SEO Manager

Reports to: SEO Director
Location: Remote

Purpose of the Role

The SEO Manager leads a team of SEO specialists while owning day-to-day SEO strategy and execution for a portfolio of dental practices, driving more high-value patients through organic and local search. This is a true people-management role: the SEO Manager sets direction for the executional team, holds them accountable to quality and deadlines, and develops their skills. They turn client goals into clear SEO plans, own the website strategy and information architecture behind organic performance, and build the systems that let the department deliver consistently at scale. They work within the organization's established processes and brand standards, and partner with account, content, and dev teams to deliver measurable growth in leads.
Scope of Ownership
Leadership and performance management of an executional SEO team (specialists/coordinators), including workload, quality, and professional development.
Organic and local SEO performance for assigned dental clients.
Keyword, content, and on-site optimization strategy tied to priority services and locations.
Website strategy and information architecture for new builds, redesigns, and ongoing site improvements — sitemap and service-page structure, URL hierarchy, internal linking, redirects, migrations, page prioritization, and final SEO QA before and after launch.
Local search presence (Google Business Profile, citations, reviews) for each practice.
SEO reporting and insights that support client retention and upsell opportunities.
The SEO delivery system — the workflows, templates, QA checkpoints, automation, capacity planning, and documentation the department runs on.
Consistent application of the organization's SEO methodology, brand guidelines, and documented processes across the team.

Core Responsibilities
1. Team Leadership & Management
Lead, mentor, and manage a team of SEO specialists—setting clear priorities, assigning work, and ensuring deadlines and quality standards are met.
Hold the team accountable for executional output, reviewing work and giving direct, constructive feedback that raises the standard over time.
Develop the team's capabilities through coaching, training, and regular one-on-ones; identify skill gaps and close them.
Manage capacity and workload across the team to balance client demands with realistic delivery.
Own team performance against client outcomes, treating missed deadlines or quality issues as the manager's responsibility to resolve.
2. Strategy & Planning
Build and maintain SEO strategies and roadmaps for each client based on goals, competition, and budget.
Conduct keyword, SERP, and competitor research to prioritize high-value opportunities (implants, ortho, cosmetic, emergencies, etc.).
3. Website Strategy & Information Architecture
Own the SEO strategy behind new websites, redesigns, and ongoing site improvements—translating client goals and search demand into a site structure that ranks and converts.
Plan sitemaps and service-page structure, including how services, procedures, and locations are grouped, nested, and prioritized.
Define URL hierarchy and naming conventions, and maintain them as sites grow.
Design and maintain internal linking architecture that distributes authority to priority pages and supports topical coverage.
Plan and QA redirects and site migrations—mapping old to new, protecting rankings and traffic, and validating post-launch.
Prioritize pages for build and optimization based on search demand, revenue potential, and competitive opportunity.
Run final SEO QA before launch and after go-live (indexation, metadata, headings, schema, internal links, redirects, tracking), and document what shipped.
Partner with design, content, and dev on execution in WordPress, working from a clear SEO spec rather than reacting after the build.
4. On-Page & Technical SEO
Perform SEO audits and implement on-page optimizations (metadata, headings, copy, internal links, schema).
Identify technical issues (indexing, speed, mobile, CWV) and coordinate fixes with dev/WordPress support.
5. Local SEO for Dental Practices
Optimize and maintain Google Business Profiles (categories, services, posts, photos, tracking).
Oversee citations/NAP consistency and advise on review generation and reputation strategies.
6. Content & Collaboration
Create SEO briefs and outlines for new and updated content (service pages, blogs, FAQs, location pages); briefs are informed by SERP analysis and search intent, not just keywords.
QA content for SEO best practices before and after publishing, ensuring proper on-page optimization.
7. Reporting & Optimization
Build and maintain dashboards and monthly reports (traffic, rankings, GBP metrics, leads).
Analyze performance, surface insights, and propose clear next-step optimizations.
Join client calls as the SEO voice, explaining results and recommendations in plain language.
8. Process, Systems & Documentation
Follow, enforce, and improve the organization's SEO checklists, templates, SOPs, and brand guidelines—ensuring the team works the same way to the same standard.
Build and improve scalable workflows across the SEO department so quality holds as client volume grows, rather than depending on individual memory or heroics.
Create and maintain templates, checklists, and QA systems that make the right output the default and catch issues before they reach a client.
Identify repetitive work and introduce automation or tooling to remove it, freeing the team for strategy and execution that needs a human.
Own capacity planning for the department—forecasting workload against team availability, flagging constraints early, and proposing solutions before delivery slips.
Document processes, decisions, and standards so the department is transferable, trainable, and not dependent on any one person.
Take ownership of the delivery system end to end, so day-to-day monitoring, chasing, and follow-up do not need to come from leadership.
Ensure all client-facing and on-site work adheres to organizational guidelines, brand voice, and compliance requirements before it ships.
Train account and junior team members on SEO basics relevant to their roles.
Support the team's day-to-day work by assisting with research, implementation guidance, QA, and documentation as needed to unblock work and keep projects moving.

