AI-Driven SEO Playbook for Startup Founders

🧐 Why SEO Has Changed (and why you should care)

Let’s be blunt. SEO isn’t what it used to be. Forget the old playbooks where you just stuffed a blog with keywords and waited. Today, search has split in two:

• Google still matters (but 20% of searches now have AI Overviews at the top)

• AI Searches are increasingly where your buyers see answers first.

That means your startup’s content isn’t just competing for a blue link. It’s competing to be quoted directly inside the LLM. And the prize is massive: faster trust, cheaper leads, and visibility against incumbents without burning ad budget.

When I was scaling Penfold and Uncapped, we could organic traffic by publishing high quality content consistently. Not anymore. With my current startup clients we’ve had to rethink SEO completely. But the results have been dramatic. Just recently, a fintech client of mine used the below playbook to ramp organic traffic by 70% in just 60 days. Here's the playbook..

🪛 How to Use This Playbook

This isn’t a theory deck. It’s 12 proven prompts you can copy-paste straight into ChatGPT (or your model of choice). Each one is designed to help you:

• Audit your site so AI and Google can actually find you

• Map what buyers are really asking (instead of guessing)

• Ship content faster, with built-in proof and lived expertise

• Get quoted by AI systems and trusted by Google

• Build durable authority and credibility, week after week

Here’s how I recommend you run it:

1. Start with the audits (Prompts 1 & 2). They show you what’s broken and where the demand is.

2. Move into strategy and content build-out (Prompts 3–6). That’s where you’ll win mindshare.

3. Use the drafting and scaling prompts (7–10) to publish smarter and faster.

4. Finish by cementing authority and tightening your stack (11 & 12).

Run through these once, and you’ll already be ahead of 90% of your competitors. Repeat them regularly, and you’ll compound results without needing a big team.

🔥 The 12-Prompt SEO & GEO Playbook

1️⃣ Visibility Audit

If Google or an AI engine can’t crawl, parse, and quote your content, you’re invisible. This audit shows where you’re leaking authority and attention. Think of it as your startup’s SEO x-ray.

You are a search systems diagnostician and AI-answer exposure analyst. Audit the target for how easily humans, crawlers, and LLMs can find, parse, and quote our content.

Inputs:

- site: {site_url}

- business_priority_urls: [{url_1}, {url_2}] // optional

- cms_or_stack: {string} // optional

- crawl_depth_limit: {integer} // optional, default 3

- notes: {string} // any context, constraints, compliance notes

Scope to examine:

- discovery_and_rendering: sitemaps, robots rules, JS hydration, lazy content, canonical hints, internal crawl paths

- index_coverage_and_duplication: indexation, duplicates, parameters, soft 404s, pagination

- experience_signals: INP, CLS, responsive layout, intrusive elements

- content_extractability: presence of concise definitions, step lists, tables, Q&A fragments that can be quoted verbatim

- entity_clarity: primary and related entities, synonyms, disambiguators

- link_equity_flow: orphan risk, click depth to money pages, nav bias, internal anchor coverage

- reputation_and_compliance: thin or templated pages, expired content, authorship provenance, site reputation abuse risk

Deliverables:

- actionboard with PACE scores split into effort_bucket 90m, 1d, 1w

- answer_fragment_pack: 10 extractable snippets ≤60 words mapped to target queries and URLs

- findability_map: page → approx inbound links, click depth, anchor coverage, fragment candidates

- scorecard with overall_findability and ai_quoteability percentages

2️⃣ JTBD Mapping

Buyers don’t search in funnels, they search in jobs-to-be-done. This maps real questions at the Problem → Investigate → Compare → Decide stages, so you publish content that lines up with actual demand.

