From Layoffs to Leads: Building a Thriving SEO Consulting Practice Today | Ep. 32

Market turbulence, SEO layoffs, budgets being slashed, brands tightening up—yet some consultants are building a thriving practice right in the middle of it. On Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal sits down with Emanuel (Alexandru) Petrescu to ask why this might actually be the best time to plant the tree and bet on yourself as an SEO consultant.

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Emanuel shares how two decades of experience—from running his own business in Romania to agency, in-house and enterprise roles in North America—shaped his move into solo consulting. He talks about reaching out to people, putting information out there, volunteering his expertise, being present in communities and turning conversations into long-term business.

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The discussion moves through social media, LinkedIn as a “necessary evil,” WhatsApp and Meta’s AI, introverts stepping into visibility, structuring consulting around education and transparency, handling algorithm shifts, and dealing with imposter syndrome while still saying yes to pressure and no to the wrong clients.

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👤 Guest Bio

Emanuel (Alexandru) Petrescu is a Toronto-based digital marketing and SEO consultant originally from Romania. Around 20 years ago he ran his own business, learning how to build a website, show up at the top of search results, create a press list and maintain relationships with key stakeholders. For the past 10 years he has worked exclusively in SEO and digital marketing for the North American market, across in-house roles, small and niche agencies, big agencies and enterprise as a digital marketing manager. Today he runs his own agency and leads How About Some Marketing as a hub for marketers and business owners who want to get better at their marketing.

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📌 What We Cover

• Why “market turbulence is a default” in SEO and how AI and LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity are changing the job market everywhere, not just in digital marketing.
• Emanuel’s path from his own business in Romania to 10 years in North America across in-house, small agency, niche agency, big agency, enterprise and digital marketing manager roles.
• The early consulting moves that mattered: reaching out to people, putting information out there, sharing on social platforms, volunteering to help, and being part of a community that still sends business years later.
• Emanuel’s go-to approach to networking: being present online, accepting the “influencers paradigm,” and why nothing beats real-life events, conferences and in-person conversations with speakers, attendees and organizers.
• How introverts can still speak, write, appear on podcasts, host shows and webinars when they are in the right environment and on topics where they have real experience.
• LinkedIn as “at least as toxic as Instagram,” why Emanuel still uses it daily, and how different audiences might actually live on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp or other platforms outside North America.
• Why WhatsApp is an “integrative part” of his approach, especially in places like Eastern Europe, and how Meta lead generation, messaging and the rise of Meta’s AI could change advertising and conversations over the next 6–12 months.
• How Emanuel structures consulting around education and trust, explaining the difference between organic and paid, aligning on KPIs, and staying transparent when algorithms change or tools stop reporting key data.
• Turning a network into paid work: regularly sharing relevant articles, resear