Akshay Maharia

Senior Digital Marketing & Growth Leader with 9+ years of experience driving user acquisition, revenue growth, and brand expansion for Forex brokers, FinTech firms, and regulated financial services across MENA and APAC markets. Proven expertise in performance marketing, SEO, affiliate programs, CRO, and marketing automation, managing budgets up to $600K annually. Track record of 22% YoY trader growth, 15% CPA reduction, and 2.8x ROAS while ensuring compliance in highly regulated markets.

Experienced in building and leading high-performing international teams and scaling operations across new geographies.

Senior Digital Marketing Manager at NXG Markets (2024-08 – Present)

Leading digital marketing operations for a regulated forex broker serving MENA and APAC markets with $600K annual budget.

• Grew active forex trader base by 22% year-over-year through integrated paid media, SEO, affiliate marketing, and content campaigns.
• Reduced Cost Per Acquisition by 15% using AI-powered audience segmentation and automated bidding across Google Ads and Meta platforms.
• Delivered 2.8x Return on Ad Spend, managing $600K budget across PPC, SEO/SEM, and forex affiliate partnerships.
• Increased brand engagement by 55% through marketing automation workflows and AI-generated personalized content.
• Built and led a 12-member international marketing team, including paid media specialists, SEO experts, content creators, and designers.
• Expanded marketing operations into 5 new markets (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Sri Lanka, South Africa) with localized campaigns.
• Implemented comprehensive tracking using Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager monitoring full-funnel performance.
• Increased forex account conversions by 18% through optimized funnels and systematic landing page testing.
• Improved registration-to-funded account rate from 12% to 16% through landing page optimization and lead nurturing.
• Grew monthly organic traffic from 100 to 8,000 visitors through strategic SEO and forex content marketing.
• Developed automated email sequences, improving open rates by 32% and click-through rates by 41%.

Digital Marketing Manager at Learnovate Training Center (2023-07 – 2024-07)

• Developed marketing strategy for 60+ vocational courses, attracting 200+ students with 30% increase in enrollments.
• Generated 1000+ qualified leads monthly through multi-channel marketing (SEO, PPC, social media, affiliate partnerships).
• Created compliant promotional materials for forex and crypto courses adhering to UAE financial education regulations.
• Trained 80+ students in digital marketing and forex marketing strategies, achieving 95% satisfaction rate.
• Developed curriculum covering forex broker marketing, crypto exchange marketing, regulatory compliance, and trader acquisition.
• Led marketing team of 8 people managing campaigns across multiple course categories simultaneously.
• Increased brand awareness in the MENA education sector by 60% through strategic content marketing.

Senior SEO Specialist at Cognus Technology (2022-06 – 2023-06)

• Managed multiple client SEO accounts across e-commerce, education, real estate, healthcare, and financial services.
• Increased client organic traffic by average 85% within 6 months through on-page and off-page optimization.
• Achieved first-page Google rankings for 80+ competitive keywords across different industries.
• Created and optimized 200+ SEO content pieces including blogs, landing pages, and product descriptions.
• Built high-quality backlink profiles acquiring 300+ authoritative links through strategic outreach and guest posting.
• Conducted keyword research identifying high-volume low-competition opportunities for each client vertical.
• Performed technical SEO optimizations including site speed, mobile responsiveness, and Core Web Vitals improvements.

SEO Specialist at KOL Limited (2020-01 – 2022-06)

Led international SEO operations for e-commerce and education clients across multiple markets.

• Generated $50,000+ revenue in 4 months through international SEO targeting 7 countries (UK, USA, Bangladesh, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia).
• Increased organic traffic by 120% through technical audits, mobile-first optimization, and strategic link building.
• Achieved first-page rankings for 120+ keywords with average position improvement from 45 to 8.
• Implemented hreflang tags and geo-targeting strategies for proper country-specific indexing.
• Developed content strategies resulting in 200+ optimized pages and acquired 400+ high-quality backlinks.
• Managed SEO for 4 educational institutions simultaneously maintaining 95%+ client satisfaction rate.
• Led team of 22 SEO executives implementing SOPs, quality control processes, and performance KPIs.
• Achieved 35% average month-over-month traffic and lead generation growth.
• Developed keyword strategies for 500+ target keywords with 75% reaching first-page positions.
• Generated 40+ qualified admissions monthly through organic search optimization.
• Improved Core Web Vitals scores from average 45 to 85+ across all client properties.

Marketing support & Network administrator at Swissotel Al Ghurair (2016-11 – 2019-12)

• Managed IT infrastructure and provided marketing support for a luxury hospitality brand.
• Maintained 99.9% server uptime supporting 300+ staff and guest connectivity.
• Implemented data security protocols, ensuring payment processing system security and PCI compliance.
• Managed social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for a luxury hotel brand.
• Coordinated digital marketing campaigns and promotional materials for hotel services and events.

Bachelor's in Computer Science – Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota (2012)