Report from Ukraine: 8 hopeful stories from the SEO community

February 23, 2022, was a typical Wednesday for Ukrainian marketers and SEO experts.

We had our morning coffee and did the tech audit, built contacts, and redesigned several download pages.

We have strived for good looks and conversions, we have tried hard to keep up with the deadlines, and we hope to achieve our KPIs.

Then, on February 24, the whole of Ukraine woke up to a new world of delicate and frightening.

Our plans, ambitions, and priorities have changed.

From that day on, the only thing that matters is to save the lives of our families, to help those in need to escape the violence of war, and to defend our right to live freely on our land.

In this column, my team reached out to eight Ukrainian SEOs and marketing experts and asked them to share their experience over time since our world turned upside down.

It turns out that they all had one thing in common: a broken world full of painful uncertainty, they found the strength to help others and contribute to the future success of Ukraine.

Bringing Accurate News To Russian People

Artem Pylypets is the head of SEO at SEO7, a teacher, and the founder of YouTube Школа SEO (SEO School).

Before the war started, Artem’s life was all about doing SEO himself and sharing his knowledge with others.

He led the SEO department of SEO7, managed his YouTube channel Школа SEO (SEO School), and conducted online training on SEO issues.

At the moment, Artem is doing all the same things, but the sound of artillery.

War has brought many obstacles to his work. Members of the SEO7 team are now scattered across Europe as more people flee their homes.

They are trying to improve their performance, but it is not easy.

Besides, many SEO7 customers have taken over their work, which has made the team struggle to keep up with their small clients targeting US and European markets.

Artem himself was in the suburbs of Kyiv. He admitted that he was used to hearing the sound of artillery shells and added that it was not so heavy.

The community has set up checkpoints, and people are guarding it to control the situation.

Photo source: Author. The picture on the left was taken three months before the fighting began. Artem’s shirt says, “The composition will be better if it comes with a later link.” Pictured on the right shows a roadblock with sandbags, one of Artem’s new workplaces.

“I was really happy to see how the war united my Ukrainian brothers. How we help each other, how we fight for our land, is just amazing.

At the same time, I must admit that I would like to have a peaceful sky above my head. “

Like many other SEO experts, Artem decided to use his SEO skills to help Ukraine win the information war.

Its purpose is to help Russian search engine users see real-life war stories that are not official and deceptive propaganda. To that end, he has been working to improve the image of the international media in the Russian SERPs.

When the war is over, Artem plans to continue building his business and hopes to start all the projects he has always wanted but never got time.

He hopes to read the good news – without reporting the increasing losses and destruction in Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Mariupol, and other cities.

All he dreams of is celebrating the victory of Ukraine with his closest friends.

Volunteering 24/7 To Help Those In Need

Andrey Kapeltsov is the founder of SEO.Capital and a keynote speaker at SEO, Affiliate, and iGaming conferences in Ukraine. He has spent the last 18 years studying SEO and is always looking for new ways out of the box to keep up with the search algorithm updates.

Since 2015, he has focused on the iGaming industry, working as a CMO in major sports and betting companies.

Because of the unique nature of iGaming niche, SEO has always been central to any marketing strategy developed by Andrey.

Today, Andrey strives to serve his country and his people in every possible way.

Some of his company’s employees lived in cities destroyed by Russian forces – Andrey helped them escape to a safer place.

Today, he continues to evacuate people from the bombed towns in the front line, to live in a place where they live in central and western Ukraine.

The workers moved to safer places, and Andrey decided to resume his company’s activities to support the Ukrainian economy – his business provides donations to the Ukrainian armed forces.

They also set up charitable foundations to support displaced families and volunteers.

In addition to financial assistance, Andrey and his colleagues spend the night at humanitarian centers unloading supplies.

Andrey says that this type of physical activity works in the same way as you do in the gym.

Photo source: Author. Andrey’s picture of times of peace and pictures of current volunteer work.

“What impresses me is how the war forced us to quickly build strong systems – it seemed unattainable in times of peace.

I still sometimes have difficulty finding special military equipment, but my friends and new acquaintances always help me.

I’m excited to meet so many great people in recent weeks. “

Andrey noted that his life before the war began seemed a long, dark one. He feels the fighting is going on but he has found a working role and is ready to continue.

When completed, Andrey plans to continue developing his business and actively participate in helping Ukraine recover.

