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An honest, side-by-side comparison
Austin Heaton vs Animalz: Which AEO Partner Fits Your B2B Company?
Both help B2B brands grow in search, but they work in different ways. Austin Heaton runs a senior-led SEO and AEO engagement focused on getting your brand cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Animalz describes itself as a content marketing and SEO agency for B2B SaaS brands.
Below: what Austin's engagements cost, a side-by-side table, pros and cons framed as fit, and documented client results.
What it costs
Austin Heaton engagements start at $5,000/month
Pricing is published, so you can compare on value before the first call.
- From $5,000/month for senior-led SEO and AEO execution
- 3-month minimum, because AI search and SEO results compound
- White-label AEO available for agencies
- Local AEO add-on: $3,000/month
Side By Side
The Comparison, At A Glance
How the two models differ on focus, services, pricing and proof. Animalz details are taken only from animalz.co, as of Oct 2026.
What you're comparing
Austin Heaton Senior-led SEO + AEO Published pricing
Animalz Content marketing + SEO agency
Primary focus
✓ SEO and AEO: getting cited in AI answers
Content marketing, SEO and AEO for B2B SaaS
Who it serves
B2B SaaS, FinTech, crypto and legal tech
High-growth software, tech startups and enterprises
AEO (AI search) services
✓ Citation engineering, technical AEO audits
✓ AI visibility audit, citation outreach, Reddit engagement
Technical SEO and audits
✓
✓ Technical SEO / AEO audits
Thought leadership formats (white papers, podcasts, research reports, books)
Not the focus
✓
Creative and design
Not the focus
✓ Infographics, microsites, video snippets
How work is run
Austin leads strategy and execution directly
Embedded content team; strategy sprints
Reporting
AI visibility and citation share tracked by prompt
Customized dashboard, monthly analysis
Published pricing
✓ From $5,000/month
Pricing not published
Minimum term and options
3-month minimum; white-label; local AEO $3,000/month
Not published
Team and location
Austin Heaton, remote
Founded in NYC in 2015; remote team in 8 countries
Published case studies
✓ Riseworks, Lumanu, Pactvera, StablecoinInsider
✓ Amplitude, Preply, Unit21, Frontify and more
Animalz details reflect only Animalz's own website (animalz.co: home, services, AEO services, about and customers pages) as of Oct 2026. Animalz does not publish pricing. Confirm current scope and pricing directly with each provider.
Fit, Not Criticism
Pros & Cons
Both models suit different buyers. Here is when each one is the better fit, plus what is worth knowing before you book a call.
Austin Heaton
Better if you want
- Senior-led SEO and AEO, with Austin directing strategy and execution himself
- Your brand cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
- Published pricing: from $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum
- Proof you can check: Riseworks grew organic traffic 288% and AI search sessions 575% in 12 months
- White-label AEO for your agency, or a local AEO add-on at $3,000/month
Worth knowing
- Capacity is limited because Austin leads every engagement
- Focused on SEO and AEO, not a full content studio for white papers, podcasts or books
- 3-month minimum, because search and AI visibility compound
Animalz
Better if you want
- A content marketing and SEO agency focused on B2B SaaS brands
- Content beyond search: thought leadership, white papers, podcasts, research reports and books
- An AEO program that includes citation outreach and Reddit engagement
- Creative and design support, from infographics to microsites
- A remote team across 8 countries, founded in NYC in 2015
Worth knowing
- Pricing is not published, so budget and scope are set with their team
- Services span content marketing broadly, with AEO as one part of the program
Austin's Documented Results
Proof, Not Just Profiles
Every figure below is stated on the live case-study page it links to.
