Head of SEO Marketing Portsmouth, Wimbledon

Portsmouth, Hampshire
Iglu.com

Role Purpose

As the Head of SEO, you will be at the forefront of shaping our digital future. With a portfolio of UK and international sites, you’ll play a pivotal role in amplifying our brand’s presence, driving organic growth, and ensuring we remain a leader in the competitive travel industry. Your primary responsibility will be to develop and execute a comprehensive SEO strategy across multiple regions and languages, optimising on-page, technical, and off-page elements to boost visibility, traffic, and conversions. Leading a talented SEO team, you will collaborate cross-functionally with content, product, and development teams to enhance user experience and ensure alignment with business objectives. As we set ambitious goals to expand and evolve, your expertise will be crucial in crafting innovative strategies that not only elevate our search rankings but also create lasting connections with travelers worldwide. This is a rare opportunity to make a significant impact on a truly dynamic, future-focused company.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the creation and implementation of a comprehensive SEO strategy for multiple international sites, focusing on both local and global SEO goals to enhance visibility and drive organic traffic.
• Oversee technical SEO audits and improvements, ensuring optimal site structure, crawlability, indexability, site speed, and mobile optimisation across all platforms.
• Manage on-page SEO elements (content, metadata, internal linking) and off-page efforts (link building, outreach, partnerships) to improve search rankings and authority.
• Collaborate with content teams to develop SEO-friendly content that resonates with target audiences while enhancing search engine visibility and reinforcing our strong SEO foundation.
• Optimise for both short-term traffic gains and long-term sustainable growth, ensuring SEO efforts contribute directly to overall revenue and business success.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a high-performing SEO team, providing guidance, setting clear goals, and supporting professional development to drive results
• Work closely with product, content, marketing, and development teams to ensure SEO strategies align with broader business goals, ensuring consistent messaging and seamless user experience.
• Use data-driven insights to track, measure, and report on SEO performance, providing actionable recommendations to improve rankings, traffic, and conversion rates.
• Keep the company at the cutting edge of search engine algorithm updates, SEO tools, and industry trends, adapting strategies to maintain competitive advantage.
• Continuously test and experiment with SEO tactics, refining strategies based on results and emerging search trends.
• Track and measure the success of SEO efforts using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SEMrush, or similar platforms. Regularly report on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as organic traffic, rankings, conversions, and ROI.
• Report on SEO performance and initiatives to senior leadership, providing insights and recommendations to guide strategic decision-making.

Skills and Experience:

• 7+ years of experience in SEO with a track record of successfully improving organic search performance across large-scale websites.
• Strong knowledge of technical SEO elements such as site structure, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, schema markup, site speed optimization, mobile-first indexing, and crawlability issues.
• Advanced proficiency in SEO tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, Screaming Frog, or other relevant platforms. Ability to use data from these tools to make informed decisions. Experience working with Enterprise-level SEO platforms is an advantage
• Ability to develop and execute content strategies that align with SEO objectives, focusing on keyword research, content optimization, and audience engagement.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, provide actionable insights, and adjust strategies based on performance metrics.
• Knowledge of A/B testing, SEO experiments, and optimization techniques to continually refine and improve SEO tactics.
• Passion for staying on top of SEO trends, algorithm updates, and emerging digital marketing techniques.
• Experience in leading and mentoring cross-functional teams, including SEO specialists, content creators, and web developers, with strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Proven experience optimizing websites for international audiences, including multilingual, multi-regional SEO strategies and handling localisation challenges.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritise tasks effectively, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to quickly adapt to changes in search engine algorithms and industry trends, ensuring that strategies evolve to maintain competitive advantages.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve technical SEO issues with a proactive, solutions-oriented approach.
• Strong strategic mindset with the ability to align SEO objectives with broader business goals, driving long-term sustainable growth.
• Advanced skills in creating clear, data-backed reports and presentations to demonstrate the effectiveness of SEO strategies and impact on business goals.
• Experience in the travel, e-commerce, or similar industries with a focus on driving organic traffic and conversions in competitive markets is highly advantageous.

Behavioural Role Fit:

• Strategic Thinker: The ability to see the big picture while also focusing on the details. A strong inclination toward long-term planning, with a mindset that balances innovation with a practical approach to achieving measurable results.
• Proactive and Solution-Oriented: A self-starter who anticipates challenges and proactively develops solutions. This person will constantly seek opportunities for improvement and innovation in the SEO space, anticipating changes in search engine algorithms and industry trends.
• Results-Driven: Demonstrates a strong focus on achieving goals and delivering tangible results. Has a track record of driving growth through effective SEO strategies and is motivated by the success of their efforts.
• Adaptable and Resilient: Comfortable navigating change and ambiguity, especially in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. The ideal candidate will be able to pivot quickly when needed and remain resilient when faced with challenges or setbacks.
• Collaborative Leader: A strong team player who thrives in a cross-functional, collaborative environment. Able to influence and guide teams across departments (e.g., content, product, tech) and foster a sense of unity and shared purpose.
• Analytical Mindset with Creativity: Combines data-driven decision-making with creative thinking to develop innovative strategies that improve SEO performance. This person is comfortable with numbers but can also think outside the box to find unique opportunities for growth.
• Detail-Oriented with a Big Picture Focus: While having a strong attention to detail, this individual will also maintain a high-level view of the company’s business objectives, ensuring that SEO strategies align with the broader organisational vision.
• Customer-Centric: Always keeping the user experience in mind, ensuring SEO strategies are designed not only to improve rankings but to enhance the overall customer journey and conversion rates.
• Decision-Maker: Comfortable making difficult decisions, even with incomplete data, and able to stand by their choices. This individual has the confidence to make recommendations that could have a significant impact on the business.
• Continuous Learner: Demonstrates a strong commitment to professional growth and is always eager to learn new techniques, tools, and strategies. Keeps up with the latest trends in SEO and digital marketing and is open to experimenting with new ideas.
• Passionate about travel and our Brands: A genuine interest in the travel industry and the company’s mission, making this person highly motivated to contribute to the company’s growth. They will be eager to connect SEO strategies with the broader goals of the business, especially in a fast-growing, customer-focused industry.

Role Key Performance Indicators:

• Organic Traffic Growth
• Keyword ranking and visibility
• Conversion rate from Organic Traffic
• Core web Vital improvements
• ROI and Revenue generation from Organic
• Site Domain Authority/Rank
• Site Health
• Backlink quality and quantity
• Engagement metrics
• Budget and resource utilisation
• Competitor benchmarking