He hopes to spend some time living near the sea, where the only sound would be the waves of the sea. But first, Ukraine must win.

Helping Ukrainian SEOs Find New Jobs

Olesia Korobka is an SEO entrepreneur who runs many projects before the war starts. She provides business guidance and consulting and runs several projects of her own and is funded by a third party.

Unfortunately, she had to stop working with most sponsors because of their country.

That left you with a lot of consultation. She can now continue working, but for some time she could not work due to a slow internet connection.

Olesia, her son, and her mother were among 4 million Ukrainians who fled their homes.

First, they moved to Poland and then to Holland, where she could return to work, which she admitted was difficult.

“My mind was reluctant to focus on complex technical tasks.

After working on the security mode for a while, the first time I looked at codeing, I spent many hours working on it 5 to 15 minutes ago, and still not sure if I did it correctly. “

At the same time, working on her projects was something she desperately needed. It was the only thing that helped Olesia feel better and was making a positive impact.

Photo source: Author. A selfie taken from the ‘previous’ life on the left, another selfie taken on an Amsterdam bus (right), and a photo taken at a refugee center.

What inspired her was the new project she organized to support the Ukrainian SEO community. Since the beginning of the war, many people have approached Olesia asking for help in finding new jobs. Many Ukrainian SEO experts have lost their only source of income and feel desperate.

This is how Olesia got the idea to create a list of Ukrainian SEOs who briefly describe their skills and areas of expertise.

She contacted Aleyda Solis and asked her to share her Twitter feed and #SEOFOMO, and Caleyda kindly supported the initiative.

Then, Olesia started getting messages from various companies that were open to hiring Ukrainians, so she compiled a list of open jobs.

When many experts and businesses joined the initiative, the spreadsheet became confusing. So, Olesia is currently working on creating more networks targeting employers in Australia, USA, and specific European countries.

Once the sites are up and running, the job search and recruitment process should be much simpler.

Olesia dreamed that the war was over to return to her home.

She missed her normal life and people.

Olesia added that many Ukrainians will deal with PTSD once the war is over and will not be able to live a normal life anytime soon.

However, she decided to raise her chin and continue her project. Olesia would also like to thank everyone who has been supportive in recent weeks.

“Soooooo a lot of people are helping me. It was amazing and kind of even uncomfortable. I’ve never had that in my whole life and I never expected that.

I feel a bit guilty, but I am also very grateful. Thank you for all your support and feedback.

I can’t always find the right words to thank everyone, but I’m grateful for everything. “

Saving Ukrainian Four-Legged Cuties

Anton Shulke is the influential marketing head of Duda.co and the direct product manager.

Since 2015, Anton has hosted live events, webinars, and podcasts for leading companies in the SEO industry, such as Duda, Semrush, and Kalicube.

Duda – Anton’s last workplace – is not a Ukrainian company that is not directly affected (although the company has dozens of Ukrainian employees).

Anton was given time off when the fighting started, but he prefers to continue working, so he still does one webinar a week.

In addition, Anton has joined the Ukrainian SEO community to help people affected by the crisis by trying to arrange accommodation, find job opportunities, or provide direct financial assistance.

Anton was surprised by the reaction of the Ukrainian SEO community. He always believed that there were many good people but he did not expect to see the overwhelming support of the less fortunate.

Anton added that he felt honored to be a part of it.

He has also started a small charity project to raise funds for the shelter of cats and dogs, which you can study and help here.

“I decided to help small shelters because I thought they could be under the radar of large charities, which seem to be helping children, refugees, and the military.

I get messages from people who run the shelter, and they seem surprised and very grateful for the help I provide, which gives me the motivation to keep going.

The hard part is that while initially the reaction of the people was very positive and giving, the donations dry up as time goes on.

Still, I understand that people are tired and I cannot blame them. “

Photo source: Author. Anton with his cat holding traditional morning coffee

Anton hopes to keep his job in Duda, but also thinks he will put more effort into the charity initiative.

He is likely to keep the cat and dog shelter project, although the structure is changing.

Another thing he hopes to do is have coffee with all the fans who love him on Facebook.

Every day, Anton posts a ‘Good Morning’ post with a #coffeeshot on his Facebook page. In response, many people say they would like to have coffee with him.

