Director SEO - Audience Engagement
Company: The Walt Disney Company
Location: Bristol
Posted on: April 1, 2026
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Job Description:
Job Posting Title: Director SEO - Audience Engagement Req ID:
10145392 Job Description: The Director of SEO is a senior leader
within our Audience Engagement group responsible for defining and
executing ESPN’s overall search and referral growth strategy across
a large, fast-paced newsroom producing hundreds of pieces of
content a day. This role owns organic search performance end to
end—setting best practices, guiding editorial partners, and
translating data into actionable insights that drive audience
growth and engagement. The Director will also oversee and evolve
our SEO content strategy, setting budgets and generating evergreen
story ideas. In addition to traditional search engines, the
Director of SEO will oversee optimization and growth strategies
across key referral platforms such as Reddit, Apple News, and other
emerging distribution channels, as well as work closely with the
social team to lead referral best practices. The ideal candidate
combines deep SEO expertise, strong newsroom instincts, and proven
people leadership. Sports happens on nights, weekends, and
holidays. The SEO Director will help lead and delegate in these
windows. This role is located in our Bristol, CT office.
Responsibilities: Own and evolve the organization’s SEO and
referral strategy, aligned with editorial, audience, and business
goals Stay ahead of algorithm changes, platform updates, and
industry trends, translating them into clear guidance for teams Act
as the senior SEO voice in cross-functional conversations with
Audience Engagement, Editorial, Product, ABC News, and other
business stakeholders Establish and maintain SEO best practices for
news, evergreen, and video content Partner closely with editors to
integrate SEO thinking into daily workflows without compromising
editorial integrity Lead optimization strategies for non-search
referral platforms (e.g., Apple News, Reddit, newsletters, and
other emerging sources) Define success metrics and KPIs for organic
search and referral traffic, delivering regular reporting on
performance, trends, opportunities, and risks newsroom partners
Manage, mentor, and grow a team of SEO specialists and writers
Serve as a trusted advisor, helping teams balance speed, quality,
and optimization in a breaking-news environment Required
Qualifications: Minimum of 8 years of experience in SEO, audience
development, or digital growth, preferably within a large media or
content-driven organization; with a proven track record in SEO
strategies for the AI age Minimum of 2 years of direct people
management experience Understanding of technical SEO, on-page
optimization, and content strategy in a newsroom context Strong
experience working with analytics tools (e.g., Google Search
Console, Adobe, SEMrush, or similar tools) and translating data
into insights Preferred Qualifications: Demonstrated success
growing organic search and referral traffic at scale Experience
partnering cross-functionally with product teams Comfort operating
in a fast-changing, high-pressure news environment Required
Education: High School Diploma Preferred Education: Bachelor’s
degree or equivalent in journalism, communications, or a related
field ESPNMedia Job Posting Segment: ESPN Digital, Social &
Streaming Content Job Posting Primary Business: Audience Engagement
Primary Job Posting Category: Internet Search Optimization
Employment Type: Full time Primary City, State, Region, Postal
Code: Bristol, CT, USA Alternate City, State, Region, Postal Code:
Date Posted: 2026-03-17
Keywords: The Walt Disney Company, Irvington , Director SEO - Audience Engagement, PR / Public Relations , Bristol, New Jersey
