Jake Ward

Started an SEO agency in 2019. Making $20M/yr for Contact.so clients. Also building: Mentions.so Byword.ai Kleo.so

I’m 28 with 4 businesses and no home.

Here’s how I got here:

Age 0-15:

Spent early life growing up in a hippie commune.

Raised by an incredible single mother who wore both hats. Gave everything to support me.

Overly shy and didn’t speak much.

Seen as a problem by a teacher who suggested there was something wrong with me.

Age 16:

First job stacking supermarket shelves.

Completed high school with bang-average grades.

Started sixth form college.

Age 17:

Quit sixth form college after 3 months due to illness.

Doctor said I was 24 hours away from dying.

Spent my 17th birthday in hospital, tubes everywhere.

Became an apprentice at a print marketing agency. Learnt my way around Adobe’s design suite.

Started doing bits of design work on the side.

Age 18-19:

Discovered search marketing to help get more clients for the print marketing agency.

Became obsessed with SEO. Spent my free time messing around with the websites I built.

Age 20:

Wanted to take marketing more seriously. Quit my job to start a marketing degree.

Quit after 2 weeks.

Started an apprenticeship at an SEO agency where I managed 25 clients and attended college part-time.

Quit after 9 months.

Realised traditional education sucks. I learnt 100x more (and quicker) through self-education.

Went all-in on learning and building whilst living at home with my mum and 2 young siblings.

£0 income.

Age 21:

Got my first 2 freelancing clients on Upwork. They referred me to other clients.

Built a 6-figure business by the end of the year.

Age 22-23:

Started a podcast side project and quickly reached 300,000 listeners per month. Sold it for 5 figures.

Bought and sold 5 websites.

Maxed out my freelancing capacity.

Age 24:

Founded Content Growth and built a team to help companies turn their blog into a 7-figure sales channel.

Started posting on LinkedIn.

Grew revenue by over 200% in 6 months.

Age 25:

Co-founded Byword and launched a platform to help marketers generate articles at scale for SEO.

Sold my belongings, moved out of London and started travelling the world.

Merged Content Growth with Contact Studios to take the SEO agency to the next level.

Helped my mum quit her 15-year corporate job.

Age 26:

Lived out of a suitcase and travelled around 16 countries.

Grown the userbase of my SaaS tools to over 130,000.

Helped multiple unicorn companies scale their SEO with our 25-person team at Contact.

Age 28:

Continuing to levelling up, exploring, following my curiosities, collaborating with great people, and helping family and friends along the way.

Founder

We help software companies get more qualified traffic, sales and revenue through conversion-focused SEO and content marketing. Turn your blog into a 6 figure sales channel.

"I don't know how to do SEO in 2026"

Start from level 1 in The New SEO Game:

SEO isn't just Google rankings anymore.

It's now "Search Everywhere Optimisation".

Reframe your “New SEO” project as a game, and you'll become addicted to levelling up.

Level 1: Traditional SEO

- Fix technical problems killing your rankings
- Research keywords and target quick wins
- Optimise on-page elements (titles, content)
- Earn quality backlinks through outreach and PR

Level 2: AI Search Optimisation

- Format content so AI can parse it easily
- Build pages that AI platforms want to cite
- Structure information for machine consumption
- Test how your brand appears in AI search results

Level 3: Paid Search Visibility

- Run Google Ads for high-intent keywords
- Target competitor terms with YouTube Search Ads
- Capture Bing traffic through Microsoft Ads
- Measure paid performance across every platform

Level 4: LLM Answer SEO

- Produce authoritative content LLMs trust
- Build a knowledge base for AI training data
- Position your brand as the definitive source
- Monitor brand mentions in LLMs with Mentions

Level 5: Brand Authority SEO

- Get unlinked brand mentions across the web
- Feature in industry roundups and expert lists
- Build brand recognition without traditional backlinks
- Track brand mention volume and sentiment

Level 6: Community SEO

- Provide value in relevant Reddit threads
- Share expertise on Quora in your space
- Engage in Slack communities and Discord servers
- Build reputation in industry forums and groups

Level 7: Parasite SEO

- Repurpose content on Medium and LinkedIn Pulse
- Publish beehiiv newsletters to rank in Google
- Guest post on high-authority platforms/websites
- Leverage existing domain authority for quick rankings

Level 8: Platform-Specific SEO

- Optimise for Amazon search if selling products
- Focus on YouTube SEO for video content
- Master TikTok's algorithm for short-form content
- Optimise App Store listings for apps/extensions

Level 9: Topic Domination

- Own conversations across ALL channels
- Create content ecosystems to reinforce each platform
- Become the go-to expert mentioned everywhere
- Monitor and maintain authority across all channels

Completed all levels?