Construct a Demand Graph for:

- product_or_space: {string}

- audience: {string}

- geo_lang: {string} // e.g. UK English

Requirements:

- Stage model: "Problem", "Investigate", "Compare", "Decide"

- For each cluster: list 6–12 natural-language queries, exemplar patterns, likely searcher context, best asset type

- Return a CSV-ready table embedded as JSON

- Rank a quick_start list of 12 targets by Fit × Speed to publish

3️⃣ Authority Blueprint

Random blog posts won’t cut it. You need collections and clusters that ladder into authority. This builds your quarter’s roadmap of what to publish and how to interlink it so both humans and AI see you as credible.

Design an Authority Blueprint for:

- niche: {string}

- audience_slices: ["string"]

- constraints: {string} // optional

Produce:

- 5–8 Collections with purpose statements, target entities, audience slices

- For each Collection, 8–15 Atoms with a one-line promise and primary entity

- Entity-edge map with aliases and disambiguation notes

- Interlinking rules and a publishing sequence

Also include a YAML string of the same structure in blueprint_yaml.

4️⃣ Intent Harvesting

Not all search is equal. Some queries signal someone is about to buy. This prompt finds those decision-proximate terms so you can create landing pages that convert today, not someday.

Find decision-proximate queries for:

- offer: {string}

- audience: {string}

- geo_lang: {string}

For each idea include:

- query_pattern

- buyer_trigger

- required_proof_modules: comparison_table, roi_math, integration_list, risk_reversals, migration_notes

- landing_module_spec: hero_promise, social_proof_placement, cta_primary, micro_commit, key_sections

- measurement_note: the one metric that proves it works

Return 15–20 rows ranked by conversion potential, not volume.

5️⃣ Results Lab

Don’t guess what “good” looks like. This breaks down the pages already winning your target queries and shows you the minimum bar to compete, plus where you can add lived experience to actually beat them.

For the target:

- target_query: {string}

- geo_lang: {string}

Deconstruct the dominant result types across web pages, videos, forums, and tool directories.

Do:

- list 10–12 representative results across types with the hook each uses

- define the Minimum To Be Considered elements to compete

- run a gap scan for missing angle, data, or format

- propose a Win Path with title, section plan, one interactive or data-led element, and where lived experience gets inserted

6️⃣ Intent-First Content

Founders often waste hours writing content that never lands. This flips it: start from the reader’s task, not your agenda. The result? Briefs that make content rank and resonate.

Build a writing brief for:

- topic_or_keyword: {string}

- audience: {string}

- geo_lang: {string}

Include:

- reader_task: what the searcher is trying to get done

- success_criteria and constraints

- angle that proves we get their context

- section_plan as questions to resolve in order, marking definition_slot, steps_slot, example_slot, gotchas_callout

- evidence_dropins: where to show numbers or named sources

- CTA matched to intent with one micro_commit alternative

- snippet_seeds: three 40–60 word extracts

7️⃣ Drafting Assistant

Publishing speed matters. This turns briefs into drafts with citations, snippets, and even one paragraph of lived experience baked in. That “we’ve been there” tone? It’s what makes content trustworthy.

Draft an article from the brief below.

Inputs:

- target_length_words: {integer}

- audience_level: "beginner|intermediate|expert"

- brief: {paste JSON from Prompt 6}

Rules:

- start with a crisp canonical_answer paragraph and a 5-bullet facts_pack

- every material claim gets a citation_placeholder and a confidence_note

- include one lived_experience_paragraph in plain language

- add a claims_evidence_table at the end

- include an extractable_json block summarising key properties for LLM parsing

- format with H2/H3, short paragraphs, useful tables or steps

8️⃣ Landing Page Factory

You need high converting landing pages fast (think “best X for Y”). The trick is doing it without thin content. This prompt gives you safe templates that scale without looking like spam.

We want to generate many useful pages from a single template pattern.

