Jake Ward

Rank #1 in ChatGPT and AI Search: My next LIVE SEO session on 8th April. Co-Founder at Contact (and 3x SaaS companies).

I've spent 10 years in SEO and 8 years working with SaaS companies, from high-growth startups like beehiiv to billion-dollar platforms like Kajabi. Launched multiple SEO products like Byword.ai (2 weeks before ChatGPT) to scale SEO programmatically, and Mentions.so to win AI visibility. Ran high-profile experiments like the world's largest AI SEO case study, SEO speedruns, and the infamous SEO heist.

I'm leading product and SEO innovation at Contact.so across 25+ active clients and a 20-person SEO and content team. And building and growing Kleo.so to help entrepreneurs scale their personal brand and turn LinkedIn into a lead generation machine (like I have).

Most of my work today focuses on one question:

"How can SaaS companies win marketing (and SEO) in this AI era?"

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/

SEO?
“Just add some keywords”
”Get green lights on Yoast”
”Let’s write a blog and rank #1?”
”Can’t we just buy some backlinks?”

But SEO in 2026 is a totally different beast.

Here’s what it actually involves:

- Total Addressable Search Market
- Google Search Console
- “Don’t change URLs”
- Quick win keywords
- Customer research
- Programmatic SEO
- Entity optimization
- LLM optimization
- Keyword Insights
- Topical authority
- Site architecture
- Schema markup
- Core Web Vitals
- Monthly reports
- Log file analysis
- Google updates
- Brand mentions
- Screaming Frog
- Technical audit
- Content decay
- Internal linking
- XML Sitemaps
- Topic clusters
- “llms.txt file?”
- Search intent
- Link building
- “It depends”
- Crawlability
- Canonicals
- Robots.txt
- Digital PR
- Mentions
- Semrush
- E-E-A-T

Just adding keywords or getting green lights on Yoast doesn't get SEO results.

True SEO and holistic marketing does.

SEO has been dying since 1997.

Some notable "deaths" include:

- Web 3.0
- Google Ads
- Social media
- TikTok search
- Voice assistants
- Featured snippets
- Zero-click searches
- Every Google update
- AI Overviews in Google
- GEO/AEO as the new SEO
- ChatGPT replacing Google

And now... AI agents?

Here’s the reality:

- SEO will always evolve
- People will always use search
- Search habits take time to change
- Google handles 14B+ daily searches
- Sends 190x more traffic than ChatGPT
- SEO is a $100B+ industry (growing ~12% YoY)

Even the newest "SEO killer" (GEO/AEO) is literally built on SEO fundamentals.

Richard Hoy said this in 1997:

"I’m beginning to believe that search engines are a dead-end technology and fretting over where your site comes up is a big waste of time."

Don’t be him in 2026.

SEO is very much alive.

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.

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 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...

I just built SEO strategies for beehiiv and Kleo.

A ~$300M newsletter platform and my own 7-figure SaaS we launched 43 days ago.

(Sadly I didn't make this pic with Tyler Denk)

Completely different products, audiences, and business stages. But I'm using the same playbook.

SaaS SEO in 2026 isn't what it was 2-3 years ago.

The old playbook:

- Target high volume keywords
- Build comparison pages
- Rank in Google and get clicks

But in 2026:

1. Search is as fragmented as ever across Google, LLMs, socials, and other platforms.

2. Even if you rank, SERPs are busy with AI Overviews and ads making position 1 less valuable.

3. Zero-click searches mean AI is answering queries before any clicks to your website.

4. AI has commoditised average content and the quality bar is much higher.

I'm breaking down how I built the strategies for beehiiv and Kleo in a live session tomorrow at 12PM EST.

You'll see:

- What 20% of SEO to focus on in 2026
- How to rank across Google AND AI platforms
- The exact playbook for turning SEO into revenue

Register for free: https://lnkd.in/eherWr2a

PS. The next 20 SaaS companies that register and comment below get a free AI visibility report from my team (normally only for our clients like beehiiv).

Content Marketer & LinkedIn Strategist | Founder of The Content Scroll | Elevating Brands & Leaders with Proven Content Strategies for Conversion, Engagement, and Growth.

💡 Struggling to get the right people to notice your business online?

You post, you engage… but it rarely turns into clients. Your LinkedIn and social media feel like a time sink instead of a growth engine.

That’s frustrating. Opportunities slip by. Competitors seem to effortlessly attract leads while you’re stuck guessing what works.

