This time we had a great and very much exclusive chat with Sergejs Ponomarjovs, a big marketing pro and executive with over 20 years of experience. Sergejs has managed over €2 billion in ad budgets, helped BetMGM launch in the US, and saw colossal traffic crashes in his days. In the interview, he shared the best working SEO approaches that still rock today, GPT fails and reasons behind this inefficiency, as well as his career journey in broader strokes.
Our guest’s bio in a few words:
- Over 25 years of experience in SEO, performance marketing, and AI-powered strategies.
- Oversaw more than €2 billion in global advertising budgets.
- Instrumental in launching BetMGM’s transition to online in the U.S. market.
- Specialises in crisis management.
- Deep expertise in affiliate marketing, building, and scaling programs in highly competitive sectors.
- Regular speaker at international conferences (Affiliate World, SEO/Marketing summits).
Early Failures and Major Lessons
The first business Sergejs tried to build was a student travel startup. Big idea, tons of excitement, but he soon learnt his first lesson: great ideas are worth little if they don’t come with proper skills. “Even a cool idea requires thorough research, analytics, and proper forecasting and planning. When we were young and excited, we had an amazing idea that students would enjoy traveling. However, we learned that execution is equally important.”
Next up: a discount platform, long before Groupon. A solid team of 10 passionate minds, and an idea that clicked: “We created a website to provide discount codes for potential buyers across different services and products. We believed it was a perfect way for companies to meet their clients and for clients to save money. The idea was strong. We gathered a very good team of ten people who were passionate about the topic.”
But they launched only in Latvia, limiting their reach. “The biggest mistake from my perspective was that we decided to go locally. The model did not work from a financial perspective.” Over time, the team lost motivation: “We started with ten people and lost team members throughout that journey. I remember we finished the project with only two people.”
Lesson learned loud and clear:
Analyze your results and adjust. You must be flexible and not remain committed to an idea if it fails to produce results.
Discovering the Passion for Marketing
Sergejs didn’t start as a marketer, but rather went into coding. He enjoyed developing websites for a while, working with medium-sized companies, but soon realized that building a website is not enough. It’s very important to get the traffic.
Seeing a client site hit top spots hooked him: “When I saw my client’s website in the top positions, it provided a personal rush of achievement. It was very rewarding for my ego, and it paid well.” And then his first big break — being noticed abroad, when Sergejs was headhunted to come to London to work in a boutique marketing agency from Eastern Europe.
Managing €2 Billion in Budgets
Now we finally arrive at the big figures. “So what is the mindset behind such big budgets, and what are the life rules to control and not just to control but effectively manage those budgets?” Vasilii asks. Yes, handling €2 billion isn’t just math — it’s a mindset. Sergejs’ answer? Focus on ROI, always.
“The size of your budget is less important than your return on investment. If you can forecast, analyze, and provide tangible results — delivering a strong return on every dollar or euro spent — then the budget can grow.”
The idea is simple: build a portfolio that could absorb failures that will be there anyway. Campaigns will fly, others will fail, some others still will fall in between — but if your return on investment in general is in the black and the clients are happy, you’re doing well.
Risk management demanded careful budget allocation. One of the really good examples Sergejs had was with a viral video campaign where his team allocated 10% of the budget, and the target was to go viral. But if the campaign was to fail, they would not accrue any real losses for the client because only 10% of the budget was allocated. This calculated approach to uncertainty became the foundation of sustainable campaign management.
Case Study: BetMGM Launch
The BetMGM launch became Sergejs’ biggest test and the most high-profile campaign. MGM, one of the largest gaming organizations in the United States, had a vision to expand online. Despite their land-based success, they recognized their lack of experience and understanding in the digital space. They possessed nearly unlimited resources and a strong passion to establish an online presence.
MGM didn’t mess around with resources.“We’ve been given very little time not only to launch the new brand, but also to start competing with existing players.” Sergejs watched their team explode from a few dozen people in a New Jersey office to over 700 employees as the campaign gained momentum.
But the real challenge was compliance. Online gambling’s state-by-state patchwork meant sports betting was legal in one jurisdiction and banned across the state line.
We held bi-weekly meetings with C-level executives to eliminate red flags, address issues, and secure approvals. Once they saw the proof of concept, they consistently increased the budget, which allowed us to scale rapidly. We implemented a state-of-the-art system to analyze player locations, ensuring we could determine their whereabouts with 100% accuracy.
The execution was flawless when it mattered — MGM’s online ambitions became reality without the compliance headaches that sink other operators.
