Hire an SEO Consultant for Startups. Build Pipeline Before Series B.
Early teams need Google rankings and AI citations without a $200k Head of SEO. Austin Heaton runs SEO and AEO as one senior engagement so startups win search and answer engines that feed pipeline.
Lumanu, Riseworks, iSpeedToLead
Startups need SEO and AEO without a full-time hire.
Money pages and entity work beat blog volume alone.
Google rankings plus AI citations drive inbound.
Senior consultant ownership beats junior agency relay.
Lumanu, Riseworks, and iSpeedToLead are live proof.
Startups do not need a $200k Head of SEO to win Google and AI citations before Series B. They need one senior owner on money pages, technical foundations, and answer-engine signals. Blog volume without commercial pages burns runway.
Blog volume without money pages never converts buyers
AI shortlists skip brands with weak entity signals
Junior agency relays burn months before anything ships
Founders need Google and ChatGPT coverage, not one channel
Featured In & Published On
Want your B2B SaaS brand in those answers?
What an SEO Consultant for Startups Covers
Broader than AI-only startupsAustin Heaton works with startups across SaaS, FinTech, AI, and professional services. The engagement covers classic SEO and Answer Engine Optimization so early teams get rankings and citations without hiring a full-time Head of SEO.
Comparisons, alternatives, and use cases that convert startup demand
Crawl access, site architecture, and structured data Google and AI can use
Citation work across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews
Commercial content for buyers comparing vendors, not another founding story
Mentions and schema so models can name your startup correctly
Fractional SEO or consultant retainer: one senior owner, no junior relay
Startup SEO fails when it is only TOFU blogs. The teams that win run money pages, technical foundations, and AEO together under one senior owner. That is the difference between traffic vanity and inbound that sales can close.
Four Documented B2B Cases.
Documented on this siteThese are B2B companies that sell to other businesses. The numbers below are from the live case studies on this site. Nothing invented.
656 AI-sourced clicks and 101 conversions in 60 days
Read the Lumanu case study →288% organic growth and 575% AI search expansion
Read the Rise case study →310.8% AI search growth and #1 citation share at 7.79%
Read the iSpeedToLead case study →6,000%+ impression growth, featured next to DocuSign in 11 days
Read the Pactvera case study →Free AEO Report Card
Austin Heaton reviews where your site loses Google and AI visibility across technical, on-site, and off-site, then sends the exact fixes.
Book a CallClients and Partners
From The People Who Have Worked With Austin
ReferencesAustin always focuses on winning, brings radical ideas, and executes with speed, one of the best content specialists I have worked with.
Austin stands out for his creative, strategic approach to growth, intentional, outcome-focused, and exactly why his projects succeed.
Austin is just one of those people you want on your team. He genuinely cares about helping his clients win.
FAQ
6 answersWhat does an SEO consultant for startups actually do?
An SEO consultant for startups owns rankings, technical foundations, money pages, and AI citation work so early teams get inbound without a full-time Head of SEO.
Austin Heaton combines classic SEO with AEO. See fractional SEO and pricing.
Is this only for AI startups?
No. This hire page is broader than the legacy AI-startups page. It covers SaaS, FinTech, AI, and other B2B startups that need Google and AI search inbound.
AI-native startups still fit. So do category SaaS teams that are past seed and need pipeline from search.
Should a startup hire SEO, AEO, or both?
Both. Buyers still Google vendors, and they also ask ChatGPT who to shortlist. Teams that only do one channel leave demand on the table.
Related: AEO for B2B SaaS and ChatGPT optimization services.
What proof exists?
Lumanu, Riseworks, and iSpeedToLead are documented on the portfolio.
How does pricing work?
Monthly retainers are listed on /pricing. Book a call to scope the engagement.
When should a startup hire?
Before Series B when inbound from Google and AI search can change pipeline without hiring a full-time Head of SEO.
What proof does Austin Heaton have for startups and B2B growth?
Lumanu: 656 AI-sourced clicks and 101 conversions in 60 days. Riseworks: 288% organic growth and 575% AI search expansion. iSpeedToLead: 310.8% AI search growth and #1 citation share at 7.79%.
Pactvera: 6,000%+ impression growth in 11 days. Full write-ups on the portfolio.
When is a consultant better than an agency or in-house hire?
When the startup needs senior ownership now, not a junior relay or a $200k Head of SEO before product-market fit is stable.
If a strong in-house team already exists, Austin Heaton sets the money-page and citation system they execute against. Compare consultant vs in-house.
How do startups start working with Austin Heaton?
Book a call. Austin Heaton looks at rankings, AI visibility gaps, and which commercial pages to ship first.
Retainer options are on the pricing page. Book a call.
Ready for Startup SEO That Feeds Pipeline?
If Google and ChatGPT are how buyers find you, and you are missing from both, you are already paying for it.
Startup team without a Head of SEO? Book a free 30-minute SEO + AEO strategy call with Austin.
Book a CallEngagements from $5,000/month
3-month minimum. White-label available. Local AEO add-on $3,000/month. Full package details on pricing.