I help business owners and entrepreneurs fix that. Together, we create strategies that:

Put your brand in front of the right audience

Turn engagement into meaningful conversations

Drive consistent, sustainable growth

What makes my approach different? 

I don’t just create posts or suggest tactics; you get a system. One that fits your business, your audience, and your goals. A system that grows with you, so your online presence isn’t another thing on your to-do list but a driver of real results: visibility, credibility, and clients who are genuinely interested in what you offer.

Working with me means stepping off the treadmill of guessing, posting inconsistently, and hoping for results. It’s about having clarity, consistency, and a plan that actually moves the needle. Over time, the right connections, opportunities, and growth start showing up on autopilot without draining your energy.

Send me a DM to get a free LinkedIn profile audit and discover exactly what your business needs to grow. You can also reach me via email at vivienneosaka@gmail.com. Let’s explore a strategy that puts your LinkedIn and social media to work for you.

Vivienne Osaka

‎I remember being obsessed with hitting my first $10K month.
‎
‎It felt like a real milestone. 
Proof that this business thing was working.
‎
‎So I did what most people do when they’re chasing a number.
‎
‎I accepted everything.
‎
- ‎If someone had a budget, I said yes.
- ‎If the project wasn’t aligned but would help me get closer to $10K, I said yes.
- ‎If the timeline was unrealistic, I told myself I’d figure it out.

I kept thinking, “It’s just for now.”
‎
‎That month was intense.
‎
‎Back-to-back calls.
‎Constant revisions.
‎Scope creep I didn’t push back on.
‎Underpriced work that drained my energy.
‎
‎When the money finally came in, I expected to feel proud.
‎
‎Instead, I felt exhausted.
‎
‎I had hit $10K… but I had built pressure and chaos around myself to get there.
‎
‎After that month, I went quiet on here for a year.

‎I needed that time to fix what I had built.
‎
- ‎I had to learn how to set boundaries.
- ‎How to say no without feeling guilty.
- ‎How to create systems so I wasn’t involved in every tiny thing.
- ‎How to structure my offers so they didn’t depend on constant firefighting.

‎When I came back, the business felt lighter.
‎Cleaner.
‎More intentional.
‎
‎And scaling became easier.
‎
📌‎Looking back, my first $10K taught me more about what not to do than what to do.
‎
‎If you’re pushing for a revenue milestone right now, be careful what you say yes to.
‎
‎Hitting the number is exciting.
‎
‎Living with how you hit it is what actually matters.

#LinkedIn #LinkedInGrowth #B2B #LeadGeneration #Sales #PersonalBranding

LinkedIn Client Acquisition Strategist | Social Media Strategist | Driving Brand Visibility, Client Acquisition & Sustainable Online Growth for B2B Service Providers

LinkedIn Growth
Personal Branding
Business Milestone

I almost went nuts trying to find my “niche.”

Everyone says you need one.

Pick a lane.
Own a category.
Be known for one thing.

So I tried.

I brainstormed industries.
Rewrote my headline ten times.
Changed my bio.
Shifted my messaging.
Second-guessed everything.

Every week, I felt certain.
Every month, I felt confused again.

And the more I chased a niche, the more disconnected I felt from my own work.

Because I was lacking alignment.

I kept asking:
“What’s profitable?”
“What’s trending?”
“Where’s the opportunity?”

Instead of:
“Where do I naturally create leverage?”
“Who do I understand deeply?”
“What conversations feel effortless?”

There’s a difference between choosing a niche under pressure
and refining positioning from clarity.

When I stopped trying to force a label and started reviewing my actual best work, patterns appeared.

The clients I enjoyed.
The problems I solved the fastest.
The conversations that converted the easiest.

My niche wasn’t something I had to invent.
It was something I had to recognize.

And once I aligned with that:

My messaging simplified.
My outreach stopped feeling awkward.
My content stopped feeling performative.
Sales conversations felt lighter.

Alignment does something no tactic can do.
It removes friction.

Now I don’t think about “finding” a niche.

I think about sharpening the edge I already have.

If you feel confused about your niche…

Maybe you don’t need a new direction.

Maybe you need a clearer reflection.

#Entrepreneurship #PersonalBranding #B2BMarketing #PositioningStrategy
#FounderJourney

taplio

The Battle

Jake Ward

Vivienne Osaka

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJake Ward's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreVivienne Osaka's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Jake Ward

Vivienne Osaka

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

Performance ScoreVivienne Osaka's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJake Ward's LinkedIn Performance