SEO Ethics. I'll Lead This One (SEO > ICE)
When ethics and SEO collide, the stakes are high. But it’s also a powerful opportunity for us to step up and do something great—together.
This week’s #SEOForLunch is sponsored by Semrush Enterprise and North Star Inbound. Please support them as they continue to keep this newsletter free for all.
Please note that sponsors are not tied to the contents of this week’s newsletter.
I’m putting my ethics into action.
Last week, I spoke about drawing a line in the sand regarding what we tolerate professionally. Between the ICE surge in Minnesota and the tragic shooting of Renee Good, every one of my lines has been crossed.
I even shared my frustration on social as I struggled to figure out how I could help.
But I’ve now figured it out…
I will trade my SEO/AI services for your donation to GiveMN.org. This fund is distributed to individuals and families impacted by ongoing events.
Full details on how to participate and how we can potentially work together are below.
This week’s #SEOForLunch is sponsored by Semrush Enterprise AI Optimization
Note: Semrush is not affiliated with the initiative outlined in this post.
Get your free AI search blueprint for 2026
Start 2026 with a strategy that’s based on the best.
Semrush’s AI Visibility Index explores the brands leading AI search, by tracking thousands of prompts across 5 key industries. Discover insights like:
Which brands lead in each industry
Who gets mentioned in AI vs. who it cites
Why brands Patagonia, Logitech, and others are scoring AI search wins
The AI Visibility Index is completely free and gives you the definitive blueprint for thriving in AI search.
SEO For Ethical Treatment of People
TL;DR: I want to raise money for those affected by the recent (and ongoing) ICE raids here in Minnesota. If you’d like to help me out, please consider making a donation.
Trade Offer: My SEO/AI Consulting For Your Donation
For every $300 donation made, I will provide an hour of my
consulting time to support your SEO/AI efforts.
I’m happy to use this time to hop on a call or spend the hour reviewing your site and emailing you everything I would do to improve visibility as if I owned it.
Want to avoid politics and industry talk? Great! I would love to chat about how miserable it is to be a Vikings fan, cars, fishing in sub-zero temps, parenting, freelancing, or anything else that is on your mind.
Trust me, I also understand that asking for $300 is steep, especially in this economy.
For that reason, I have decided to also link out to websites that make a $50.00+ donation in this very post.
But Nick, I Have Questions! I Have Answers…
Yes, the link will be “followed.”
No, I won’t noindex this post or remove it after this initiative.
No, I don’t care if Google “penalizes”, “de-indexes,” or any other “rankings threat” that happens to this domain (you signed up via email, and you’ll keep getting the posts regardless of what status this domain has within Google’s index)
This is the only time you can buy your way into a #SEOForLunch post without being an official sponsor.
All you have to do is make your $50+ donation and take a screenshot of your confirmation screen.
Email me directly at nick@nickleroy.com with your confirmation screenshot, and I’ll work with you to schedule the call and/or link your website in this post.
Note: If you choose to leverage this opportunity as an unethical play to gain links to your porn, pills, poker, or affiliate “money page”, I won’t publish your link nor refund your donation amount. We are doing good things here, not taking advantage or trying to gain “linkz juicez” on the back of people suffering.
Official Supporters List
Many times, we feel powerless in situations like these. Not everyone can support in person, and it can make us feel like we’re not supporting at all. This is my attempt to leverage my skills within SEO/AI and broader business to help others in need.
A special THANK YOU to the folks listed below for supporting the Minnesota community. I’ve officially kicked it off with an additional donation on behalf of the SEO and PPC job boards.
Awesome People and Companies:
(Last updated 1/31 09:40 AM CST)
Total Confirmed Funds Raised: $6,410.00
Profound (Nick Lafferty)
Gray Dot Group (Tory Gray)
TheHotBot.ai (Erik Hinds)
Trevorfox.com (Trevor Fox)
SEOTesting.com (Ryan Jones)
Celiac Self Care newsletter (Christina Heiser)
Meta Monster AI (AndrewAskins)
SEO for Doctors (Dorin B)
Jess does marketing (Jessica Baker)
Whitespark (Darren Shaw)
Augarian (Micah Perzichilli)
Redirects.net (Tony Castillo)
Inbound Scope (Jess Joyce)
Zyppy (Cyrus Shepard)
Stashclicks (Anthony Lavall)
FisherSEO (Joe Fisher)
Previsible (Jordan Koene
Uproer (Griffin Roer)
Nick LeRoy Consulting (N. LeRoy)
Gray Dot Group (Tory Gray) TWO DONATIONS!!!
lovebrand.com (Sam Pennington)
Overlap Interactive (Derrick Castro and team)
Judd Lyon
Physics Forums (Greg Bernhardt)
BoutiqueSEO (Jane Nriapia)
Hill Web Creations (Jeannie Hill)
OSFsolutions (Tarik Najeddine)
Adamvala.cz (Adam Vala)
KathyAliceBrown.com (Kathy Alice Brown)
Samuellavoie.com (Samuel Lovoie)
Hook Agency (Bea Bonte + Tim Brown)
Sandy Eggo SEO (Pablo Villalpando)
SPECIAL THANK YOU to Seer Interactive, who provided a $1,000 donation, taking our efforts over the $5000 mark.
Also, a big thank you to North Star Inbound for sponsoring the #SEOForLunch.
Please note that sponsors are not tied to the contents of this week’s newsletter.
As a friendly reminder, this is NOT about politics.
This is about treating all people as humans. Donations to the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee will support local efforts to do just this.
Thank you in advance for your support. Our industry is like no other, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.
~ Nick
P.S. Regular sass and hot takes resume next week. I’m cooking up something good!
Whoa, What’s Happening? Give Me More Details.
The United States federal government initiated Operation “Metro Surge” in December 2025, deploying approximately 3,000 agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St Paul).
The public-facing goal was to remove “the worst of the worst” criminals who are also illegal immigrants, including those convicted of murder and drug trafficking.
The reality is that “Metro Surge” has led to unlawful racial profiling and straight-up terrorizing people (especially our Samali communities) about their citizenship status.
As protests started, ICE fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in downtown Minneapolis, MN. This has sparked mass protests (The George Floyd murder occurred 1 mile away from this event), which has further not only the anger of Minnesotans but brought on more extreme (illegal) actions from ICE. This includes detaining US citizens regardless of whether they have provided legal immigration paperwork.
Relevant resources worth reading (local and global coverage)
ICE officer kills a Minneapolis driver over an immigration operation
ICE is going into Minnesota schools, taking students into custody.
ICE is breaking into privately owned homes without proper warrants
Learn more about MIRAC
MIRAC Mission:
MIRAC is fundraising to support our beloved Latino and Somali immigrant communities during this time of fear and intimidation from federal officials. We are also leading a movement to say No More Deportations and to say No More Collaboration between local public safety officials and federal ICE officers.
MIRAC Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and so all donations are tax-exempt.
Respect for using SEO skills in this way. The community has a lot of power when it comes to leveraging expertise for causes that matter, and seeing people actually step up insted of just talking about ethics is refreshing. I've been thinking alot about how folks in our industry can go beyond just consulting work, and this is a solid exampel of making impact tangible.