

In an effort to do so, we expect our team to work from the Chicago office a minimum of 3 days a week.

Salary Range

$125,000 - $135,000 USD

Critical Mass is an equal opportunity employer.

The Critical Mass Talent Acquisition team will only communicate from email addresses that use the URLs criticalmass.com, omc.comandus.greenhouse-mail.io. We will not use apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Google Hangouts for communicating with you. We will never ask you to send us money, technology, or anything else to work for our company. If you believe you are the victim of a scam, please review your local government consumer protections guidance and reach out to them directly.

Inclusion & Impact We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.

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