Carolyn Lyden.SEO · AEO · Content

About

I help companies
get found — and
chosen.

Fifteen years of SEO, content strategy, and web experience for B2B SaaS, global enterprises, and fast-growing brands.

Carolyn Lyden

The work

I build search programs that move businesses forward. I study how search is changing and what stubbornly stays the same — how AI engines surface information, and how content structure, technical fundamentals, and brand authority shape visibility in both classic search and AI answers.

Then I turn that insight into clear web roadmaps that boost discovery, conversions, and long-term growth. My core move is helping companies shift from product-first to audience-first: mapping intent, restructuring sites, and building content systems that answer the questions people are actually asking.

Most recently I’ve led search, AEO, and performance marketing at the director level for global enterprises — building multidisciplinary in-house teams, guiding large-scale site migrations, and creating the governance and enablement systems that make good digital practice stick across an organization.

I hold an MBA in marketing and bring a blend of strategic planning, UX thinking, and hands-on execution to every project. The throughline: systems that work, teams that last, and digital experiences that are clear, useful, and easy to find.

Offstage from the conference circuit, you’ll find me on an actual stage — I train and perform improv in Atlanta.

Selected experience

Where the work
has lived.

  • EverProDirector, AI Visibility & Web PerformanceLeading AI search visibility and web performance strategy at enterprise scale.
  • NasdaqDirector of Performance MarketingLed global SEO, AEO, paid, and web strategy for a major division — built and scaled a multidisciplinary in-house team and guided an enterprise-wide site migration.
  • OracleSEO & Content Strategy LeadLed complex SEO and content initiatives supporting major product lines across a global enterprise.
  • Search Engine LandDirector of Search ContentDirected search content for one of the industry’s leading publications.
  • Search HermitFounderHelped women-owned and SMB brands grow through visibility, content frameworks, and repeatable systems.
“Shift from product-first to audience-first. Map intent, restructure the site, and build content that answers real questions.”

How I think

A few operating
principles.

  1. 01

    Audience over product

    Start from the question someone is actually typing — or asking an AI — not from the feature you want to sell.

  2. 02

    Structure is strategy

    Information architecture and technical basics are not chores; they’re how both search engines and AI engines decide to trust you.

  3. 03

    Content tied to revenue

    Every framework connects back to discovery, conversion, and growth — not vanity traffic.

  4. 04

    Built for the AI shift

    Visibility now means showing up in answers, not just links. I design for both.

Let’s talk

Want this kind of
thinking on your team?

I take on a small number of strategy engagements and advisory relationships. Tell me what you’re working on.

Start a conversation →