Protecting Ukrainian Land In The Armed Forces

Eugene Lata is a CMO at Lemon.io and an experienced marketer who has spent the last seven years building marketing teams and developing growth strategies.

Until January 2022, he was the CMO of SerpStat, an Odesa SEO tool company.

He started a new job at the Lemon.io market shortly before the war began.

In the early days of the war Eugene decided to join the Odesa Defense Forces, and now, he is a member of the 122nd Battalion.

Due to Eugene’s previous experience, he became the manager of a medical officer in the equipment team.

This means that he is responsible for training other doctors and forming special teams for evacuation and emergencies.

Such battalions consisted of one contingent and four attacking troops. They work on the front lines of evacuating wounded soldiers and civilians.

Fortunately, at present, there is no need to evacuate civilians in the Eugene region.

In addition to training medical personnel, he trains various military units on NATO’s emergency response system.

Photo source: Author. Eugene serving on the ground defense forces and photographing him and his dog labrador before the war

This is not the first time Eugene has decided to join the army. Back in 2014, after returning home, after returning from the UK, he spent six months in the Donbas region fighting the enemy of other volunteers who joined the Dnipro-1 battalion.

This was when he started helping the injured as a nurse.

Eight years later, his previous experience allowed Eugene to teach other officers to save lives.

“What motivates me is the progress that the men I train show.

Those who joined three weeks ago with no related experience and no medical background are now well trained to provide expert help. These people are already evacuating and saving many lives in Mykolaiv and Odesa counties.

When I see this it gives me a sense of accomplishment. “

Eugene admitted that he preferred his normal job, living under a safer sky when his main concern was a lost marketing budget or the spread of coronavirus.

But until the war is over, I can’t imagine him doing anything other than his current job.

When Ukraine wins, Eugene cannot wait to reunite with his family, which is now scattered across the country.

His wife and younger sister are volunteering in Odesa, receiving the necessary military equipment for the Eugene brigades.

He wants to be with his labrador dog.

As an active traveler, he is sure to take a new adventure.

First, he will go to the Carpathian mountains. Eugene hopes Ukraine wins before the end of spring – and then he will enjoy spring greens while watching the sunrise.

It will also work a lot because rebuilding the country takes a lot of resources.

Finally, he wants to be a father – he and his wife were planning to start a family before the war.

Fighting A Cyberwar Via SEO Community Chat

Igor Shulezhko is CEO & amp; UP co-founder and co-owner Shmeo.Link. He has been in the business for over a decade as the Head of SEO for several major Ukrainian brands.

Before the fight started, he focused on his efforts to build his SEO agency, RankUp.

His business went well and he boasted a variety of clients including commercial and SaaS companies, ecommerce projects, and news cables.

All of these customers are from Ukraine, which means that the agency is not as influential as other companies with close ties to Russia.

Still, the war has forced many businesses to suspend their marketing spending. Now Igor is trying to save his agency.

His team is now scattered throughout Ukraine and operates far and wide.

Igor noted that he can feel the concern of everyone on the team now.

“Staying up to date with the news is exhausting. Besides, the flight sirens alert people at night — there are usually two to four sirens at night with a short pause.

All of this makes it harder for you to focus on your tasks. It is easy to do SEO so the only thing you need to focus on is the work. “

Photo source: Author. Igor walking towards the border eating at a refugee camp

One of Igor’s projects is an SEO community on Telegram, the most popular message in Ukraine. Currently, the community unites about 5,000 people.

Previously, it had many participants, but many Russians left when the community started spreading war messages.

Igor noted sadly that many Russians in the group openly supported Putin and denied all war crimes.

“When the war broke out, we restricted commentary in the community and restricted the copyright of the authorities only,” he said.

The idea was to use social media to convey the most important initiatives to its clients. They shared links with verified charities and details of evacuation options, posted lists of Russian sites they wanted to disrupt, and contacts with communities spreading false information to block members of the community.

Igor believes that he and his team are helping to win the cyber war against Russia by doing all this.

Igor admits he missed his peaceful life.

When the war is over, the first thing he will do is visit his mother, who lives in Sumy province.

Fortunately, the city is not in the front line, but surrounded by all Russian troops, it suffers from a lack of supplies. Paying now is very risky.

Communication is still working, so Igor can still call his mother regularly.

He dreamed of seeing her in person and giving her a big heart.

