GTM for Early Stage SaaS | Co-founder @ Datapad | SaaS Growth Advisor | Reforge | 1x Exit |

I’m a marketer, 2x entrepreneur with 1x exit, and helped companies to go from 0 to 8 figures.

My achievements:

- Built 2 VC backed startups with one exit

- Built a 7 figure productized marketing agency

- Became a mentor in top accelerators such as: 500, Plug and Play, Techstars

- Got to work with the portfolio companies of amazing investors such as A16z, Craft Ventures, YC

- Built a podcast with 20k downloads in a year-figure

- Transformed my body more times than Christian Bale ☺️

John Ozuysal

SEO and AEO agencies are dead

I replaced my $15k/mo agency with Claude Code.

Here is what my agent does:

- Creates content strategy around topics such as "ultimate guide to xyz" or "what is xyz" - zero defendability for AI search 

- Optimizes each post with [some made-up name] framework

- Found my ICP in 5 seconds, even though I couldn't figure it out for a year 

[screenshot of the flow] - I have no idea what any of this does. Neither does the person who built it.

We used this agent for 6 months, and below are the results from the AI search

[screenshot of Google Search Console]

And yes, we are tracking AI search from GSC, so all the AEO tools are unnecessary

I spoke with a CMO of Series B B2B SaaS last week about their AEO

He was furious.

"ChatGPT is telling people we're too expensive for small teams." - not correct at all

We pulled up the sources AI was citing.

Competitor blog posts. Reddit threads from 2021. A review site that hadn't been updated in 18 months.

His first instinct?

"We need more PR. More brand mentions. More visibility."

No. You don't.

That's not your problem.

Your problem is you never created content that answers the questions buyers are actually asking.

Best tools in your category. Alternatives. Comparisons. Use cases by company size.

You left that to competitors and review sites.

So now they're the source. Not you.

You're not invisible. You just handed the microphone to everyone else.

Early-stage companies have the opposite problem.

AI genuinely doesn't know they exist yet.

PR and brand mentions actually matter there.

But for you?

Create the content that answers buyer questions.

Become the source AI cites.

Stop letting competitors control your narrative.

TLDR: Assess your current situation before you invest in any AEO-related activity

---

If you want us to build a free AEO roadmap for you, apply from the link on my profile

Your buyers trust ChatGPT more than your sales team.

That's not an insult. That's just how people make decisions now.

They ask AI for recommendations. They get a shortlist. They do follow-up questions. By the time they land on your site, they've already decided whether you're a contender.

But here's the problem:

Most B2B SaaS companies have zero control over what AI says about them.
AI is citing outdated competitor blog posts. Old Reddit threads. Review sites that haven't been updated in over a year. And it's confidently presenting that information as if it's current.

I've seen AI tell buyers a product is "too expensive for small teams" based entirely on a competitor's comparison post from 2022. Completely inaccurate. But that's what the buyer heard.

So how do you take back control?

You become the source.

Step 1: Identify the 20-30 buying questions your ICP is asking AI right now. Turn your paid search keywords into questions.

Step 2: Ask those questions yourself. Look at what AI cites. What source types? Who gets mentioned?

Step 3: Fill the gaps. If AI cites a listicle, get on that listicle or create a competing one. If it cites a forum thread, go give a real, transparent answer. If it cites a video, make one.

Step 4: Optimize your help center so it answers every specific feature, integration, and use case question a buyer could ask in a follow-up.

Do this consistently for 6 weeks, and you'll see the shift.

The brands that control their AI narrative now will own their category later.

I think AI search visibility trackers are useless 

Why? 

Because I keep seeing AEO case studies with screenshots of the search console

I guess we are all missing something because my GSC is not giving me AI search visibility data 🤣 

Sad thing is, some of these posts are getting 500 comments

We are running an AI search sprint free for 3 SaaS companies

👇

We're opening up 3 free pilot slots to show you exactly where you stand on AI search and what to do about it.