Inputs:

- pattern_description: {string} // e.g. "Best {tool} for {industry}" or "{feature} in {city}"

- variables: ["string"] // list variable names

- audience: {string}

Deliver:

- modular template with placeholders and varied intro hooks

- blocks: comparison_table_spec, pros_cons_spec, selection_rubric, alternatives, related_links, faq

- duplication guardrails: minimum delta rules, variable synonyms, narrative variations

- data_contract in YAML with validation rules

- publishing preflight checklist

- sample_render with example variables

9️⃣ LLM Visibility

AI engines love concise definitions, steps, and truth tables. This tunes priority pages so they get quoted inside AI answers - your message delivered straight to buyers without the click.

Pick one important page and tune it for LLM quoteability.

Inputs:

- site: {string}

- key_topic: {string}

- page_url: {string}

Audit and revise:

- entities and synonyms present

- definition in first screen, headings framed as questions where relevant

- add one tight definition, one steps list, one truth table if missing

- propose Article/FAQ/HowTo schema updates

- produce a Knowledge Card JSON with essential facts

- write 3 fragment extracts ≤60 words for likely queries

- draft 6 llms.txt lines spotlighting best pages with a one-line summary

🔟 Niche Finder

The fastest SEO wins often come from niche topics big players ignore. This surfaces those under-served but high-impact queries perfect for early traction.

Surface niche queries that are under-served yet consequential.

Inputs:

- audience: {string}

- domain: {string}

- geo_lang: {string}

For each topic return:

- natural_language_query

- why_it_matters_now: release|regulation|ecosystem_change|tool_behavior|macro_trend

- best_format_to_win: post|briefing|howto|checklist|case_note|faq|video|tool

- timeliness: fresh|evergreen

- audience_slice

- product_tie_in

- priority 1 = highest

Also return a short pick_and_ship list with target assets and reasons.

1️⃣1️⃣ Reputation Sprint

Authority isn’t just what you say, it’s what others say about you. This 12-week sprint compounds credibility with contributions and proof.

Design a lean 12-week plan to raise perceived expertise and trust.

Inputs:

- brand_or_founder: {string}

- audience: {string}

- geo_lang: {string}

Structure:

- weekly moves across lanes: Contribution, Proof, Distribution

- contribution menu: quotes to reporters, contributor posts, data notes, small open tools, webinars, community answers

- proof upgrades on site: case capsules with numbers, author bios with credentials, transparent policies, client logos, implementation screenshots

- distribution: where and how to place for compounding mentions

Also provide a low_effort_menu with 90m and 1d options.

1️⃣2️⃣ Stack Optimisation

Technical debt quietly kills SEO. This checklist hardens your foundation, indexation, Core Web Vitals, schema and sitemaps so everything else compounds instead of leaking.

Inputs:

- site: {string}

- cms_or_stack: {string}

- constraints: {string} // optional

Checklist areas with acceptance criteria:

- indexation_and_duplication: canonicals, pagination, parameters, soft 404s

- core_web_vitals: INP and CLS remedies, one action per issue with pass/fail

- schema_that_helps: Organization, WebSite SearchAction, Article/BlogPosting, FAQ where Q&A exists, Product/SoftwareApplication/Service if relevant

- xml_sitemap_and_robots: hygiene and sanity

- mobile_rendering: critical content and nav visible

- monitoring_hooks: weekly checks in GSC or logs

Also define monitoring hooks to review in GSC and what to watch weekly.

✅ Why This Works

I’ve led growth for six startups across fintech, SaaS, and regulated markets where compliance can make marketing tricky. Every time, the takeaway’s been the same: SEO becomes a powerful growth lever when built on real demand, trusted authority, and clean technical foundations.

This playbook gives you 12 prompts you can run yourself, no big teams or fancy agencies required. Spot gaps quickly, then build durable inbound that keeps CAC low and demos flowing.

SEO today is being visible wherever your customers look. If your startup shows up in Google AND gets quoted by AI, you win.

If you’d like a friendly chat with a 20-year marketer (and 6× CMO) who can ramp your growth, organic or otherwise, book a call with me here.

Julian