SEO is constantly evolving in 2026.

Stay ahead or get left behind.

PS. Need help levelling up? We'll help build and execute your “New SEO” domination strategy.

Book a call: https://www.contact.so/

SaaS SEO in 2026: Join my (free) LIVE session on 4th March. Co-Founder and Head of Strategy & Innovation at Contact (and 3x SaaS companies).

I can’t stop thinking about this Tweet.

ChatGPT now handles over 2.5 billion queries per day and Google is eventually defaulting to "AI Mode."

This is the future of SEO.

6 tips you need to rank in AI platforms:

1. Win brand mentions

- Get your brand mentioned on high-authority websites
- Contribute to industry publications
- Be featured in news outlets
- Engage in forums and community discussions
- Encourage authentic UGC and word-of-mouth mentions

2. Build brand equity

- Monitor online reviews and brand sentiment
- Respond to feedback and address complaints
- Build a consistent, trustworthy public image
- Use tools like Mentions.so to track visibility, sentiment, and competitors

3. Be the source

- Publish authoritative, reference-style content
- Use neutral, factual, data-backed tone
- Avoid excessive personal takes or fluff
- Regularly update key content for accuracy
- Include credible citations and external data sources

4. Embrace passage-level SEO

- Structure content into short, focused paragraphs
- Use clear subheadings for logical segmentation
- Include concise, standalone answers
- Avoid burying insights in long text block
- Add structured data (e.g. schema markup)
- Make each paragraph extractable and cite-ready

5. Cover the conversation

- Use tools like Semrush for question research
- Monitor forums/socials for emerging questions
- Identify and answer sub-questions users ask
- Add relevant FAQs and support content
- Internally link related topic clusters

6. Optimise for crawlability

- Ensure AI crawlers are allowed in robots.txt
- Verify CDN settings aren't blocking crawlers
- Submit up-to-date XML sitemaps in GSC
- Optimise for fast page speed and clean HTML
- Review server logs for GPTBot, BingBot, etc. behaviour

But first, start with an audit:

- Your current visibility across all LLMs
- Prompt and content gaps vs your competitors
- Technical issues preventing AI from citing your site

Use a tool like Mentions.so to find this information.

Don’t regret not starting AI SEO sooner.

I literally live and breathe this SEO framework.

5 years ago, I watched a SaaS company burn through 6 months of content budget. 60 blog posts on topics like "what is email marketing" and "benefits of newsletters."

Their traffic skyrocketed, but their revenue flatlined.

Their entire content game was backwards.

So that's when I built my "SEO Content Pyramid" to flip it completely and start at the top.

Here's how it works:

1. Convert (Top of Pyramid)

High-intent content for people ready to buy.

A. Competitor Comparisons
↳ "beehiiv vs Kit"
↳ "Kit alternatives"

B. Product Reviews
↳ "beehiiv reviews" (brand)
↳ "Kit review" (competitor)

C. Buyer Guides
↳ "Best newsletter platforms in 2026"
↳ "Best newsletter tools for beginners"

D. Product Pages
↳ "Email newsletter software"
↳ "Newsletter platform pricing"

2. Discover (Middle of Pyramid)

Solution content for people exploring options.

A. Solve Pain Points
↳ "How to start a newsletter"
↳ "Newsletter best practises"

B. Case Studies
↳ "Email marketing case studies"
↳ "How [Brand] grew to 100k subscribers"

C. Data Studies
↳ "Open rate benchmarks 2026"
↳ "Email marketing statistics"

D. Templates and Tools
↳ "Newsletter templates"
↳ "Email subject line generator"

3. Awareness (Bottom of Pyramid)

Educational content for people learning and exploring.

A. Definitions
↳ "What is open rate"
↳ "Email deliverability explained"

B. Educational Guides
↳ "How to increase email open rate"
↳ "How to write engaging emails"

C. Industry Trends and News
↳ "Gmail manage subscriptions feature"
↳ "Email marketing trends 2026"

D. Ideas
↳ "Newsletter content ideas"
↳ "Email campaign ideas for holidays"

Start at the top with Convert content. Only move to Discover once you've covered every competitor comparison, product review, and buyer guide. Then tackle Awareness last.

This framework will 10x your SEO results.

A single "Competitor Alternatives" blog post made $1M+ in revenue for my SaaS client over 3 years.

They are ALWAYS the highest converting articles.

Alternative articles help users discover a better alternative (i.e. your product) to what they're currently using or considering buying.

