SEO Strategist

Job Description

UW Medicine Strategic Marketing and Communications has an outstanding opportunity for a SEO Strategist to join their team.

At UW Medicine, we work to improve health for all people through excellence in clinical, research, and education and training programs. As the only comprehensive clinical, research and learning health system in the five-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region, UW Medicine provides the most up-to-date care for each individual patient, leads one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive medical research programs, and provides innovative learning programs for students, trainees, and practitioners in the health professions.

UW Medicine’s Strategic Marketing and Communications (SMC) team plays a unique and vital role in advancing UW Medicine’s mission to improve the health of all people. We advance UW Medicine’s mission by creating connections to the discoveries, knowledge, and care that improve people’s lives. Our team is comprised of 50+ dedicated professionals who work across a variety of marketing and communications disciplines for both the health system and UW School of Medicine, including brand and marketing strategy, news and media relations, internal and crisis communications, web development, UX/DX strategies, social media, writing, and graphic design.

Our success lies in our core values: respect, teamwork, creativity, continuous improvement, and focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, that are reflected in all that we do

POSITION PURPOSE

UW Medicine is seeking an experienced SEO Strategist to develop, execute, and continually optimize organic search strategies that maximize our digital visibility across traditional and AI-driven search platforms. As a member of the Digital Experience team, you will combine technical SEO expertise, content optimization, and strategic analytics to boost user engagement and support UW Medicine’s broader business objectives. You will work cross-functionally to ensure our online presence reaches and resonates with key audiences.

POSITION COMPLEXITIES

The SEO Strategist partners closely with stakeholders across UW Medicine to align SEO initiatives with organizational and marketing priorities. Success requires balancing multiple business objectives, interpreting analytics, and managing constant changes in search engine and AI-based algorithms. The candidate must analyze competitor strategies and market data to inform optimization plans; identify, segment, and engage key audiences through targeted SEO tactics; and communicate complex technical recommendations in clear, actionable terms to teammates and non-technical stakeholders.

POSITION DIMENSIONS AND IMPACT TO THE UNIVERSITY

The SEO Strategist is responsible for optimizing UW Medicine marketing website that serves diverse audiences, including patients, students, and researchers. This role ensures strong online visibility and advances our mission to improve public health through excellence in patient care, medical education, and research.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and Project Management (40%)

• SEO Strategy & Optimization – Develop, monitor, analyze and manage an organic SEO strategy for uwmedicine.org, Right as Rain, and other UW Medicine channels. Conduct competitive analyses, identify content and keyword optimization opportunities, and drive organic traffic growth and conversions.
• Listings Management – Implement a comprehensive listing strategy to maintain accurate and up-to-date hospital, clinic, and provider information across key search engines using listings management platforms (e.g., Yext).
• Technical SEO – Conduct site audits and collaborate with the Digital Experience and web development teams to optimize structured data, metadata, URL structures, linked content and site performance.

Analysis and Maintenance (40%)

• Analytics & Reporting – Track KPIs, analyze organic traffic trends, monitor search engine algorithm updates, and provide actionable insights. Collaborate with Marketing Analytics Specialist to establish and evaluate key metrics across products, ensuring the sites are optimized and trackable for reporting purposes
• CMS & SEO Tools Management – Manage content within Drupal and leverage SEO tools like SEMrush, BrightEdge, and Screaming Frog to track and improve rankings.
• Industry & Innovation Monitoring – Keep the Strategic Marketing and Communication team informed of key SEO and AI search developments, gain insights, act and provide actionable recommendations to stakeholders.
• User Research & Testing – Support the Digital Experience team in research and user testing (Usertesting.com) using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
• SEO Best Practices & Guidelines – Develop and maintain SEO guidelines to ensure content aligns with industry best SEO practices and emerging trends like generative AI search solutions.

Cross-functional Collaboration (20%)

• Team with developers, WebOps, UX Designers and Content strategist to ensure clinics and providers content are fully optimized on UWmedicine.org website, such as site structure, link structure content, and structured data markup.
• Make SEO recommendations and collaborate with organizational partners on SEO projects such as Local Search.
• Provide guidelines and training to the Strategic Marketing and Communications team on changes in the SEO industry and set up processes to implement these changes.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Marketing, or a related field.
• 4 plus years of SEO experience in an agency or enterprise environment.
• Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Expertise in technical SEO, including structured data markup, semantic search, Google Knowledge Graph, and AI-driven search solutions (e.g., Siri, Alexa, Google Bard).
• Proven track record in developing and executing successful SEO strategies.
• Experience with SEO & Analytics tools: Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, BrightEdge, Screaming Frog, RankMath SEO.
• Strong knowledge of HTML, CSS, and web architecture for SEO implementation.
• Experience working in Drupal or similar CMS.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Ability to adapt quickly in a fast-paced content production environment.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams with minimal supervision.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with strong attention to detail.
• Experience refining and implementing SEO processes, managing projects, and prioritizing competing tasks.
• Advocate for human-centered design and audience-first SEO strategies.
• Experience in SEO research methods (qualitative and quantitative).

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 5 plus years of SEO experience in an agency or enterprise environment.
• Healthcare or education industry experience.
• SEO certification.

Compensation, Benefits and Position Details

Pay Range Minimum:

$87,096.00 annual

Pay Range Maximum:

$101,544.00 annual

Other Compensation:

Benefits:

For information about benefits for this position, visit https://www.washington.edu/jobs/benefits-for-uw-staff/

Shift:

First Shift (United States of America)

Temporary or Regular?

This is a regular position

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent):

100.00%

Union/Bargaining Unit:

Not Applicable

About the UW

Working at the University of Washington provides a unique opportunity to change lives – on our campuses, in our state and around the world.

UW employees bring their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to building stronger minds and a healthier world. In return, they enjoy outstanding benefits, opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work in an environment known for its diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

Our Commitment

The University of Washington is proud to be an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer . All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu .

Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law .