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..

B2B SEO & Web Design For Revenue Not Vanity | DM To Discuss | Host @ Business Growth Show (Top 10 B2B Marketing Podcast, Cognism)

Your website struggling to drive a steady flow of qualified demos/leads?
Tired of losing leads to competitors ranking higher on Google/AI?
Frustrated your SEO agency isn't delivering demos & revenue?

WE FIX THAT.

OUR GROWTH STRATEGIES:

→ SEO to get top of Google & LLMs, bringing revenue-focused demos and signups
→ Start driving pipeline from AI and Google organic as fast as 90 days

BREAKING B2B - B2B MARKETING & DEMAND GENERATION PODCAST

Grow your b2b/SaaS company without the BS. Weekly top 2.5% podcast with actionable marketing tips to grow your revenue: www.breakingb2b.com

STILL NOT CONVINCED?

→ See our work, client results & starting rates here: www.breakingb2b.com

BOOK A CALL:

💻: www.breakingb2b.com
📧: Connect & DM Me
✉️: sam@samdunning.org

CORE SERVICES:

→ B2B SEO strategy and execution
→ Content marketing
→ Digital marketing for SaaS

WHY BREAKING B2B?

→ We focus on revenue, not vanity metrics
→ Our strategies are data-driven and results-oriented
→ We have a proven track record with B2B and SaaS companies
→ Our podcast (Breaking B2B) gives you free, valuable insights into B2B marketing

About time your website became your best (24/7) salesperson?
Get in touch today, and let's start growing your business.

P.S.
Agencies: We offer white-label SEO to help you deliver results on time and within budget.

Sam Dunning

If Backstreet Boys did b2b marketing.

SaaS SEO for revenue NOT vanity in the world of AI search: https://lnkd.in/e7XuM6au

What cover should Breaking B2B do next? 👇

Founder @ Breaking B2B | B2B SEO For Revenue Not Vanity | SaaS & B2B Teams Hire Us To Scale Organic Pipeline From Google & AI Search | DM To Discuss | Host @ Breaking B2B (Top 2.5% B2B Marketing Podcast)

Marketing: please don't rely on AI for SEO

CEO:


Watch full B2Backstreet Boys vid: https://lnkd.in/e9warMqW

RB2B are coming for the incumbent with AI search. 2yr old vs 14yr old SaaS. Here's our game-plan this month for Adam Robinson to keep ramping organic market share and pipeline from SEO/AEO:

QUICK SNAPSHOT.

Our focus is to continue driving sign-ups as quick as humanly possible from SEO/AEO and earning mindshare for RB2B whenever ICPs need visitor identification software, are comparing vendors, annoyed with their current provider or have the expensive problem we solve.

We've seen solid AI & search wins against long-term competitors (see images).

We’ll keep prioritizing competitor-focused bottom funnel KWs to capture high-intent demand. The plan includes 2x product listicle articles and 2x pricing-intent pages, targeting folks in evaluation or purchase mode.

“Uplead alternatives” pages across multiple domains are currently driving high-value traffic, indicating strong switch intent. RB2B can intercept this demand with a differentiated alternative page. “Hunter io pricing” represents a high-volume BOFU query where capturing comparison-driven traffic to directly influence purchase decisions.

We're crafting a comprehensive guide on “Lead scoring best practices”, a strong mid-funnel topic for RB2B because buyers searching it are actively trying to improve lead prioritization and sales efficiency. It allows RB2B to reframe why traditional scoring fails and position real-time website intent as the missing input that makes lead scoring actionable.


NET NEW CONTENT CREATION.

listicle articles:
- uplead alternatives
- happierleads alternatives

a quick summary and intro, why listen to us, what is uplead/happierleads, why look into alternatives (based on what prospects say e.g. on G2), list of 10 alternatives, RB2B at #1 with why customers choose them, show product in action, pricing and feature info, where we are a good + poor fit then list of 10 other options below with fair summary + conclusion and FAQs.

listicle and alternative/competitor content on your own site is solid for being cited and recommend in AI search and enables you to control the narrative with dream clients on ChatGPT and google ai overviews.

pricing guides:
- hunter io pricing
- snitcher pricing

these pages review the software pricing, share user feedback, breakdown of costs and share where RB2B is differentiated and why customers choose them. plus they often rank well within 90 days.

mid-funnel guide:
- lead scoring best practices


EARN BACKLINKS.

