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I’m an SEO leader with 15+ years of experience driving sustainable organic growth in complex, competitive environments. I currently lead global SEO at PokerStars, where I oversee international strategy, team leadership, and performance across multi-region, multi-language sites in a regulated gaming market. My work focuses on scaling international SEO—hreflang, localised content, enterprise technical SEO, regulatory considerations, and adapting strategies as search evolves with AI. I’ve worked across agencies, in-house teams, and consulting roles, helping brands build scalable SEO frameworks, manage complex migrations, and grow in highly competitive verticals. Earlier in my career, I also worked as a contractor for Google South Africa on their manual search quality rating team, which gave me valuable insight into how search evaluation and quality guidelines shape the ecosystem. I’m particularly passionate about combining data-driven strategy, strong teams, and technical precision with content optimisation to deliver measurable business results.…I’m an SEO leader with 15+ years of experience driving sustainable organic growth in complex, competitive environments. I currently lead global SEO at PokerStars, where I oversee international strategy, team leadership, and performance across multi-region, multi-language sites in a regulated gaming market. My work focuses on scaling international SEO—hreflang, localised content, enterprise technical SEO, regulatory considerations, and adapting strategies as search evolves with AI. I’ve worked across agencies, in-house teams, and consulting roles, helping brands build scalable SEO frameworks, manage complex migrations, and grow in highly competitive verticals. Earlier in my career, I also worked as a contractor for Google South Africa on their manual search quality rating team, which gave me valuable insight into how search evaluation and quality guidelines shape the ecosystem. I’m particularly passionate about combining data-driven strategy, strong teams, and technical precision with content optimisation to deliver measurable business results.

Mark Elmer

SEO Expert, Digital Marketer, Marketing Strategist, +2

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I’m an SEO leader with 15+ years of experience driving sustainable organic growth in complex, competitive environments. I currently lead global SEO at PokerStars, where I oversee international strategy, team leadership, and performance across multi-region, multi-language sites in a regulated gaming market. My work focuses on scaling international SEO—hreflang, localised content, enterprise technical SEO, regulatory considerations, and adapting strategies as search evolves with AI. I’ve worked across agencies, in-house teams, and consulting roles, helping brands build scalable SEO frameworks, manage complex migrations, and grow in highly competitive verticals. Earlier in my career, I also worked as a contractor for Google South Africa on their manual search quality rating team, which gave me valuable insight into how search evaluation and quality guidelines shape the ecosystem. I’m particularly passionate about combining data-driven strategy, strong teams, and technical precision with content optimisation to deliver measurable business results.…I’m an SEO leader with 15+ years of experience driving sustainable organic growth in complex, competitive environments. I currently lead global SEO at PokerStars, where I oversee international strategy, team leadership, and performance across multi-region, multi-language sites in a regulated gaming market. My work focuses on scaling international SEO—hreflang, localised content, enterprise technical SEO, regulatory considerations, and adapting strategies as search evolves with AI. I’ve worked across agencies, in-house teams, and consulting roles, helping brands build scalable SEO frameworks, manage complex migrations, and grow in highly competitive verticals. Earlier in my career, I also worked as a contractor for Google South Africa on their manual search quality rating team, which gave me valuable insight into how search evaluation and quality guidelines shape the ecosystem. I’m particularly passionate about combining data-driven strategy, strong teams, and technical precision with content optimisation to deliver measurable business results.

Available to hire

I’m an SEO leader with 15+ years of experience driving sustainable organic growth in complex, competitive environments. I currently lead global SEO at PokerStars, where I oversee international strategy, team leadership, and performance across multi-region, multi-language sites in a regulated gaming market. My work focuses on scaling international SEO—hreflang, localised content, enterprise technical SEO, regulatory considerations, and adapting strategies as search evolves with AI.

I’ve worked across agencies, in-house teams, and consulting roles, helping brands build scalable SEO frameworks, manage complex migrations, and grow in highly competitive verticals. Earlier in my career, I also worked as a contractor for Google South Africa on their manual search quality rating team, which gave me valuable insight into how search evaluation and quality guidelines shape the ecosystem. I’m particularly passionate about combining data-driven strategy, strong teams, and technical precision with content optimisation to deliver measurable business results.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Language

English

Fluent

Work Experience

SEO Team Lead at PokerStars (Flutter Entertainment PLC)

July 1, 2021 - Present

Full line management of the SEO team (5 people); develop and maintain the SEO strategy for each vertical; accountable for Technical SEO internationally; develop content strategies for the main website and international blogs; collaborate with product and development teams to build features and enhance SEO; manage a $5m department budget and relationships with external agency partners; collaborate with the BI team to develop data and reporting dashboards; ensure acquisition targets and KPIs are met; report on acquisition and key initiatives to stakeholders.

SEO Manager at PokerStars (Flutter Entertainment PLC)

February 1, 2021 - July 1, 2021

Responsible for SEO performance for the Poker vertical; worked with the Team Lead to develop and manage an achievable SEO strategy; managed content and localization; collaborated with external agency partners for link acquisition; worked with development teams across multiple locations to drive continuous SEO improvements; led technical enhancements and trained junior team members.

Head of Technical SEO at Search Laboratory

March 1, 2020 - February 1, 2021

Assumed full responsibility for the Technical SEO offering; guided a team of 6 professionals; recruited and inducted new team members; fulfilled technical SEO requirements for major clients; supported account managers with day-to-day technical recommendations; planned future automation initiatives; assessed prospect sites and pitched to sales.

SEO Account Manager (Senior Account Manager) at Search Laboratory

April 1, 2019 - February 1, 2020

Managed client relationships and created SEO strategies aligned with objectives; led internal campaign teams for effective implementation; produced monthly SEO reports and provided insightful commentary; led client meetings and key pitches; mentored junior team members.

SEO Technical Consultant at Search Laboratory

September 1, 2015 - December 1, 2016

Conducted technical analysis and interpreted web analytics to inform technical solutions; performed full SEO and UX audits and delivered actionable recommendations; supported ongoing technical SEO improvements and progress reporting; participated in pitches and kept abreast of industry trends.

Manual Rating Specialist - Google South Africa at Google/Lionbridge (Contract)

April 1, 2011 - September 1, 2015

Evaluated site quality and relevance of pages; filtered adult content to protect minors; validated country-specific queries; verified map content and mobile rendering; contributed to early voice search testing.

SEO Consultant at Osiris Trading

February 1, 2012 - March 1, 2015

Conducted full SEO audits; suggested optimizations for ranking improvements; audited backlink profiles and supported disavow campaigns; recovered Penguin hits and advised on mobile strategies.