Crisis & Recovery: Traffic Crash to Scaling Teams
After BetMGM, Sergejs joined an affiliate company and walked into a disaster. Google’s algorithm update had crushed the affiliate company’s flagship websites — 80% of their traffic vanished overnight: “When I joined the organization, I arrived at the office to find it looked quite sad and gloomy due to the many empty desks.”
It was a grind with twenty-four-seven schedules. Sergejs got backing from the founders, and they started dissecting problems market by market: “I received excellent support from the founders. We began pinpointing the issues in different markets and implemented changes rapidly. It was a period of intense stress and long hours, but within just a few months, we managed to recover all the traffic.”
Recovery turned into growth. Revenue climbed, hiring resumed, and those empty desks filled up again. “We began in a gloomy, dark place and ended in an environment full of light, joy, and smiles.”
Traffic recovery was only half the battle. Brand perception mattered just as much: “It wasn’t only about the traffic — it was about the image and how we portrayed the brand. This is a very important part of public relations.”
The PR push went beyond customers. They needed talent, especially from Ukraine and other European markets:
It was important to promote the company’s image in Ukraine and other European countries, so people would understand the organization’s values and consider relocating to Latvia. On our end, we worked to improve Latvia’s image as a relocation destination as much as possible. We highlighted our amazing events in Latvia, its beautiful nature, and discussed how Riga, the capital, offers an excellent work-life balance.
Linkbuilding, Brands vs Affiliates, and SEO Today
Sergejs laughs when talking about the “ancient times” when link building was simpler: “In the past, link building was almost entirely organic; you could publish an article, and it would naturally attract links from other websites. Nowadays, you must invest significant time and money to provide enough value to earn those links.”
The winning formula combines everything — good links, bad links, crowd links, blog links. Google wants to see natural link profiles that prove you’re earning attention through real value, not manipulation.
Brands have advantages but face their own problems: “Building a SEO brand can be somewhat easier, but you must also contend with brand parasites.”
AI in Marketing: Content, Custom GPTs & Tools
On AI content, Sergejs is sharp. Using ChatGPT to pump out quick articles for traffic is pointless, in his opinion — the quality of the content would be poor, and the value of the content is minimal. But AI becomes powerful when you use it right. For example, to analyze big chunks of data, to create a unique angle, or to find unique facts and combine them with human expertise
Sergejs has seen pure AI articles perform well and generate traffic, but that’s not the standard approach. Custom GPTs take this further. “Custom GPTs are a tailor-made solution. When you use a custom GPT, it solves your specific problems and helps you achieve your own goals.”
His toolkit is straightforward: “We rely heavily on ChatGPT and OpenAI. I love the tool and its capabilities. In second place is Perplexity, which is amazing for research. The third is Google Gemini. I’m not a big fan, but I always try it to see how it’s developing.”
Philosophy & Work-Life Balance
Sergejs handles pressure the way most people should but rarely do — he gets outside. “Nature walks, the seaside, and the forest can provide tranquility. I started attending meditation and tried to combine work with sports as part of finding a work-life balance.” However, he admits: “I try to work 24/7 and spend the remaining time on restful activities.”
His take on Gen Z splits two ways. The old-school answer says they need to grind like previous generations did — work hard, suffer through it, earn their stripes. The evolved answer recognizes that if their approach achieves their goals, work-life balance matters more than tradition.
Sergejs mentions that Latvia anchors him. He calls it “the best place to live”. It is beautiful, safe, and has an amazing culture and wonderful people.
Money, Regrets & Advice
Sergejs started selling when he was twelve, and the first money came early:
When I was around twelve, my parents took me on a summer shopping tour where I managed to sell goods to locals. I brought various Latvian-manufactured products from Latvia—such as towels and shampoo—purchased with money I earned from recycling, and sold them in Poland.
His biggest personal investment was British education — Oxford attempts, University of London success, all self-funded. Albion was his dream, and it was all the more enjoyable because he managed to fund his education independently.
And the deepest regret? “Not launching the discount website globally. After I saw how Groupon developed, I realized the project’s full potential. I think it was my biggest mistake.” Sometimes timing and persistence matter more than the idea itself.
His favorite advice balances planning with presence: “It is important to plan ahead, but it’s also important to live in the moment.”
Conclusion
Sergejs’ career tracks marketing’s evolution—from Google crashes to BetMGM launches, from keyword stuffing to AI content. His journey illustrates how marketing reinvents itself. Sergejs represents marketers who built their expertise through multiple technology cycles with a combination of technical depth, strategic thinking, and personal grounding. And perhaps this is exactly what’s needed for a sustainable success in our industry.
If you want to get more grains of wisdom from Sergejs Ponomarjovs, check out his LinkedIn page. And of course, stay tuned for more articles about affiliate marketing and all things Internet with Peaky Ads.