Secure niche relevant da50+ backlinks for:
- sales outreach strategy
- sales outreach plan
- lead capturing
- how to identify website visitors


EXTERNAL LISTICLE ARTICLE PLACEMENTS.

Secure placements on articles evaluating software like ours that are well ranked in google and AI searches for:
- sales prospecting platforms

___

Grab a call to see if Breaking B2B can scale demos quick as 90 days for your SaaS: https://lnkd.in/e7XuM6au

Watch my 34-minute SEO/AEO breakdown video for RB2B: https://lnkd.in/eiZfaXXq

I burnt domains and my TAM cold emailing like crazy all to get one client after months of work...until I found a better way to drive demos and build a long-term foundation for pipeline and mindshare:

Lets rewind 2 years ago...

The year is 2024

I grabbed data for Series A and B funded B2B SaaS companies.

Targeted marketing leaders - VP Marketing, CMOs etc.

Built out painfully short email messages focused on real problems from customer research.

For all positive replies, I recorded custom Loom videos reviewing their SEO and sharing reccos.

And from months of work, I got one single recurring client.

Then, the domains burned out and we had to close the whole channel down.

___

The avg cold email reply rate is 3.43% (instantly 2026 report). 

Which is why at Breaking B2B us and many SaaS marketing teams go big on SEO/AEO and evergreen organic content. Here’s why:

It builds on itself over time.

Think about when you search something on YouTube.

You often see videos that are weeks, months, or even years old still getting views.

SEO works exactly the same way.

Your pages and content can drive prospects and leads not just now, but for years to come.

Each page you publish is an asset you actually own.

It's like building a moat around a castle.

You keep building and building upon that moat.

Eventually you've got a kingdom of pages working 24/7 to drive qualified opps.

If you follow the right strategy when it comes to SEO, you get visitors that are actively searching for your solution, comparing options, frustrated with their current vendor or looking to fix expensive problems.

By the right strategy, I mean focusing on keywords that your dream customers who are in buying mode are searching for right now.

___

Your sales team is way happier working these leads than cold prospects

It's not just about Google anymore.

More and more prospects are using AI tools and LLMs to research vendors and compare options.

If you're creating solid bottom funnel organic content (best in class articles, listicles, landing pages, integration pages etc) and building that SEO moat...

You can show up in AI-generated answers too.

We're actively focusing on this with the companies we work with

Along with getting featured in industry lists around your offer.

The content you're building now isn't just for Google - it's positioning you for where search is going in the future.

It builds trust, brand, and mindshare.

And many folks place more trust in organic results than sponsored listings.

___

Watch my full 14-minute breakdown below to get your SEO/AEO pipeline engine in shape for 2026: https://lnkd.in/eU2ZnXjF

Worlds first b2boyband.

Watch now: https://lnkd.in/e-pb7qH2

No alternative text description for this image

Breaking B2B went from $50k/mo to $185k/mo last yr. George Coudounaris runs our LinkedIn Ads and most enquiries mention LinkedIn on calls. Here’s exactly what he did (and our plan to hit $400k/mo this year):

BACKGROUND.

With organic reach tanking like crazy I knew LinkedIn ads would be key to keep top of mind for our SEO/AEO services for B2B SaaS marketing leaders and to amplify my organic content. 

Plus, fixing our funnel of SEO/AEO and YouTube traffic who hit our site but didn't convert.

Getting the deadly trio: SEO, YouTube and LinkedIn cookin'


THE STRATEGY.

(1) George made me get brutally clear on ICP 

With a very limited budget to start (1.2k/mo), we weren’t going to rely on LinekdIn’s native filters. We wanted a TIGHT company list that matched his ICP of B2B SaaS companies he serves best. 

