A Head of SEO, Without the Full-Time Salary.
You need senior SEO judgment – the kind that sets strategy, manages agencies, and gets a seat at the leadership table. You don’t yet need (or can’t yet afford) a full-time exec. That’s exactly the gap fractional leadership fills. 1-3 days a week, direct to your team, accountable to pipeline – not just deliverables.
The Gap Nobody Talks About: Strategy vs. Execution
Most SaaS teams have execution – a writer, a freelancer, maybe an agency. What they’re missing is someone who decides what to execute, why, and how it ties to revenue. That gap is where SEO budgets quietly go to die.
A full-time Head of SEO costs real money and takes months to hire right. An agency executes against a scope but rarely owns outcomes or sits in your leadership meetings. Fractional leadership sits in between – senior strategy, direct accountability, fraction of the cost.
This is the same operating model behind a 320% traffic lift and 80% organic pipeline share at Voxco, and a 25% CAC reduction at Dotcom-Monitor – senior oversight applied consistently, not a one-off audit that sits in a drive folder.
Signs You Need Fractional Leadership, Not Another Freelancer
- You have content or dev resources, but no one deciding SEO priorities
- Your agency delivers reports, but nobody ties them to pipeline
- SEO keeps getting deprioritized because no one owns it internally
- You’re prepping for a Series A/B raise and need defensible growth metrics
- You need interim leadership while you search for a full-time hire
Fractional vs. Agency vs. Full-Time Hire
Each model has a place. Here’s an honest breakdown so you pick the right one for your stage – not the one with the best sales pitch.
| Criteria | SEO Agency | Fractional Head of SEO | Full-Time Hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic ownership | Limited to scope | Full ownership | Full ownership |
| Cost | Medium-High retainer | Fraction of exec salary | Full salary + equity + benefits |
| Time to start | 1-2 weeks | Days | 2-4 months (hiring cycle) |
| Sits in leadership meetings | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Manages other specialists/agencies | No | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Pure execution tasks | Seed-Series C, interim leadership | Series C+, high content volume |
Three Ways to Bring Me In
No rigid packages – the right cadence depends on your stage, team size, and how much execution support you already have. Here’s the general shape.
Strategic Advisor
Half-day or monthly strategy sessions. Best for teams with an internal SEO doer who needs senior direction and accountability.
- Quarterly roadmap & priority setting
- Monthly performance review
- Async Slack/email support
Fractional Head of SEO
1-3 days a week, embedded with your team. I run strategy, manage execution (yours or an agency’s), and report directly to leadership.
- Full technical, content & GEO strategy ownership
- Team/agency management
- RevOps attribution reporting to CMO/CEO
Interim Leadership
You’re actively hiring a full-time Head of SEO or Director of Growth. I hold the seat, keep momentum, and help you evaluate candidates.
- Full leadership responsibilities, time-boxed
- Hiring support & candidate evaluation
- Clean handover documentation
Leadership Outcomes, Not Just Deliverables
These are results from engagements where I owned strategy and execution oversight – tracked through RevOps attribution, not self-reported traffic screenshots.
What the First 90 Days Actually Look Like
Weeks 1-2: Audit & Alignment
Full technical, content, and GEO audit. Align with founders/CMO on pipeline goals, current attribution gaps, and existing team/agency capabilities.
Weeks 3-6: Roadmap & Quick Wins
Ship the fixes with fastest payback – technical debt, schema gaps, cannibalized keywords – while building the 6-12 month content and GEO roadmap.
Weeks 7-12: Execution Oversight
Manage writers, developers, or agency partners against the roadmap. Set up RevOps attribution dashboards so leadership sees pipeline impact, not just rankings.
Ongoing: Report, Iterate, Scale
Monthly leadership reporting on pipeline velocity and CAC impact. Adjust priorities as the product, ICP, or funding stage evolves.
What’s In Scope
- Technical SEO, content, and GEO strategy ownership
- Direct management of writers, freelancers, or agency partners
- RevOps attribution setup and monthly pipeline reporting
- Leadership-level roadmap planning and budget input
- Hiring support if/when you’re ready for a full-time SEO lead
What’s Not In Scope
- Full-time, single-employer exclusivity (I typically run 2-3 engagements)
- Guaranteed rankings or traffic numbers
- Hands-on content writing at scale (I manage writers, not replace them)
- Paid media or non-organic channel management
Not Sure If You Need Fractional or Full-Time?
Start with a free audit. I’ll assess your current SEO maturity, team gaps, and give you an honest recommendation – even if that means telling you fractional isn’t the right fit yet.
- Free technical + content + GEO audit
- Honest fit assessment: fractional, agency, or full-time
- No lock-in – month-to-month engagement model
Ready to Hire Full-Time Instead?
If your team has reached the stage where a full-time Head of SEO or Director of Growth makes sense, I’m open to those conversations too – currently Head of SEO at Dotcom-Monitor.
- 13+ years leading SEO for B2B SaaS
- Track record across Seed-to-scale and enterprise tools
- Remote-ready with global timezone overlap
Fractional SEO Leadership, Straight Answers
What is a fractional Head of SEO?
A fractional Head of SEO is a senior SEO leader who works with your team part-time – typically 1 to 3 days a week – providing the same strategic oversight a full-time executive would, at a fraction of the cost and without a long hiring cycle.
How is fractional leadership different from hiring an SEO agency?
Agencies typically execute tasks against a retainer scope. A fractional Head of SEO sits inside your team, sets strategy, manages other specialists or agencies, reports directly to your CMO or CEO, and owns pipeline outcomes – not just deliverables.
When does it make sense to hire fractional vs. full-time?
Fractional makes sense for Seed to Series B companies that need senior strategy but don’t yet have the budget, content volume, or team size to justify a full-time executive salary. It’s also useful for Series C companies that need interim leadership during a hiring search.
What does a fractional SEO engagement typically include?
Technical SEO audits, content and GEO strategy, keyword and topic architecture, team or agency oversight, RevOps attribution reporting, and direct involvement in roadmap and budget planning with leadership.
Can this convert into a full-time hire later?
Yes. Many fractional engagements are structured as a bridge – either to a permanent internal hire I help you recruit and onboard, or to a longer-term fractional relationship as the company scales.
Strategy Is Easy to Skip. It’s Why Pipeline Stalls.
Get senior SEO leadership without the full-time hiring cycle – or let’s talk about a permanent role instead. Either way, start with an honest conversation.