Nick helps companies get found in both search and answer engines
I’m Nick LeRoy, an independent consultant known for cutting the BS and getting real SEO work done.
I don’t just advise. I help you prioritize, execute, and prove the business value of SEO in a way leadership will actually care about.
It’s time to bring structure, clarity, and results to your SEO efforts.
Nick LeRoy, Owner/ founder of:
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I work closely with internal teams and existing agency resources to prioritize the right efforts, set realistic goals, and prove value with metrics that matter to leadership. From planning to execution, I stay hands-on and integrated with your team.
My approach fosters trust throughout the organization, reduces reliance on paid channels, and ensures that SEO aligns with broader business objectives.
I also publish the #SEOForLunch weekly newsletter and run both SEOjobs.com and PPCjobs.com, helping connect the best talent with growing teams.
If your SEO efforts feel scattered, underperforming, or undervalued, I can help you get back on track.
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Nick's Career Journey
Independent SEO Consultant (Nick LeRoy Consulting)
Since 2020, Nick has partnered directly with enterprise brands to lead high-impact SEO strategies that drive measurable, sustainable growth. Backed by 15+ years of experience, including a decade in agency life, Nick brings deep expertise in technical SEO, content strategy, and stakeholder alignment without the fluff or politics.
He works independently, but never in isolation. Nick remains deeply embedded in the SEO industry, writing the popular #SEOForLunch newsletter (now read by over 12,000 marketing leaders), contributing to leading publications, and participating in expert roundtables and panel discussions at events like BrightonSEO and MozCon.
But consulting isn't the full story.
Nick also built SEOJobs.com and PPCJobs.com, two niche job boards built specifically for digital marketers. After being laid off twice himself, Nick experienced just how frustrating job hunting can be—especially when relying on bloated, impersonal platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed. These projects were built out of necessity: a curated, BS-free alternative that highlights real roles from real companies, giving SEO and paid media pros a better shot at landing their next opportunity.
Key Wins & Ongoing Learnings:
Trusted by enterprise brands like Saatva, Keurig, and Apartments.com to lead and execute organic growth strategies
Prioritizing and envagilizing the SEO channel to maximize the value to clients, even when it doesn't reward him financially. (Sleeping well at night > easy dollars.)
Launched SEOJobs.com and PPCJobs.com as a response to the frustrating job-seeking experience on LinkedIn and Indeed
Still learning: every client, project, and pivot fuels the next phase of growth—as a consultant, creator, and community builder
ICF Next
Mentally exhausted and feeling defeated, Nick did what he always does, he marched forward.
Just three weeks after being let go, during the holiday season, no less—Nick had tapped into his network, completed interviews, received two job offers, and landed a new role for the start of the new year. A reminder that relationships are everything in business.
At ICF Next, Nick helped rebuild and eventually lead the agency’s SEO practice. He managed a team of four and led a multi-million dollar SEO engagement supporting one of the world’s largest portfolios of education-focused websites.
Things started to click again. Nick earned a company-wide award, a promotion, and a sizable raise. Then COVID hit.
Despite the wins, the agency made the decision to eliminate the SEO department entirely. Nick was given 30 days to wrap everything up. That was the moment it all clicked: relying on someone else to own your career wasn’t going to cut it.
On May 2, 2020, Nick officially went all-in on himself, and hasn’t looked back. He later documented the journey in a piece titled Fired to $165K in 8 Months: My Freelancing Story.
Key Wins & Learnings:
Led a team of SEO specialists managing a multi-million dollar education portfolio
Received the company-wide Challenger Award, honoring the employee who pushed hardest for innovation and client-first evolution.
Learned that job security is an illusion, sparking the decision to launch his full-time independent consultancy.
Ovative Group
SEO Manager
Life came at Nick fast—three kids under three (including twins!) meant it was time to level up. Despite vowing never to “work downtown,” he joined a fast-growing digital agency in Minneapolis: Ovative/group.
He was employee ~35 and just the second SEO hire, working directly under the SEO lead. It was a trial by fire: 55–60 hour weeks, long commutes, and big-brand clients with even bigger expectations.
Nick stepped up quickly, leading SEO strategy for enterprise brands like Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and Maurices. His role expanded into people management, guiding a team of 3–4 SEO specialists across multi-channel initiatives.
During this time, Nick also launched the #SEOForLunch newsletter, originally a curated SEO roundup that he wrote every week for 8+ years before evolving it into a personal SEO/digital/AI digest in 2025, now read by over 12,000 marketing leaders.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. This is where Nick got his crash course in office politics—learning that performance doesn’t always win out, and not everyone plays fair. After nearly five years of service, Nick was let go. It was a harsh but valuable lesson: your network will often save you when your employer won’t.
Key Wins & Learnings:
Led SEO strategy for nationally recognized brands across eCommerce and publishing.
Promoted to people manager, mentoring junior SEOs into confident, client-facing pros.
Learned the hard way: transparency, loyalty, and speaking your mind only matter when they serve the bottom line—fueling Nick’s future “no B.S.” approach to SEO consulting, where client outcomes come first, always.
FindLaw, Thomson Reuters
WEB A/E Product, SEO Specialist
Eager to put his SEO skills to the test, Nick joined FindLaw—a digital marketing provider serving the legal industry exclusively. There, he worked alongside a team of nearly 100 professionals across SEO, PPC, local search, content, and web development.
It didn’t take long for Nick to realize two things: he genuinely knew his stuff, and most people in similar roles didn’t bring the same level of curiosity or passion to the table.
While he was sharpening his craft, he also got his first taste of corporate politics—and admittedly didn’t navigate them well. Despite doing high-quality work, the lack of organizational buy-in around SEO best practices and limited growth opportunities (both in responsibility and pay) made it clear it was time to move on.
Key Wins & Learnings:
Selected by peers to represent the SEO team on FindLaw’s internal SEO Council.
Collaborated cross-functionally to improve performance across hundreds of law firm sites.
Learned the inner workings (and frustrations) of large corporate marketing ops.
DKS Systems
Nick quickly realized that unless you were a top-tier graduate, your degree didn’t hold much weight. What did matter? Your network.
Through a family friend, Nick was introduced to someone who knew the owner of DKS Systems. That connection led to an interview, originally (for what Nick thought) was for a project manager role. Five minutes in, the owner let him know the role had already been filled. But there was a different need: someone to “figure out web marketing.” They didn’t want to invest heavily, but they were willing to take a shot.
Nick accepted a 6-month contract at $18/hour with no benefits. That opportunity became the launchpad for his career in digital marketing, and more specifically, search engine optimization.
Every day was self-taught: reading, testing, measuring. Over time, Nick built internal SEO best practices, trained the broader team on SEO fundamentals, and elevated the quality of every web project that came through the agency. That 6-month gig turned into a full-time role that Nick held until 2011, when he finally had to answer the question:
“Am I actually good at SEO, or just the best SEO in a room of one?”
Key Wins & Learnings:
Self-taught SEO through hands-on experimentation and performance tracking.
Developed internal best practices and trained the entire agency on SEO.
Laid the foundation for SEO-first thinking across all DKS web projects.
A new service offering to add incremental revenue for the company.
St Cloud State University
Student
This is where it all started. Lifelong academic struggler and proud C-grade achiever, this was Nick’s first brush with SEO, only mentioned briefly in a broader marketing course. That passing reference would eventually change everything.
Key Wins & Learnings: Bachelor of Science in Business Computer Information Systems
Reality Check: “C’s get degrees.” Technically true. But what no one tells you is that while it might earn you a diploma, it won’t get you interviews—especially in the brutal 2008 job market.