Here's what you'll get:

- A full AI search audit of your brand vs your top competitors

- Your 30-day AI search content strategy + the brand mentions you need to build

- Your first revenue-focused content — written and ready to publish

We hand-pick the companies. We're not looking for volume. We're looking for fit.

That means Series A B2B SaaS. $1M+ ARR. A category worth owning. And a team that will actually execute on what we hand them — because we're not interested in doing great work that sits in a Google Doc.

Q2 2026 cohort has 3 spots.

If you think you're the right fit, apply from here: https://tally.so/r/442j4A

I haven't been to a graveyard in years.

Turns out I didn't need to, I just needed to open LinkedIn.

People here love the Kill Channels:

RIP Email. 

RIP Agencies. 

RIP Content. 

RIP Thought Leadership. 

RIP Ads.

At this point, everything's been declared dead at least 100 times.

And yet... somehow they all keep showing up to work on Monday.

Haven't invested in AEO yet? 

Don't start with content 👇

Start with a diagnosis.

Before creating any content, figure out whether the issue is visibility, representation (citation control), or both.

Later-stage companies usually already have visibility. The risk is how they’re being represented.

 AI search often pulls from competitor blogs, old Reddit threads, reviews, and third-party posts that don’t reflect the company’s current narrative.

The first step is to identify the URLs influencing AI answers and audit them for accuracy.

In parallel, build earned content quickly so AI systems learn from the company’s own materials, not someone else’s.

Earlier-stage companies typically have a visibility problem and a representation problem.

Start by mapping the prompts you want to win, then identify which URLs currently influence those prompts (often listicles and Reddit threads).

From there, focus on earned visibility by participating in those conversations and getting included where influence already exists.

Once there’s more budget, expand into creating content designed to compete for broader, category-level prompts.

We just increased AI search visibility for a B2B SaaS client by 100% in 30 days.

Want to see how we did it?

You can't. The case study doesn't exist. I made it up.

But you'd have believed it, right? Because you've seen 15 posts this month saying almost exactly that.

Here's the problem: a lot of people claiming to grow AI search visibility are backing it up with Google Search Console screenshots.

It does not tell you how often your brand appears in AI-generated responses. 

It does not tell you what AI systems say about you. It does not measure anything that would reasonably be called "AI search visibility."

Posting a GSC screenshot as proof of AEO results is either a misunderstanding of how this works or a deliberate misdirection aimed at people who don't know the difference.

If someone is showing you clean dashboards and confident attribution, ask them which tool produced it and how it works.

If the answer is a Google Search Console screenshot, walk away.

4 types of competitor-focused content I use to generate pipeline for SaaS

👇

1. Competitor vs You

You must own this story. If a prospect types “[competitor] alternative” into Google and only sees their page, you already lose. Create clean “You vs Competitor” pages that talk in revenue, churn, onboarding time, not vague feature lists. Show how you reduce risk, cut time-to-value, or lift expansion revenue.

2. Competitor alternatives

These people are in market now. They already pay for a tool. They just hate something about it. Create list posts like “7 alternatives to [competitor] for remote CS teams” and rank for those terms. Include your product in the list, show screenshots, add simple pricing context, and link to a focused trial or demo page. This brings high-intent trials fast.

3. Competitor comparisons

Big brands fund your pipeline. Use their demand. People search “[competitor A] vs [competitor B]” every day. Write posts and pages like “[A] vs [B] vs [You]” and speak to a specific ICP: “best for product-led teams”, “best for agencies”, “best for low-ACV SaaS”. You ride their brand search while positioning your product as the right fit for a clear segment.

4. Competitor use case content

Show how to do a key job in competitor tools, then show the simpler version in your product. “How to build a QBR dashboard in [competitor]” → then you show it takes 9 steps there and 3 in your app. If a competitor cannot support that use case, say it clearly and own the gap. This is where many of your best switch deals come from.

----

If you want us to generate a free AEO report, check the link on my bio !

Your competitors keep showing up in ChatGPT.

You don't.

