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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for SEO Marketing Manager

💰 $80,000 - $130,000

Digital MarketingSEOSearch Engine Optimization

🎯 Role Definition

As the SEO Marketing Manager, you will lead the development and execution of comprehensive SEO strategies that improve search engine rankings, increase qualified organic traffic, enhance user experience and support conversion goals. You will manage on‑page and technical SEO efforts, link‑building programmes, content optimisation, analytics and reporting, while working closely with content, UX, development and marketing teams to ensure SEO best practices are embedded throughout the business.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • SEO Specialist
  • Digital Marketing Executive (with SEO focus)
  • Content or Web Marketing Manager

Advancement To:

  • Director of SEO & Organic Growth
  • Head of Digital Marketing
  • VP Digital Marketing

Lateral Moves:

  • SEM/PPC Manager
  • Growth Marketing Manager
  • Content & SEO Strategist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  1. Develop and implement a robust SEO strategy aligned with business goals, brand positioning and target audiences to boost organic visibility and traffic.
  2. Conduct extensive keyword research and targeting to guide content teams, define buyer personas and prioritise high‑value opportunities.
  3. Perform comprehensive technical SEO audits of sites—including crawlability, indexation, site architecture, page speed, mobile‑responsiveness and schema markup—and work with development teams to implement fixes.
  4. Optimise on‑page elements such as title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, image alt text, URL structure, internal linking and content hierarchy to achieve higher search rankings and better user engagement.
  5. Manage off‑page SEO initiatives including link‑building, outreach campaigns, content syndication, guest blogging and partnership strategies to increase domain authority.
  6. Collaborate with content, social media, PR and marketing teams to ensure SEO best practices are embedded into content planning, publication and promotion across channels.
  7. Oversee SEO performance monitoring and reporting: build dashboards, define KPIs (organic traffic, rankings, bounce rate, conversions), analyse trends and make data‑driven recommendations to senior stakeholders.
  8. Stay current with search engine algorithm updates, industry trends, emerging technologies (e.g., voice search, mobile, AI‑powered search) and evaluate implications for strategy.
  9. Collaborate with UX/design/development teams to align SEO requirements with site redesigns, migrations, CMS changes and ensure continuity of SEO value during transition.
  10. Manage and prioritise SEO backlog: define initiatives, create roadmaps, allocate resources, set deadlines and ensure tactical execution against strategic goals.
  11. Participate in cross‑channel marketing programmes—ensuring SEO is integrated with PPC/SEM, email, social and affiliate marketing to deliver synergistic impact.
  12. Provide SEO training, guidance and governance across marketing, product and content teams to build SEO literacy and embed best practices organisation‑wide.
  13. Manage vendor/agency relationships specialised in SEO tools, link‑building networks or technical audits; define specifications, monitor performance and ensure quality of deliverables.
  14. Lead competitive analysis: research competitor search strategies, identify content gaps, backlink profiles, keyword opportunities and adjust strategy accordingly.
  15. Ensure compliance with data‑privacy, accessibility and digital governance (e.g., structured data, schema, GDPR implications) as part of SEO risk‑management.
  16. Align SEO strategy to business metrics: conversion rates, acquisition cost, retention and lifetime value—translating SEO performance into commercial impact.
  17. Build and manage SEO budget: allocate spend, assess tool subscriptions, invest in testing frameworks and optimise cost‑effectiveness of SEO activities.
  18. Improve website content architecture and information taxonomy to optimise search engine indexing, discoverability and user experience.
  19. Create, maintain and optimise content templates, publishing workflows and metadata schemas to support content teams in delivering SEO‑ready assets.
  20. Lead A/B and multivariate testing of landing pages, content formats and internal linking strategies to determine SEO impact and conversion uplift.
  21. Present SEO strategy, performance and business implications to senior leadership; articulate findings, risks and opportunities with clarity and influence.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad‑hoc SEO‑related data requests, exploratory analysis and quick win investigations across business units.
  • Contribute to the broader marketing and digital roadmap by sharing SEO insights, user‑behaviour data and content gap analysis.
  • Collaborate with product and service teams to translate SEO and search behaviour insights into product features, content enhancements or service improvements.
  • Participate in process improvement initiatives: streamline SEO workflows, tool adoption, internal training and automation of manual tasks.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proven expertise in developing and implementing SEO strategies (technical, on‑page, off‑page).
  • Proficiency in keyword research and analysis tools (e.g., SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Google Keyword Planner) and deriving actionable insights.
  • Strong technical SEO knowledge: site architecture, crawlability, indexation, schema markup, speed optimisation, mobile SEO.
  • Expertise in SEO analytics and reporting: Google Analytics, Search Console, data visualisation tools, KPI measurement and attribution modelling.
  • Strong command of HTML, CSS, and understanding of JavaScript and CMS platforms as they relate to SEO implementation.
  • Experience managing link‑building campaigns, outreach strategies, backlink profiling and domain authority growth.
  • Ability to plan and execute SEO‑centric content campaigns: content optimisation, metadata strategy, internal linking and content architecture.
  • Competence in web audit tools and practices: site crawlers (Screaming Frog, DeepCrawl), log‑file analysis and technical issue identification.
  • Project management skills: prioritisation, roadmap development, resource allocation, stakeholder coordination.
  • Familiarity with marketing technology and search‑related platforms: CMS, tag management, SEO tool stack, testing frameworks.

Soft Skills

  • Strategic mindset: able to set vision, align SEO activities to business goals and prioritise high‑impact initiatives.
  • Analytical and data‑driven: comfortable interpreting large data sets, drawing insights and making actionable recommendations.
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills: able to explain technical SEO concepts to non‑technical stakeholders and influence decisions.
  • Cross‑functional collaboration: works effectively with content, development, UX, marketing, product and senior leadership teams.
  • Adaptability and innovation: keeps pace with search engine algorithm changes and emerging techniques, able to pivot strategy accordingly.
  • Leadership and team development: mentors SEO practitioners, builds capability and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
  • Creative problem‑solving: identifies optimisation opportunities, overcomes technical or content barriers and drives results.
  • Time‑management and organisational ability: handles multiple projects, shifting priorities and tight deadlines efficiently.
  • Customer‑centric orientation: understands searcher intent, user behaviour and uses that insight to shape optimisation strategy.
  • Quality‑focus and attention to detail: ensures accuracy in analysis, implementation and reporting, avoids errors and delivers consistent SEO execution.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Digital Media, Communications, Information Systems or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree or certification in SEO, Digital Marketing, Web Analytics or a related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Search Engine Optimization & Digital Marketing
  • Web Analytics & Data Science
  • Computer Science / Information Systems (for technical SEO focus)
  • Content Strategy & Web Communications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3 to 5 years of progressive experience in SEO, search marketing or digital marketing roles with increasing responsibility.

Preferred:

  • Proven track record of leading SEO strategy for large‑scale websites, managing cross‑functional teams, delivering measurable organic growth, and working in fast‑paced digital environments.
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