Riseworks: FinTech / Crypto Payroll
288% Organic Growth & 575% AI Search Expansion in 12 Months
+288%
Organic traffic, 12 months
+575%
AI search sessions
100+
Countries reached
- Organic traffic up 288.59% from February 2025 to February 2026
- AI search sessions up 575.85% over the same 12 months
- Pricing page reached 12,440 clicks, up 627.49%
Lumanu: FinTech / Creator Payments
656 AI Search Clicks & 101 Conversions in 60 Days
656
AI-sourced clicks
101
Conversions
60
Days
- 101 conversions, 99 of them from ChatGPT
- 28,820 Google clicks (+17.36%) and 1.06M impressions (+22.55%)
- Purchase-intent content and DA40 to DA80 backlinks
Pactvera: Legal Tech
6,000%+ Search Growth, Featured Next to DocuSign in 11 Days
11
Days to first results
6,000%+
Search growth
DA70+
Backlinks secured
- Positioned alongside DocuSign in Google and LLM-generated results
- Site health raised from 43% to 98%
StablecoinInsider: Crypto Publisher
40K+ Monthly Visits & 770% AI Traffic Growth in 90 Days
40K+
Monthly visits
+770%
ChatGPT traffic
14 to 36
Domain authority
- Ranking keywords up 3,507.7% to 15,513
- Perplexity traffic up 3,760%
Be Honest With Yourself
Which One Is The Right Fit?
The best partner depends on your B2B stage, content needs, budget, and how directly you want to work with the person setting strategy. Here's the straight answer, including when Animalz may be the better call.
Choose Austin Heaton if…
The senior-operator model
- You want one senior owner directing the B2B SEO/AEO strategy and execution
- You want SEO and AEO work shipping every week
- You want a direct Slack line to Austin
- You're a B2B SaaS, FinTech, AI, or technology company
- You want published pricing: from $5,000/month, 3-month minimum
- You want AI search visibility tracked across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini
Choose Animalz if…
The B2B content-agency model
- You want a content marketing and SEO agency focused on B2B SaaS
- You want thought leadership, white papers, podcasts or research reports alongside SEO
- You want an AEO program that includes citation outreach and Reddit engagement
- You want a content team embedded in your organization
- You want creative, design and content operations help, such as CMS uploads and AirOps implementation
Questions
Comparison FAQ
What's the single biggest difference between the two?
The operating model. Austin Heaton personally leads SEO and AEO strategy and execution, so you get one senior accountable owner and direct access. Animalz describes itself as a content marketing and SEO agency for B2B SaaS brands that embeds a content team in your organization, with services that also cover thought leadership, creative and content operations. Austin fits B2B teams that want senior-led SEO and AEO execution, while Animalz fits teams that want a broader agency content program.
What does Animalz offer?
As of Oct 2026, animalz.co lists content production (thought leadership, demand generation, SEO and AEO content, product marketing), creative and design, content and SEO/AEO strategy including technical audits, and content operations. Its AEO service covers an AI visibility audit, AI search strategy, micro content refreshes, citation outreach, Reddit engagement, and measurement and reporting. It publishes case studies with companies such as Amplitude, Preply and Unit21.
How does pricing compare?
Animalz does not publish pricing on animalz.co as of Oct 2026, so ask their team directly. Austin publishes his pricing: engagements start at $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum, white-label AEO is available, and a local AEO add-on is $3,000/month. Exact scope is set on the intro call. Compare value per dollar against your pipeline goals, not headline rate alone.
Why no review scores on this page?
Because documented results are easier to check than star ratings. Austin's case studies show outcomes from clients' own analytics and AI search tracking, like 288% organic growth and 575% AI search expansion in 12 months at Riseworks, and 656 AI-sourced clicks and 101 conversions in 60 days for Lumanu. You can read each case study in full and judge the work on its numbers.
Can a senior-led consultant cover what an agency does?
It depends on what you need. For focused SEO and AEO execution led by one senior owner, a senior-led engagement is built for that. If you also want many content formats at once, such as white papers, podcasts, research reports and design, an agency with a broader content team, like Animalz, is built for that instead.
What if I already have an agency or in-house team?
Two paths: Austin replaces what isn't working, or runs alongside with a clearly defined AEO-specific scope. Many clients start alongside and consolidate by month 3 once results diverge. He works well with in-house teams when the scope is clear.
How do I decide?
Book a 30-minute call. Austin will walk through your current search and AI footprint, your ICP, and what the next 90 days could look like, and tell you honestly whether he's the right fit. If a B2B content marketing agency would serve you better, he'll say so and point you in that direction.
Let's Talk
See Which Model Fits Your Business
Get a senior operator's honest read on your AI search footprint, and a clear picture of what the next 90 days could look like, with no obligation. Engagements start at $5,000/month.
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12+ years in search
Full-stack execution
Senior-led engagement
Documented results