SEMrush / Backlinko

Backlinko, part of SEMrush, is one of the most recognised SEO education brands globally.

With search evolving rapidly through AI, GEO, AEO and shifting content expectations, the team needed a growth leader who could scale production without diluting authority.

The brief

When Backlinko needed to scale organic growth inside a fast-moving educational and publishing environment, they didn’t want a traditional SEO manager. They needed an AI-native operator who could systemise content, strengthen brand authority, and future-proof growth.

After working with Search For Hire, Backlinko secured an Organic Growth Leader who is now operating on a Head of Growth trajectory across Backlinko and SEMrush.

“Filling the Organic Growth Manager role at Backlinko required finding someone who could do far more than your typical SEO position, that’s why the Backlinko / Semrush team came to us.

We needed a person who could take ownership of day-to-day operations at one of SEO’s most respected brands, while simultaneously leading video strategy across both Backlinko and Semrush.

The dual remit made this a genuinely rare hire and finding someone with the range to execute across both was no small task.

Amanda was that person, and the team couldn’t be happier with how she’s hit the ground running.“

— Josh Peacock, CEO and Founder of Search for Hire

The challenge

Backlinko approached Search For Hire to hire an Organic Growth Manager who could deliver across a demanding and genuinely unusual set of requirements:

• Scale content and SEO production across the brand
• Be highly adept with AI workflows
• Introduce new SOPs and operational structure
• Adapt quickly within a high-paced SaaS environment
• Stay ahead of the evolving SEO landscape
• Confidently contribute opinions and manage community presence
• Support broader media expansion including video

This wasn’t a traditional SEO hire. It required a hybrid operator: part content strategist, part systems builder, part growth leader.

“This was a difficult position for a number of reasons.

We needed someone that was confident enough to come into an organisation that has rightfully established a strong reputation within the industry and try to take it an extra mile.

Additionally, someone that had experience across YouTube as well as more traditional SEO, understood the importance of video content, was confident with Metamarketing, and most importantly, we needed someone who wasn’t afraid to be the face of SEO for one of the most well-respected names in the industry.

— Daris Benallal, Head of Recruitment for Search For Hire

The process

Search For Hire ran a targeted headhunting process focused on high-calibre SaaS operators, the client’s stated preference. Eight to ten highly aligned candidates were headhunted and presented, each pre-qualified for technical depth, operational maturity, and cultural fit.

Candidate Criteria

• Experience in fast-moving SaaS environments
• Proven ability to scale content engines
• Comfortable building and refining SOPs
• Strong AI fluency in content production
• Confident operating in public-facing SEO communities

Evaluation Process

• Initial chemistry call
• Practical task to assess thinking and execution capability
• Final leadership alignment interview

Search For Hire stayed close throughout the extended timeline to ensure momentum and alignment on both sides.

The outcome

Search For Hire placed Amanda Milligan as Organic Growth Manager at Backlinko.

Since joining, Amanda has taken over day-to-day operational responsibilities for Backlinko, strengthened content production systems, integrated AI into workflows, and supported expansion into video across Backlinko and SEMrush. She has since stepped into a broader Head of Growth trajectory within the brand, with a title promotion to Head of Organic.

— Leigh McKenzie, Head of Growth at Backlinko and Director of Online Visibility at SEMrush

Why this matters

SEO media brands today don’t need more executors. They need AI-native growth leaders, operators who can build systems, content strategists who understand both brand and performance, and people who can evolve with search in real time.

For category-defining brands like Backlinko, the right hire compounds growth. The wrong one sets a programme back by twelve months or more.

The dual remit across Backlinko and SEMrush made this a genuinely rare search, one that required candidates with both the range and the authority to operate at the highest level of the SEO industry.

Precision in search creates stability in teams. The right person, placed with conviction, doesn’t just fill a role. They carry the brand’s authority into everything they touch.