The Associate Director of SEO leads our SEO function within Digital Marketing, setting strategy and standards across client accounts and internal initiatives. This role owns SEO planning, delivery quality, and team development, and helps educate clients on the importance of SEO to support long term commitments and retainer growth.
What You Do:
• Own SEO strategy across accounts, including discovery, audits, roadmaps, prioritization, and ongoing optimization plans.
• Lead technical SEO efforts across builds and launches, including post launch audits, issue identification (meta tags, site speed, indexing), and client ready recommendations.
• Build and maintain reporting systems and narratives that clearly communicate performance, wins, risks, and next steps to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Guide keyword research and content strategy, including intent mapping, briefs, on page optimization, internal linking, information architecture, and schema recommendations.
• Partner with Strategy, Design, and Engineering to ensure SEO requirements are implemented correctly and efficiently during delivery.
• Lead and develop the SEO team through coaching, QA, training, performance feedback, and hiring support as needed.
• Establish best practices, templates, and SOPs so delivery is consistent, scalable, and high quality.
• Represent SEO in client meetings and strategy presentations, helping explain why SEO matters and how we drive outcomes, with the goal of supporting long term SEO commitments.
• Use AI tools as a core part of the role, and help the team adopt AI responsibly to improve speed and quality of SEO work.
What You Need to Succeed:
• 7+ years of hands on SEO experience, ideally in an agency or multi client environment.
• Proven leadership experience, including mentoring, QA ownership, and managing performance.
• Strong technical SEO depth, including crawling and indexing, migrations, Core Web Vitals, structured data, and troubleshooting complex issues.
• Strong proficiency with modern SEO and analytics tooling, including Google Analytics and Google Search Console, plus common audit and research tools.
• Confident client communication, including presenting strategy, defending recommendations, and aligning stakeholders.
• Strong operational skills: prioritization, project coordination, and consistent on time delivery across multiple initiatives.
• AI competency: regular, responsible use of AI tools in daily workflows, and the ability to guide others in effective usage.
What’s In Store For You:
- Competitive Compensation: Enjoy a generous salary that recognizes your skills and contributions
- Flexibility at its Finest: Embrace the freedom of a 100% remote work environment, giving you the autonomy to work where you're most productive
- Rewards Galore: Benefit from enticing company incentives and rewards that celebrate your achievements
- Profit-share: As a valued team member, you'll have the opportunity to partake in our profit-sharing plan
- Health and Wellness: Rest easy with comprehensive health coverage through our Health Card
- Workspace Upgrade: Enhance your home office with our workspace upgrade allowance
- Monthly Internet Upgrade Incentive: Enjoy monthly internet upgrade incentives to keep you connected at top speeds
- Empowerment through Resources: Access a plethora of training resources, including design tools, to bolster your skill set
- Engage and Grow: Participate in a variety of engaging internal and external company events, such as culture-building activities and enriching workshops
- Free Lunch every Monday (a.k.a. Monchdays): Kickstart your week with complimentary lunch every Monday
- Recharge and Relax: Take advantage of paid vacation and sick leaves to ensure a healthy work-life balance
- Work-Life integration: We foster a culture that values your overall well-being, allowing you to seamlessly integrate work and life
How to apply:
About 500 Designs
Join the team of passionate problem solvers at 500 Designs, the award-winning design agency based in sunny Irvine, California. As one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., we're looking for talented individuals to help us tackle new challenges with wonder and curiosity.
Our 100+ person team specializes in strategy, branding, UI/UX, web design, creative, and development, providing clients with top-notch solutions that make a real impact. From crafting comprehensive brand strategies to designing stunning websites, we're committed to delivering innovative and high-quality work that helps our clients thrive.
At 500 Designs, we're not just a workplace – we're a community of talented individuals who are dedicated to growing, learning, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. If you're a passionate problem solver who's looking for an exciting and fulfilling career in the design industry, we'd love to hear from you. Join us and help shape the future of design.