Here's what nobody in the "AI SEO" space is saying clearly enough:

The AI doesn't care that your landing page ranks #1 on Google.

When someone asks "What's the best [your category] tool?" — ChatGPT isn't reading one page and picking a winner. You can be a source, but this is not the same as being "visible."

It's pulling from everywhere. Forums. Video platforms. Review sites. 

Knowledge bases. Third-party articles.

Then it stitches all of that together into a single answer.

Your competitor shows up in a roundup article. They're recommended in a forum thread. Someone made a walkthrough video about them. 

Their knowledge base answers a niche feature question.

That's 4 mentions across 4 different source types.

This is the game now. You have to build citation layers, stacking your brand's presence across the source types that AI models actually pull from.

Here's how to start:

- Take your best converting-value paid search keywords or highest converting organic keywords, or even better, ask your customers how they searched for you.

- Ask Claude to turn this into buyer prompts. For each prompt, check what is being cited, and what kind of sources? Whose mentioned?

- Then build your owned content and earned content strategy based on this information.

- If the AI is pulling from a listicle comparing your competitors, go create your own listicle and also get included in that one. 

- If it's citing a forum thread where someone asks about your category, go give a real, helpful answer from your actual team. If it's referencing a video walkthrough, make one.

Match the source type that's already winning the citation. Don't guess. Mirror what's working.

Treat it like a proper experiment. Pick 10questions to intervene on. Leave 10 untouched. Track the results over 6 weeks.

This is exactly how we run AEO experiments at House of Growth - AI Led Growth Agency

Companies running this playbook are seeing AI-referred traffic convert at dramatically higher rates than traditional search. 

And most of your competitors still think this is "too early" to worry about.

I see people bragging about creating blog posts with Claude code for AEO

Sad thing is, they are still creating blog posts such as:

- What is [topic]

- Ultimate guide to [topic]

You clearly have no idea how AEO works, otherwise you wouldn't create these and call them "AEO" focused posts

Why you don’t show up in AI search?

Here’s the simplest answer:

You have no content.

And nobody knows, mentions, or talks about your brand.

That’s it.

AI systems don’t “discover” brands magically.

They reflect what already exists on the internet.

Once you accept this, everything else makes sense.

Only then do details start to matter:

Entity optimization
Query fan-outs
Topical authority etc..

growth w/ linkedin ads for B2B SMBs | 🧪 building with ai on weekends

Hey, thank you for being here ☺️

What I do >>>

- I help b2b companies scale with LinkedIn marketing (strategy & ads) 

- I write a 2x newsletter on proven product marketing insights at productletter.beehiiv.com

What I've done >>>

- I  have worked in-house as an SEO & Content Lead for a couple of SaaS companies.

- I have worked in 3 agencies over 7+  years developing, content strategy, branding, and copywriting.

- I have written 100s of long-form SEO content (including technical) for the last 7 years.

- I have developed content strategies for several  B2B SaaS startups.

- I have developed brand strategies for startups.

- I have ghostwritten LinkedIn content for a startup CEO.

-I have designed websites using Wix, WordPress, Shopify, Ghost, and more.

- I have designed landing page copy for clients.


NOW: I help B2B companies/services scale with LinkedIn Ads.

Interested?

Shoot me a DM.

Okerosi Davis 🦒

Founder; I want to take my LinkedIn serious this 2026
Me; I would recommend we test these 4 formats.

LinkedIn provides up to 9 content formats; 

- text
- polls 
- image 
- video
- event
- carousels
- document
- celebrations
-write article (on desktop)

Over my 8+ years on this platform, I not tried two

The celebrations feature got a revamp, but not tried it yet

I have attended several LinkedIn live events, not held one yet

When I talk to founders on the best format to use,
I always boil to 4 main ones. 

The first reason, they have been proven to work
The second one is LinkedIn algo prioritizes them

A few days ago I shared a post on looking into 300+ LinkedIn Creators.

Aside from understanding their LinkedIn positioning, I was noting their primary content formats.

