Senior SEO Executive

• Base Location: East Croydon/ Fleet Street
• Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent/Hybrid

We are looking for a passionate and commercially minded Senior SEO Executive to join our in-house SEO team.

The Senior SEO Executive will independently manage SEO across a portfolio of the company’s media brands, taking ownership of organic visibility, traffic and search performance. The role will cover technical, on-page, content and off-page SEO, as well as emerging AI-driven search opportunities.

Working with editorial, content, web and other internal teams, the Senior SEO Executive will identify opportunities, develop and implement SEO recommendations, monitor performance and drive improvements.

The role will act as the main SEO point of contact for assigned brands.

Responsibilities:

• Take end-to-end ownership of SEO for assigned brands, managing priorities and initiatives independently.
• Develop and implement SEO strategies to increase organic visibility, rankings, traffic and engagement.
• Conduct keyword research, competitor analysis, keyword gap analysis and SERP analysis to identify growth opportunities.
• Manage on-page SEO, including keyword mapping, content optimisation, metadata, internal linking, search intent and CTR optimisation.
• Conduct regular technical SEO audits and work with Web/Development teams to resolve issues relating to crawlability, indexation, site structure, redirects and structured data.
• Work closely with editorial and content teams to identify content gaps and ensure new and existing content follows SEO best practices and supports search intent.
• Apply E-E-A-T and topical authority principles to content and SEO strategies.
• Develop SEO approaches for AI-powered search, including Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and other emerging generative search experiences.
• Optimise content for LLM discoverability and generative search, ensuring articles are structured, authoritative and entity-rich to improve their likelihood of being surfaced and cited by AI-powered search experiences and large language models.
• Use AI tools responsibly to support SEO research, content analysis, competitor analysis, reporting and workflow efficiency, while maintaining human oversight and content quality.
• Monitor changes in search behaviour, Google updates, AI search developments and industry trends, adapting strategies where required.
• Monitor SEO performance using GA4, Google Search Console and SEO tools, identifying trends, issues and opportunities.
• Produce clear and actionable monthly SEO reports for internal stakeholders, focusing on performance, insights, recommendations and next steps.
• Manage SEO projects and workstreams through to implementation, ensuring actions are prioritised and delivered.
• Build strong relationships with editorial, content, Web Development and other teams and act as the SEO point of contact for assigned brands.

Skills:

• Demonstrate 3+ years’ experience in SEO, ideally within a digital, publishing or media environment.
• Proven ability to manage SEO for websites or brands independently and prioritise work with minimal supervision.
• Strong knowledge of technical, on-page, content and off-page SEO.
• Strong understanding of keyword research, search intent, competitor analysis, internal linking, technical SEO and content optimisation.
• Experience with WordPress or a similar CMS.
• Strong working knowledge of GA4, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager, SEMrush, Moz and Screaming Frog.
• Good understanding of E-E-A-T, structured data, CTR optimisation and topical authority.
• Practical understanding of AI-powered search and how generative AI is changing SEO and content discovery.
• Practical experience with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), including optimising content for AI discoverability, semantic search, entity-based SEO, structured content and evolving AI search experiences.
• Experience using AI tools to improve SEO research, analysis and productivity, with strong judgement around accuracy and quality.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn data into clear recommendations.
• Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills for analysis and reporting.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Strong communication, organisation and time-management skills.
• Proactive, self-motivated and comfortable taking ownership and making decisions independently.
• Strong team player with the ability to work effectively across multiple business functions.

Core Competencies:

• A good understanding of business requirements and the client’s needs.
• Awareness of the company’s reputation, and of its commercial and legal position within the context of advertising, sponsorship and content marketing.
• Consistently demonstrate an effective and resourceful solution-led approach to obstacles.
• Achieve and exceed targets and consistently deliver exceptional results.
• Work collaboratively with multi-platform teams.
• Show good judgement and negotiating skills when dealing with clients and their agencies.

Personal Attributes:

• Effectively communicate and build positive relationships at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Demonstrate a daily focus and an enthusiastic approach to work.
• Display excellent presenting skills.
• Demonstrate exceptional planning, organisational and time management skills. Work well under pressure and to tight deadlines.

Right to Work Requirement:

Remote working and visa sponsorship are not available. Candidates must have the legal right to work in the UK, in accordance with UK employment law. A share code will be required during the interview process.

Our roles are hybrid: 3 days in the office and 2 days from home. This could change over time depending on business needs.

What we offer

Learning & Development:

At emap, we believe that employee learning and development are the key drivers of our success. To ensure continuous growth and meet the ever-changing demands of the workplace, we provide an environment that fosters continuous development for our employees.

Our employees are encouraged to identify their areas of personal and professional development aligned with our strategic areas, including management development, health, safety & wellbeing, sales, events management, marketing strategy, editorial, and information technology. We have a structured framework designed to help equip our employees with the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to excel in their job roles, contributing to achieving our organisational objectives.

To support our employees’ career development, we have designed specialized programs, as well as other stand-alone role-specific and generic courses, under the emap academy.

Benefits:

• 25 days of annual leave, with the option to buy or sell additional days
• One additional day of leave per year- Celebration Day
• Health plan
• Life assurance
• Private virtual GP access
• Seasonal flu jabs available at the office
• Continuous learning & development opportunities
• In-house Excellence Awards and other innovation projects
• Discounted gym memberships
• Rail season ticket loans
• Annual Summer & Winter Celebrations
• Work from home during August
• Income protection and more

Privacy:

Metropolis Group respects the privacy of every person for whom we have personal data. We comply with data protection legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation which regulates the processing of data and ensures that your data is processed fairly and lawfully, is kept secure and only that data necessary for any processing is kept. You can see our privacy policy at www.metropolis.co.uk/privacy.

Diversity and Inclusion:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, age, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability status.