For example:

You might target the following keywords if you're a team communication platform.

- Microsoft Teams Alternatives
- Discord Alternatives
- Slack Alternatives

= 16.5K/mo Google searches

These searchers are the most ready-to-buy AND they’re highly cited by LLMs once ranking in Google.

Here’s how to write your own:

PS. I’m hosting my very first SaaS SEO in 2026 LIVE session on March 4th. Register for free: https://lnkd.in/eherWr2a

First Light Games

Head of Marketing

• Hit 500k organic app installs in the first year (BETA access) 
• Created the go-to-market strategy for Blast Royale from stealth to global launch.
• Developed a unique and scalable creator program with a very low CPI.
• Ran various marketing campaigns for web3 NFT collection launches.
• Built high engagement systems for our target audience. 
• Coordinated marketing activities with investors, guilds, and launchpads.
• Built community through a human-focused and co-development approach.
• Managed content & strategy for all official social media channels.
• Annual marketing budgets.
• Established goals, KPIs, and reporting systems for the marketing team.
• Formed long term relationships with gaming, PR, & marketing agencies.
• Outsourcing and management of paid user acquisition campaigns.
• Hosted weekly AMAs, Spaces, and livestreams during BETA stage.

Marketing Lead

🍉MELON - Viral Social NFTs

• Pivoted the community and content strategy to web3 DAOs.
• Created content and community strategy for social channels and servers.
• Led content production across community channels.
• Drove content and community towards a hyped $MELON launch.
• Managed in-house and external VAs and contractors.
• Conducted competitor research in the NFT and crypto industry.
• Developed unique approaches for NFT, web3, and creator economy content.
• Worked with a virtual team of 30+ international members.

Head of Community

Pure Clean Earth

• Organised over 100 community beach Clean Up events
• Designed and delivered over 30 educational workshops and talks on environmental topics
• Given motivational talks to 15+ primary and secondary schools
• Collaborated with small and large businesses and blue chip companies
• Lead 20 in-house team members and volunteers to raise over £18,000 in funding
• Management of social media channels and marketing campaigns
• Management of financial budget, forecast and P&L reports
• Launched PCE officially in 2 European countries
• Crafted and executed a powerful brand strategy
• Been grateful to be a part of a community of over 10,000 to keep our oceans clean

Founder & CMO

Volli

• Craft and maintain brand guidelines for internal and external use
• Own the planning and execution of the Go-To-Market strategy
• Coordinate PR efforts across all online and offline channels
• Plan and organise marketing functions and operations
• Define marketing strategies to support the company’s overall strategies and objectives
• Measure and report performance of all marketing campaigns
• Liaise with CEO and CTO to ensure alignment of current and future projects

Chief Marketing Officer

No Limit Hostels

• Management of 3 hostel branches (Barcelona)
• Management of 30 reception staff and 10 monthly rotational volunteers
• I delegated social media content creation
• Operated graffiti and art projects
• Trained a team of energetic multi-national staff members
• Developed all 3 hostel's branding and in-house experience
• Expanded the external events and activities for the customers and staff
• Implemented a more efficient pay roll system
• Decorated the Hostels with staff, volunteers and guests
• Worked as a fill-in receptionist day and night
• Increased significantly the reviews and ratings across all 3 hostels on Hostelworld, Booking, Expedia, Agoda, TripAdvisor, Facebook and Google
• Trained staff how to use effectively CloudBeds operating system

General Manager

Tradler

• Content creation for social media
• Organic growth strategy for go-to-market strategy
• Sales prospecting
• Identifying and recording prospects on Excel

Social Media Manager

Virgin Active

Certified Personal Trainer

Urbany Hostels

Front Desk Receptionist

Center Parcs UK

Customer Service Representative

YOUR Personal Training UK

Personal Trainer

Hi, I'm Dan 👋🏻

I'm all about combining my marketing expertise with my love for fun and games! That's why I'm leading the marketing at First Light Games for our blockchain game, Blast Royale. It's a Free to Play, multiplayer Battle Royale game that will take the mobile gaming world by storm.

With over 8 years of marketing challenges and experience growing social media channels, creating impactful marketing strategies, and building communities both online and IRL, I've been lucky enough to work with startups all over the world, from small to large.

I'm always up for a challenge and I love learning about new things, especially in the ever-changing world of marketing. That's why I'm super excited to bring my A-game to Blast Royale and make it the biggest, baddest blockchain game out there.

So, if you're a gamer, a marketer, startup founder, or someone who loves to build, hit me up! Let's make the magic happen 🎮🚀

taplio

The Battle

Jake Ward

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