Here is the breakdown; 

1. Text only 

Chris Walker, & Adam Robinson grew to 100k+ using text posts mainly.

And if you are starting out, text post is the best format. 

Importantly, the first 3 lines can make or break the post

I would add, you should consider text structure as well.

2. Image + text caption

If you have noticed, I have boiled my posts to this format.

With a twist though, maxing out on the 3,000 characters

And leaning heavily into on brand visual designs. 

The two factors are crucial for the algo currently
One is 'hacking' the Dwell Time metrics 
Two is about standing out on the Feed

Chris Donnelly, Anthony Pierri, Pierre Herubel
Jake Ward, Vincent Pierri, Nick Broekema 

These are of the best Creators to shadow on visual images/infographics

3. Video + text caption

This format has been a hit & miss for me
Even LinkedIn is indicating mixed feelings 

One quarter, video content is next frontier
The next quarter, my video feature is no more

But if you extrapolate from other platforms
Video is the language of the internet

For LinkedIn, think long form video 
With LinkedIn ads clients, long form does better
Additionally, the platform now has 'total watch time' analytics

One interesting trend am seeing with B2B videos,
Is the rise of video-first LinkedIn B2B Creators
They are contracted to create videos for brands

Ademola Adelakun, Connor Lewis, Todd Clouser
Louis Butterfield, Oyinko K., Alex Sheridan 

These are some example Creators on my feed.

4. Documents

In my experience, this one is a hit or miss format
It's worth testing though. 

Eddie Shleyner does really well with the format
So Jake, Anthony, and Nick that I have mentioned above.

The key difference am seeing boils down to design

The other formats are on demand basis.
Matt Lakajev does well with live events
Andy Mewborn is winning with Polls 

Am putting a 100 examples swipe file.
Comment ' Format ' and I will share it with you


___________________________________________________

tl:dr; 4 LinkedIn content formats to test as a Founder
p.s: follow me Okerosi Davis 🦒 on linkedin marketing

I took 110 minutes to catchup on the recent ZenABM Bootcamp.[19 lessons from Tim & Gabriel] 

The platform ABM on LinkedIn is running a 11 days long bootcamp by hosting 10+ experts in the space.

No surprise, I follow and are connected to all the experts.

Over the weekend, I took time out to catchup on the recorded webinars on YouTube. 

Today am going to focus on two experts;

- Tim Davidson, founder B2B Rizz
- Gabriel Ehrlich, founder Remotion

Here are my learnings:

From Gabriel; LinkedIn ads TLA Q&A

1.On ad structure, go with campaign type for simplicity.

2.On scaling ads, factor time delay; ad spend & pipeline.

3.On TL ads CTA, ideally at the bottom, but test mid & top.

4.On ABM list, go with company list or filtering for big companies.

5.On proving ROI, pipeline focus; use UTMs, CAPI & self attribution.

6.On exclusions, relies on broadness or narrowness of audience.

7.On ad set, 4/5 is good, pay attention on frequency.

8.On company page, focus on employer branding.

9.On metrics, for TL ads, focus engagement rate.

From Tim: TL Ads for ABM

 10.The Founder the best profile for TL ads 

11. It's great; right: person,content, distribution.

 12. Edit the post & add CTA link to a landing page.
 
 13. If Tim had to choose the content format; videos.

14. Avoid CTA link in the comments as gets buried.

15. If you can get your ideal buyers for TL ads, great.

 16. Leverage partnerships of your brand mentions for TL ads.

 17. Text, image and video content formats but context is pivotal.

 18. The post doesn't have to perform organically, context matters.

 19. Faily TL ads budget relies on audience size, & the cost to reach them.


That is the gist of it.

p.s: let's grow your smb with abm + tl ads 

🦒

taplio

The Battle

John Ozuysal

Okerosi Davis 🦒

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJohn Ozuysal's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreOkerosi Davis 🦒's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

John Ozuysal

Okerosi Davis 🦒

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);}John Ozuysal's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreOkerosi Davis 🦒's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJohn Ozuysal's LinkedIn Performance