So he asked me:
Who are your best clients? 
Who gets the most value?
Which companies do you want more of? 

Turned that into firmographic filters, pulled a list, looked through it manually - so we knew we were getting in front of the right companies from Day 1. 


(2) Thought Leadership Ads became the growth engine

Thought Leadership Ads are winning right now for many b2b orgs with execs already organically posting with a following. Its high engagement rates mean you get better bang for your buck, and is a great place to start.

(my engagement rates are 8-15%) 

But we don’t just boost any content. 

Before we started,
We mapped best performing posts to the 5 Stages of Awareness

• Stages 1-3 → cold audiences
• Stages 3-5 → warm audiences

Then filled any content gaps.

Next step: every post needed a CTA.

Early-stage posts link to helpful resources.
Later-stage posts push toward booking a call.

Result?

Thought Leadership Ads consistently hit engagement rates as high as 15%, which meant Sam was everywhere his buyers looked.

Since then, we’ve layered in:

• Company page ads so Breaking B2B grows beyond my face
• Amplifying clients/partners getting results posting about Breaking B2B

So the brand scales, not just me.


(3) Constant Optimisation of Thought Leadership Ads

Judge the top performing Thought Leadership Ads by looking at:
Engagement rate
Cost per landing page click (a custom metric not available in platform)
New subscribers
High intent pages
Calls booked

And have a tight feedback loop on what’s landing to closed-won. 


(4) Acknowledge the reality of the buying journey 

Most prospects aren’t in-market today. Many have an SEO vendor they’re probably not seeing value from. 

Others are getting their business to the point where they can finally invest in SEO/AEO. 

The ads keep us top of mind. So when they’re ready, they come straight to Breaking B2B.

—

What’s next as we push toward our stretch goal?

• Upload a new company list to double audience size
• Increase spend to scale reach
• Scale top-performing ads into the expanded audience
• Grow company page ads so demand scales beyond me


Follow along as George and I share results!

Here's the 7 top pipeline channels for SaaS marketers & founders....based on 24 months of data and 755 discovery calls:

(755 sales call transcripts analysed across 2 years).


1. Paid Ads (Google + LinkedIn): 28%

Most explicitly stated dominant channel.

Quotes:
“70% of our inbound comes from Google ads, LinkedIn…” 
“We’d kind of spent money on Google ads for a few years… last year we got two inbound inquiries qualified.” 

Often described as:
- Majority of inbound
- Primary measurable driver
- First lever to scale or cut


2. Outbound Sales: 24%

Extremely common among:
- Early-stage SaaS
- Bootstrapped companies
- Technical founders

Examples:
“Outbound, sort of outbound work.” 
Hiring AEs / BDRs to fill pipeline 

Many companies say:
- Inbound is low
- Sales team drives growth


3. Referrals / Word of Mouth: 18%

Example:
“Word of mouth, referrals, they trust way more…” 

Often described as:
- Best quality leads
- Hard to scale
- Relationship-driven


4. SEO/AEO: 14%

Rarely dominant, but often present.

Quotes:
“30% coming from direct or organic.” 
“It’s not doing that at the moment.” 
“I want it to be a big jumping off point for inbound… and it’s not doing that at the moment.” 

Common answers:
- A desired channel
- Underperforming
- “Trickle of leads" 

Organic search often described as:
- Secondary
- Under-optimized
- Desired but not yet performing


5. Partner / Ecosystem (marketplaces, integrations): 7%

Usually:
- Supplemental
- Not fully controlled


6. Social Content (LinkedIn, Podcast, YouTube): 6%

More common among:
- Founder-led brands

Organic linkedin posting and social selling is big here.

YouTube massively neglected still in B2B SaaS.


7. Events / PR / Community: 3%

Mentioned occasionally but rarely primary pipeline driver.

Often:
- Trade shows
- Speaking
- Industry PR
- Slack/Discord groups

____

PS. join 1,951+ b2b legends enjoying the Breaking B2B newsletter (instantly unlock 90 days to revenue SEO/AEO playbook): https://lnkd.in/et7yce7s

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The Battle

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