A 15% better cost-revenue ratio on a $1.2M annual budget

Five years running the marketing and SEO function for a US and Bulgarian e-commerce operation — building the team as well as the performance.

Role
Head of Marketing & SEO
Budget
$1.2M annual
Result
15% cost-revenue improvement
Scope
Team building · organic · paid · web

The mandate

I was responsible for the marketing and SEO function end to end: the people, the budget, the channels and the internal policies that kept it running. The target was efficiency — the same or greater revenue for materially less cost.

Building the team

I led recruitment, training and supervision for both the marketing and SEO teams, and optimised the internal policies and business continuity strategies around them. Hiring and training is the part of a director role that compounds: the campaigns you run this quarter matter less than whether the team can run better ones without you next quarter.

Performance

The efficiency gain came from managing product lines strategically across organic and paid search together rather than as separate budgets. When SEO and SEM are planned in one view, you stop paying for clicks you already earn and you find the categories where paid genuinely extends reach.

  • −15%Improvement in cost-revenue ratio
  • $1.2MAnnual budget under management
  • OrganicLink building and comprehensive content strategy
  • PaidProduct-line management across search

Web and CRM

I partnered with UX/UI designers to develop distinctive websites, integrating CRM solutions where the sales process needed them. Working directly with design rather than through a brief is what let commercial requirements and interface decisions get resolved in the same conversation.