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

I've been doing SEO for 10 years and AI search is making me rethink everything I know, here are 10 changes I’m seeing:

PS. Join my (free) SaaS SEO in 2026 live session on Wednesday, March 4th @ 12pm EST.

Add it to your calendar: https://lnkd.in/eherWr2a

SEO vs AI SEO/AEO/GEO...

Leading Edge Copywriting

Content or Copy Writing - Specialising in B2B Sales Enablement
This means we can help you get more prospects - convert them to customers by invigorating your Sales Team. We do this by updating or creating your sales products such as One Sheets, Battle Cards ,Sales Decks etc so that your team becomes more efficient.

Founder and CEO

Leading Edge Web Services

Web Design and Building
Lead Generation
SEO
Sales Consulting

Managing Director

Leading Edge Essentials

Making a Difference in Peoples Lives
Marketing and Promotions
Renovating and Construction
Helping people modify their living surrounds so that it improves their quality of life
Learning new skills

Shire of Roebourne

Caretaker of the Historic Township of Cossack.
I really enjoyed my time  there, even though it was the hottest time of the year.I was responsible for everything that happened in the small tourist township on a daily basis, from opening and closing the museum, to taking accommodation and function bookings, to the general cleanliness and tidying and upkeep of the townsite.

Caretaker

Leading Edge

Retailers of Music, Hifi systems, Car Stereos, Televisions, Video Cameras, Communication systems, and associated Equipment
I was also very involved with the local Tourism Industry for many years, and was vice president for several years.
I was very involved with the local Chamber of Commerce for numerous years, and was also vice president of that for several years.
I was extremely involved with the local hockey community, and was President of the Busselton Hockey Stadium Club, and also the Men’s Hockey Club for many years.

I create copy that helps YOU Sell or Promote YOUR Product or Service

Would you like to have an updated arsenal of COPYWRITING products without spending a lot of time and money?
If the answer is yes, then let me get YOU or your sales team on steroids.
Organise a 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 15 𝗺𝗶𝗻 1:1 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 to get you started!

As a freelance copywriting agency, I can produce great content for whatever you need. I specialise in a range of writing styles:

- LinkedIn Profiles 
- Web Content
- Ghost Writing
- Content Creation
- SEO and UX/UI
- Blog and Article Pages
- About Section, Banners, etc.

B2B Sales Enablement Copywriting includes:
- Sales Decks
- Call Scripts 
- One Sheets 
- Case Studies
- Follow up Email Templates
- Cold Prospecting Email Templates
- Researching and writing Battle Cards
- Or even a Customer Persona (if you don’t have one)

If you already have some of these products, we could also just check them out and refresh them for you. 

-----------

𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗠𝗬𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙

I am a life-long learner with over 40 years of business and management experience. I consistently invest in myself to keep up with the latest ideas, techniques and training methods. I have a particular passion for B2B Sales Enablement content and all the projects that make up that area of business promotion. I love words. 

Over the years I have been writing, and/or co-writing my own copy and adverts for paper, radio, television, emails and now on the web. I aim to share my knowledge and help you gain more prospects, and convert them to customers so you make more sales.

My areas of expertise include a wide range of industries and the subsequent projects that you require so that you can both promote your business and attract more customers.

I am also an excellent copy editor, so if you simply need some assistance to finish off some content, or get an opinion then I can help get you on track. 

My community contribution has been from grass roots to management with sporting and community organisations in an endeavour to achieve great outcomes for everyone.

Over the last 16+ years I have assisted with the Busselton Ironman and Cape to Cape events in various roles. 

Just another page in the ongoing elaborate "Tapestry of Life"

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Jake Ward

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The Battle

Jake Ward

Mark Conrau

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jake Ward's LinkedIn Performance

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