Director, SEO & AEO

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow—helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. Join us to put AI to work for people.

About the role

ServiceNow's Digital Experience organization is seeking a strategic and decisive Director of SEO and AI-Optimized Search (AEO) to build and lead a world-class search optimization function. In this role, you will own the SEO and AEO strategy, lead a talented team, and establish the organizational discipline and infrastructure that makes search optimization a competitive advantage—not an afterthought. You will arbitrate between stakeholder demand and data-driven signals, drive strategic alignment with leadership across the organization, and build the systems and automation that scale search optimization across all of ServiceNow.com.

The ideal candidate brings proven SEO and AEO leadership experience, deep understanding of search marketing and LLM optimization, and the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics. You must be comfortable designing for automation and systems thinking—you're building infrastructure for the future, not advisory committees for the present. You thrive in ambiguity, move fast, and have a track record of establishing organizational capability and operational rigor.

Responsibilities

• SEO & AEO Strategy, Roadmap & Alignment
  • Define and execute the SEO and AEO strategy and roadmap aligned to ServiceNow's business priorities and content discovery opportunities across all web surfaces (product pages, buying group content, community, developer resources, etc.).
  • Arbitrate between stakeholder content requests and search data to establish disciplined content priorities.
  • Drive alignment with leadership on messaging hierarchy, discovery strategy, and content investment decisions.
  • Establish clear performance targets for organic visibility, rankings, AEO performance, and content discoverability. Own quarterly business reviews on SEO/AEO outcomes and progress against strategic goals.
  • Stay abreast of industry trends in SEO, AEO, LLM optimization, and emerging search/discovery mechanisms. Evolve strategy as the search landscape changes.
• Infrastructure, Automation & Orchestration
  • Build and oversee the technical and operational infrastructure that embeds SEO/AEO validation into the content production workflow.
  • Own integrations with SERP data tools, Google Search Console, competitive intelligence platforms, and AirOps to ensure SEO signals flow into page creation and optimization in real time.
  • Design SEO validation gates in the page-production workflow so content is optimized during creation, not after deployment. Establish the logic that feeds performance signals and recommendations into content orchestration.
  • Lead the enablement of marketing teams (Product Marketing, Integrated Marketing, etc.) to self-serve content creation at scale using AirOps and other tools, with built-in SEO guardrails.
• Team Leadership, Development & Execution
  • Lead and develop a high-performing SEO/AEO team comprising specialists in performance analytics, technical automation/integrations, content operations, and LLM optimization.
  • Set clear goals, provide coaching, and build organizational capability in search and discovery.
  • Own quarterly planning, performance management, and career development for all direct reports. Build a culture of data-driven decision making and continuous optimization.
  • Partner with Studio (UX, copywriting, design), Publishing, Localization, and Web Experience Management to ensure SEO strategy is operationalized across the full page-production lifecycle.
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Communication
  • Serve as the organizational authority on search discovery and optimization strategy. Build and maintain executive relationships across Product Management, Product Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Field Marketing, and Corporate Communications.
  • Communicate SEO/AEO strategy, performance insights, and recommendations to leadership. Represent the search function in marketing planning, campaign kickoffs, and stakeholder reviews.
  • Drive adoption of SEO best practices and discipline across the organization. Push back on content decisions that are inconsistent with search strategy and justify those calls with data.

Requirements

• 8+ years of professional SEO/search marketing experience, with at least 3+ years in a leadership or management role.
• Proven track record building and scaling SEO functions, establishing organizational discipline around search strategy, and driving measurable business impact through organic visibility and traffic.
• Deep understanding of SEO fundamentals (technical SEO, content optimization, E-E-A-T, link strategy, SERP dynamics) and emerging AEO/LLM optimization challenges.
• Experience designing and deploying SEO workflows, automation, and integrations with marketing technology (CMS, martech platforms, data tools).
• Strong leadership and communication skills. Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, articulate complex search strategy in business terms, and drive organizational alignment.
• Analytical mindset with ability to interpret search data, build performance frameworks, and translate insights into strategic recommendations.
• Comfort with ambiguity and systems thinking. You thrive in building organizational capability and infrastructure, not just executing tactical projects.

Skills

• Expert-level proficiency with SEO tools and platforms (Google Search Console, SEMrush, or equivalent). Familiarity with SERP tracking and competitive intelligence tools.
• Experience with web content management systems (Adobe Experience Manager / AEM strongly preferred) and publishing workflows.
• Working knowledge of web analytics (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) and ability to define and track SEO/organic performance metrics.
• Understanding of web development basics, site speed optimization, structured data/schema, and technical SEO best practices.
• Awareness of AI/LLM capabilities and emerging opportunities in AEO and generative search optimization.

Preferred Experience

• B2B enterprise or SaaS marketing experience strongly preferred.
• Leadership experience in global, multi-market organizations where you've managed localization and regional SEO strategy.
• Background scaling teams through automation, process design, and systems thinking rather than headcount alone.
• Experience with AI/ML applications in marketing and understanding of how LLMs and generative search are reshaping discovery.

Pay

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $165,600 - $227,700, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location.

Benefits

• Health plans, including flexible spending accounts
• 401(k) Plan with company match
• ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan)
• Matching donations
• Flexible time away plan and family leave programs