Senior SEO Analyst (Data & Services)

Company Description

VERSANT is a leading force in news, sports and entertainment - home to iconic and trusted brands that inspire, inform, and delight audiences. Our unique combination of content, technology and services enriches the cultural fabric, igniting passions, sparking conversations, and connecting people to what they love most.

As an independent, publicly traded company, VERSANT brings together powerhouse cable networks - including USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel - with dynamic digital and direct-to-consumer brands such as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. Together, these businesses reflect our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences across every screen and service.

VERSANT is an industry-changing media company fueled by innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. With a strong foundation and a forward-looking vision, VERSANT empowers creativity, embraces change, and drives connection in an ever-evolving world.

Job Description

Position Overview 

The Senior SEO Analyst will play a critical role in shaping the organic growth strategy across CNBC, MSNBC, and E! News digital platforms. This role combines analytical expertise with editorial collaboration to drive visibility, engagement, and audience loyalty through search optimization across traditional search, AI-driven discovery (AIO/GEO), and emerging content platforms. The Senior SEO Analyst will partner closely with content, product, design and engineering teams to ensure stories, videos, and streaming experiences are discoverable and performant across traditional search, AI-generated search results, chatbots, and answers, and social discovery surfaces. 

This individual will leverage data-driven insights to identify growth opportunities, optimize editorial workflows, and guide long-term strategies that strengthen the authority and digital footprint of each brand. They will serve as the bridge between editorial creativity, AI-driven discovery systems, technical performance and user experience—using advanced analytics, structured data, and AI-driven insights to enhance the discoverability of premium journalism, entertainment and streaming content while maintaining brand integrity and editorial excellence. 

Success in this role requires fluency across editorial, technical, AI, UX, and commercial ecosystems, along with a deep passion for news, media, and audience behavior. 

Responsibilities 

• Develop and execute comprehensive SEO and GEO strategies for CNBC, MSNBC, and E! News digital properties. 

• Embed SEO and AI-discovery best practices into editorial workflows for breaking news, investigations, features, evergreen, live coverage, and streaming content to maximize visibility across traditional and AI-driven search surfaces. 

• Lead optimization across search and generative discovery platforms, including AI answer engines, zero-click SERPs, featured snippets, metadata, tagging, schema, and internal linking to strengthen authority and citation visibility. 

• Partner with Product, Design, and Engineering to enhance on-site and streaming discoverability through search-informed navigation, topic hubs, recirculation modules, strong site architecture, Core Web Vitals, and structured data implementation. 

• Leverage data and audience insights — including traffic trends, keyword research, search intent modeling, and competitive benchmarking — to inform editorial strategy, coverage priorities, and growth opportunities. 

• Develop measurement frameworks and dashboards to track performance across brands and platforms, translating insights into actionable editorial and product recommendations. 

• Identify and implement AI and automation opportunities for tagging, clustering, optimization, and workflow efficiency in partnership with Data & Insights teams. 

• Lead experimentation and cross-functional education, including A/B testing, algorithm updates, AI search evolution, and emerging audience discovery trends. 

• Educate cross-functional teams on SEO trends, AI search evolution, generative engine developments, and emerging shifts in audience discovery.  

• Support experimentation and A/B testing for headlines, content modules, and landing pages to maximize reach and engagement. 

Qualifications

•  4+ years of SEO experience, preferably within digital media, news, entertainment or streaming industries. 

• Deep understanding of technical, on-page, and off-page SEO principles. 

• Deep understanding of technical SEO, structured data, semantic search, and E-E-A-T principles in authoritative content environments. 

• Demonstrated experience optimizing for AI-driven discovery, including Google AI Overviews, featured snippets, and emerging generative search ecosystems. 

• Proficiency with SEO and analytics tools such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, and/or Looker Studio. 

• Strong data analysis and reporting skills with the ability to translate findings into actionable strategies. 

• Excellent communication skills with experience partnering across editorial, product, UX/design and engineering teams. 

• Proven track record of delivering measurable organic traffic growth in large, content-driven environments. 

Desired Qualifications 

• Experience with enterprise CMS platforms. 

• Familiarity with structured data, schema markup, and rich results optimization. 

• Understanding of video and streaming SEO across YouTube, OTT, and connected TV ecosystems. 

• Experience leveraging AI tools for keyword clustering, content optimization, or audience segmentation. 

• Passion for journalism, media innovation, and emerging trends in audience discovery. 

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Salary range: $80,000 - $110,000 

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to candidateaccessibility@versantmedia.com.

VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.

VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.