Helping Ukrainian Families In Need

Max Karmazin is a Digital Marketing Specialist, Country Manager (Germany) with a SE degree. He returned to Ukraine in November 2021 after living in Switzerland for seven years.

Max worked for a Master’s degree in social sciences and media studies, worked in a variety of jobs, and traveled.

As a diaspora, he always felt he had limited hours of work, income, employment, and limited social opportunities.

Feeling isolated, he could not fully embrace the new mind and social norms.

So, he decided to return to Kyiv, and three months later, the war began.

The first days of the invasion were difficult. Max could not continue working because he was constantly distracted by the news.

When he left Kyiv on the third day of the war to further avoid danger, he felt saving his life and leaving the natives to defend themselves was not in line with his values.

Doing his normal job also felt wrong at the time.

Max decides to join the army and fight the enemy or start volunteering.

This led to him joining the land defense forces, volunteer military units that protected the city’s residents.

He spent almost a week guarding one of several open petrol stations, controlling incoming traffic, and maintaining order.

Photo source: Author. Max (left) with his friend, a 65-year-old veteran of the Donbas war.

“I had this desire to prove to myself that I have the courage to join the army and that I have the potential to dedicate myself to the country I love (and I want to return). I think many men have felt the same way. in time of war. “

After the chapter was changed, Max joined one of his friends moving his family to western Ukraine and Poland a few days later.

Max’s new acquaintance lost his job a few months ago and the family ran out of money for a week of fighting.

So, Max decided to support him at least financially.

Max was fortunate to have good and caring friends from Switzerland and Germany who were eager to help.

They decided that the best option was to send money directly to Max’s account to help people in dire need of him.

“So far, we have helped six needy families, a total of 15 people and the army. It may not be much, but it is a quality aid that pays enough for a month or two. “

Now, Max is with his family. He believes the most important thing he can do now is support. Continues to work at SE Ranking from his home office.

Max will continue to work for SE Ranking, and would love to see everyone return to the office after his friends return home when the fight is over.

He hopes the war ends before summer time to start a new hobby: boat and boat.

He dreams of reviving Ukraine and its beautiful rivers with him and his friends on camping and boat trips.

Max also plans to start training voice actors because he enjoys listening to audio books and has a suitable voice. He planned to start training on March 6th.

Max admits that he missed out on small things before his life, such as going to the movies with his friends, taking a carrot omelet for breakfast, exercising, and taking a long hot shower.

Although the future is unclear, he believes he will be able to fulfill his dreams, buy a car and go on a road trip with his friends to start a family.

And he believes that all his dreams will come true here, in Ukraine.

Building A Strong Community Of Marketing Heroes For Mutual Support

Yurii Lazaruk, is the founder of many well-known Ukrainian SEO communities, such as SEO Club UA, SalesHero, CPC Real Talk, and Marketing Club UA, and a community development expert.

Before the war, he used his community as a network of Ukrainian experts. Yurii helped them share the experience and gain significant job growth.

Photo source: Author. Yurii wearing a sweatshirt with the logo emblazoned on it.

After the first day of the war, Yuri put down all his previous initiatives. He decided to unite all the active members of his large community in one group called the Ukrainian Legend Help.

The goal of the new community was to bring Ukrainian SEO people together to support each other, share important information, and help the military and the country as a whole.

Yuri himself needed help to find a job to support his family.

And he received one award from David Spinks, founder of CMX, the world’s largest network of social professionals.

Yurii now works as a part-time consultant, providing guidance on community development to be planted, an AI-enabled training platform.

Yurii appreciates the opportunity to use his skills to advance American society.

But since it is not a full-time job, he is still looking for more opportunities.

Yurii is also trying to help other members of the community by collecting applications for SEO, PPC, marketing, and sales experts, and finding jobs in collaboration with international community of experts and adults.

So, if any opportunity now you are looking for a digital marketing specialist and you are ready to help the people of Ukraine, you can contact Yurii, who will gladly share the contacts with you.

Yuri’s dream is to end the war.

He aspires to create a stronger digital community in Ukraine, get more international customers to work with, make more money, and rebuild the country!

How You Can Help Colleagues In Ukraine

Search Engine Journal has shared a collection of reasons that SEO Community Support For Ukraine & amp; How You Can Help.

The SE grade team has resources on how you can help Ukrainians here, too, that we will follow up with.

Image source: Created by author, 2022.