Search Strategist (12 - 14 month Contract)

VERB is a digital marketing and technology agency with our head office located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our global clients offer the opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the world’s biggest destinations, resorts, and travel brands—and with our employee travel credit, it’s easy to experience them for yourself. We take a balanced approach to work/life and have fun at the office– or wherever we happen to be working. We are passionate about exceeding expectations and we thrive on jobs other agencies might find too big, or too difficult, or too fast. Sounds good? Great, here’s who we’re looking for… A Search Strategist (SEO Strategist) , owns the SEO, GEO, and AI search strategy for their VERB partners, driving visibility across traditional search and AI-generated answers in Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot. This is a partner-facing role for someone excited to take the lead: strategists are the go-to search expert for their partners, own their AI and traditional search strategies end to end, and are accountable for results. There is no hand-holding. Strategists are backed by a collaborative team, but they set the direction. Please note: This is a temporary 12-14 month contract position covering a leave of absence. Responsibilities: Act as the primary search contact for their partners, leading calls and presenting reports that explain the rationale behind strategy, tactics, and recommendations. Lead an integrated SEO and AI search strategy for each partner, aligning with the SEO Pod Lead and the SEO and GEO Strategy Leads. Lead Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), improving how partners are surfaced, cited, and accurately described in AI-generated answers through entity optimization, structured data, llms.txt, and citation-ready content. Monitor AI search performance, including brand mentions, share of voice, citations, and answer accuracy, and turn findings into prioritized recommendations. Own local search strategy, managing listings, location data, and reviews in Yext and optimizing each partner’s Google Business Profile. Manage day-to-day SEO and AI search activities for retainers, and pre- and post-launch activities for new builds, coordinating with content strategists, project managers, developers, and external vendors. Apply a full range of tactics (site architecture, on-page, technical, schema, and off-page) and manage partner backlink profiles and link-building strategies. Perform keyword and prompt research, competitor research, and content and website performance analysis using Ahrefs, Semrush, Scrunch, Yext, GSC, GA4, Data Studio, and Claude. Proactively identify and implement improvements to strategies and tactics, bringing new ideas to partners without waiting for direction. Collaborate with Accounts, Performance Media, social, creative, and content teams to align search insights, SERP strategy, and content calendars across channels. Track time and manage tasks in Jira, keeping retainer hours and deliverables on time and on budget. Provide SEO and AI search training to partners, take part in team training, and stay current on search and AI trends. 3+ years of SEO or AI search experience; post-secondary education in marketing, communications, or equivalent experience. Demonstrated knowledge of ranking factors and SEO best practices, and of how AI answer engines such as Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, and ChatGPT select, cite, and describe brands. Recent experience identifying and fixing technical SEO issues on CMSs such as WordPress and Drupal. Experience crawling sites and managing indexing in Google Search Console, using tools such as Screaming Frog, Semrush, and Ahrefs. Knowledge of robots.txt, regular expressions, schema markup, and entity optimization. Experience managing Google Business Profiles and local listings through platforms such as Yext. Working knowledge of GA4, Data Studio, or other analytics tools, and of Jira or similar time-tracking tools. Experience managing organic search for multiple partners; hospitality and tourism experience is an asset. Excited to be partner-facing: enjoys leading calls, presenting reports, and clearly explaining the rationale behind decisions. Self-directed and accountable, with the confidence to own partner strategy end to end without close supervision. Demonstrated ability to write content for SEO and AI search. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and written and verbal communication skills, with close attention to detail. Highly organized, able to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment, and open to feedback. Experience with social or paid media campaigns is an asset. Our benefits are anything but basic! Vacation time is available from day one plus we offer an extra paid week off during our annual holiday closure between Christmas and New Years! We provide an annual travel credit (for non-work related travel), and free office snacks and drinks to keep you energized when you’re around. In addition, we offer the following benefits, and are always looking for new ways to enhance what we offer: Premium co-share option for Group Health Insurance (medical, dental, vision) $1000 annual allowance to use towards a Health Spending OR Wellness Spending Account Company matching RRSP program Top up for Parental/Pregnancy leave Hybrid work arrangements (3 days in office per week for local employees) Remote opportunities available for other locations. Career Advancement Professional and Personal Development opportunities Internal recognition programs Recreational sports teams and social event Transit and fitness discounts This posting is for an existing vacancy. Please note, we use automated tools, including the AI-enabled technology available with our ATS system Workable, to support certain aspects of our recruitment process, such as organizing applications and identifying potential matches based on role related criteria. These tools are used to assist with administrative and screening activities only . All hiring decisions including shortlisting, interview selection, and final decisions are reviewed and made by a human. VERB is committed to an inclusive hiring process. If you require accommodations at any stage during our recruitment process, please let us know and we will work to support you.