Cossette Communications Group and Cossette Media announced yesterday that Omar Al-Hajjar has joined the company as director of search marketing for the Vancouver office. His responsibilities will include managing and developing search marketing campaigns for national and BC-based clients while ‘evangelizing’ search marketing throughout the Cossette group of companies.

With a strong track record in search engine optimization (SEO), Al-Hajjar’s background includes helping companies in the financial, entertainment and software industries deliver successful pay-per-click marketing campaigns. His most recent position was director of online operations and marketing at MogoMoney.com, where he was responsible for a $3.5-million annual internet lending portfolio that achieved double-digit growth in under a year.

‘This was a very difficult position to fill,’ says Tim Monaghan, VP Media Director for Cossette Media. ‘We wanted to ensure that the successful candidate had the expertise demanded by our clients, and matched the values and culture of Cossette Media.’