Success Metrics / KPIs
Success in this role is built on consistent execution across five core areas: daily and weekly task ownership, accurate and descriptive time tracking, proactive capacity management, timely follow-up without being prompted, and thorough QA before work moves forward. We value team members who take pride in the details and hold themselves accountable to a high standard before anyone else has to ask.
Growth in organic traffic and organic new patient leads for assigned clients.
Improved rankings and visibility for priority keywords and local searches in target markets.
Increased GBP engagement (calls, website clicks, direction requests) and stable/improved local pack presence.
On-time completion of SEO deliverables by the team (audits, optimizations, briefs, reports).
Website launches and migrations that protect or improve organic performance, with SEO QA completed before and after go-live.
Team performance, growth, and retention—measured by quality of output, adherence to process, and individual development.
Measurable improvement in the SEO delivery system—documented workflows, working templates and QA checkpoints, reduced rework, and less day-to-day follow-up required from leadership.
Consistent adherence to organizational guidelines and brand standards across all team output.
Positive internal and client feedback on clarity of communication and strategic value.

Required Skills & Experience
Must have reliable and stable internet connection
Must be able and willing to work 8am - 12pm EST Monday - Friday to overlap with US team; other 4 hours per day can be completed at your convenience
Excellent written and verbal English communication skills, as this role writes client-facing deliverables, joins client calls as the SEO voice, and documents processes for the department.
3–5 years of hands-on SEO experience, preferably in an agency or lead-generation environment.
At least 2+ years directly managing or leading an executional team, with demonstrated ability to assign work, hold people accountable, and develop performance.
Experience planning websites and website improvements from an SEO perspective—sitemap and service-page structure, URL hierarchy, internal linking, redirects, migrations, page prioritization, and final SEO QA.
Demonstrated experience building or improving team processes—workflows, templates, QA systems, documentation, or automation—not just working inside processes someone else built.
Proven ability to work within an organization's established processes, brand standards, and guidelines—and to hold a team to them consistently.
Demonstrated success with local SEO for service businesses (healthcare, dental, home services, or similar).
Strong understanding of semantic SEO, including search intent, topical coverage, internal linking strategy, and content structure aligned with modern SERPs.
Proficiency with Google Search Console, GA4, a keyword research tool, a site crawler, and a rank tracker.
Working knowledge of WordPress (Elementor or similar) and basic HTML best practices, with enough site-level ownership to spec and QA structural changes rather than only requesting them.
Experience with capacity planning or workload forecasting across a team.
Strong analytical skills and comfort turning data into clear, practical recommendations.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Familiarity with content optimization tools such as SurferSEO, ---------- , NeuronWriter, or similar platforms.

Required Leadership Behaviors
As SEO Manager you will balance team leadership with direct execution. This means personally jumping into audits, GBP work, on-page optimization, content briefs, internal linking, reporting, and QA alongside managing and developing the team around you. Given the scale of our client portfolio, the right person thrives in a high-volume environment, takes ownership of the delivery system, and keeps things moving without needing direction at every step.
Manages and develops people: Leads an executional team directly—sets clear expectations, gives honest feedback, and grows the people on the team.
Builds the system, not just the output: Improves how the work gets done—workflows, templates, QA, automation, documentation—so quality scales with volume.
Follows and upholds guidelines: Works within the organization's processes and brand standards, and ensures the team does the same; sees consistency as a strength, not a constraint.
Ownership: Takes responsibility for SEO outcomes, website performance, and team delivery on assigned accounts; reliably follows through.
Collaborative: Partners with account, content, design, and dev to move work forward without friction, and removes blockers for the team.
Proactive: Spots issues and opportunities early and brings forward solutions, not just problems.
Client-friendly communicator: Explains SEO concepts and results in a way that builds trust and understanding.
Growth-oriented: Keeps up with SEO and local search changes and looks for ways to improve client and agency performance.
Models accountability: Owns results, follows through on commitments, and addresses issues directly instead of deflecting or blaming.
Builds trust: Approachable, transparent, and willing to admit mistakes—then leads the way on solutions.
Energizes a remote team: Brings positivity through engaging meetings, creative rituals, and inclusive activities that make work feel fun, not flat.

Nice to Haves
Experience designing or using SEO automation workflows (e.g., for content production, internal linking, reporting, or local SEO tasks).
Experience leading or supporting a website migration or large-scale redesign from the SEO side.
Open and curious mindset toward testing and adopting AI- and automation-powered tools to improve content quality, efficiency, and SEO performance.