Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Merck is a leading company in the Pharma industry, seeking an Associate Director for SEO, GEO, and Content Performance. The role involves developing and executing an integrated search strategy, optimizing content for visibility in search engines and AI platforms, and collaborating with various stakeholders to enhance customer engagement.
Responsibilities
- Define and lead an integrated SEO & GEO strategy aligned to species marketing and other enterprise priorities
- Evolve KPIs from traditional metrics (rankings, traffic) to include AI citations, share of voice, and discoverability
- Identify high-impact use cases across brands, markets, and customer segments
- Partner with Content Hub stakeholders to optimize content for search rankings and AI consumption; Ensure content is structured, authoritative, and citation ready
- Establish standards for AI-friendly content (clarity, structure, factual accuracy)
- Collaborate with MarTech and IT stakeholders to establish standards for taxonomy, metadata, and schema to improve machine readability
- Build and operationalize GEO capabilities, including monitoring visibility in AI-generated answers and identifying opportunities to improve content inclusion in AI outputs
- Develop frameworks to ensure content is trusted, referenced, and surfaced by AI systems
- Define and track performance across SEO (rankings, CTR, organic traffic) and GEO (citations, mentions, AI visibility, “zero-click” outcomes)
- Share performance insights with stakeholders on a regular basis
Skills
- 7+ years in SEO, digital marketing, or search strategy
- Proven experience in enterprise/global SEO programs
- Strong understanding of Technical SEO (site structure, crawlability, schema) and content strategy and optimization
- Familiarity with AI-driven search trends and Large Language Models (LLMs)
- Strong English communication skills and leadership presence to effectively engage stakeholders from around the globe
- Adaptability
- Communication Strategy Development
- Content Strategy
- Customer-Focused
- Data Analysis
- Digital Marketing
- Google Analytics
- Information Systems Management
- Lateral Leadership
- Marketing
- Marketing Analytics
- Marketing Automation
- Product Management
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Search Engine Positioning
- SEMRush
- Stakeholder Relationship Management
- Strategic Thinking
- Experience in animal health or regulated industries
- Exposure to AI search / GEO concepts and emerging tools
- Experience of tools such as SEMRush, Google Analytics and similar
- Background in content strategy, omnichannel marketing, or MarTech platforms
- Strong analytical mindset with experience defining new measurement frameworks
- Demonstrated leadership skills and the ability to work well with ambiguity
- Strong peer leadership skills and ability to successfully lead in a highly matrixed global organizational structure
- Demonstrated ability to understand and distill complex information and communicate in a meaningful way to specific audiences
Benefits
- Annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable
- Medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
- Retirement benefits, including 401(k)
- Paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days
- Flexible Work Arrangements: Remote
Company Overview