GrowthRise Mastermind Recap May 26, 2026

1) Topics Covered

• ChatGPT Paid Ads

Challenge: High cost of entry ($50K–$60K/month via agency); paid ChatGPT users don't see ads, limiting B2B reach
Advice: Evaluate whether target audience uses free vs. paid ChatGPT before investing; effectiveness is very industry/audience dependent

• Hiring an SEO/AEO Contractor

Challenge: LinkedIn attracts full-time job seekers; risk of irrelevant applications
Advice: Use Upwork or Fiverr for contract-based hiring; filter by country on LinkedIn if needed; hire per project first, then build a relationship

• SEO vs. Paid Ads & ROI Justification

Challenge: SEO is hard to quantify for decision-makers; results take time (up to 2 years)
Advice: Build case studies/testimonials showing traffic-to-lead ROI; use industry keyword volume data and AI projections to estimate traffic growth

• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)

Challenge: AEO best practices are still evolving; technical debt on websites creates barriers
Advice: Apply SEO best practices first (Core Web Vitals, UX, LD+JSON); build Q&A/blog content from sales call insights to optimize for question-based queries

2) Tools Recommended

• Upwork & Fiverr – for hiring SEO/AEO contractors
• LinkedIn – with country filters to narrow applicants
• Google Analytics – to assess baseline traffic
• Keyword research tools (e.g., paid SEO tools) – to estimate search volume and traffic projections
• ChatGPT – for projecting industry-specific SEO growth trajectories

3) Best Advice

Invest in SEO/AEO alongside paid ads simultaneously — once organic traffic is proven and quantified, it can cut overall media spend roughly in half. Use real client data or AI-assisted industry projections to make the ROI case to decision-makers, since SEO's long-term compounding value is hard to lose once domain authority is established.