Embarque

Providing high-quality SEO strategy for many successful 8-figure tech businesses across 5 continents, including Flick, Buy Me a Coffee, VEED.IO, Levels.Fyi, ScrumGenius and MentorCruise.

Director

jic94.com

Worked with:
- United Nations 
- Netflix
- Atlassian
- Truss
- POCIT
- AB Tasty
- Mention
- Royal Collection 
- State of Digital 
- EVS

Freelance Digital Strategist

Grow w/ revenue-driven SEO | Clients: Riverside, VEED, MentorCruise, Buy Me a Coffee | Read our case studies

Hey, I’m Jules, the founder of Embarque. Want to implement your SEO content strategy successfully? Hire us!

We’re powering the growth of 8-figure businesses using the power of ROI-driven SEO.

You’ve probably heard of some of our clients: Riverside, VEED, Flick, EmailOctopus, Buy Me a Coffee, VEED.IO, Levels.Fyi, ScrumGenius and MentorCruise & many more.

We provide high-quality end-to-end SEO services at unrivaled rates and have the case studies to back it up.

If you’re interested in working with us, check out our case studies or drop me a DM.

If not, drop me a follow for more content on:

* Growing a productized business
* Community-centric content strategy
* SEO for founders, startups, marketplaces, bootstrappers, and communities

See you around!

Jules Ignacio Canlas

There’s plenty of talk about LLM SEO right now, but very little agreement on

→ what actually influences LLM citations
→ how it fits into a broader SEO strategy
→ what the overall end goal should be

That lack of clarity is exactly where budgets and effort start going sideways.

Swipe through this carousel to break down the biggest misconceptions and get a clearer picture of what LLM SEO really is. 👇

Grow revenue w/ leadgen-driven AI LLM SEO | +25 SEO case studies on Embarque.io

9 Things LLM SEO Isn’t!

This week in SEO was messy but productive.

We had a giant acquisition, a massive outage, and Google quietly gave us a feature we have begged for for years.

Here is the quick tea:

➔ Adobe is buying Semrush

➔ LLMs.txt did not show any clear link to more AI citations in a big study

➔ A Cloudflare outage caused 5xx spikes, but only short-term SEO impact

➔ Search Console added custom annotations

Swipe through for the recap and a few easy wins. 👇
____

Found this useful? Please like, share, and save ♻️

THIS WEEK IN SEO

This week in SEO was low-key but actually pretty interesting.

Google cleared up a UX worry, took a playful jab at GEO, and slapped a warning label on AI Overviews.

Here is the quick tea:

➔ Background videos won’t hurt SEO if they load after your main content

➔ John Mueller joked about agencies selling future “GEO-Detox” services

➔ AI Overviews now come with a big 'double-check important information' warning

Swipe through for the details and what (if anything) you should change 👇

Your SEO 'problems' almost always have an explanation.

And sometimes, they don’t mean your 'SEO is dead' or 'your strategy is broken'.

There are usually perfectly reasonable explanations hiding underneath the panic.

Where do I start?

↳ 'Our traffic is down'
↳ 'Our SEO audit score is low'
↳ 'We’re getting fewer clicks from Google'

Let’s break these down.

1. 'Our traffic is down. SEO is failing.'

Traffic can drop for a lot of normal, even healthy, reasons:

↳ You cleaned up low quality or duplicate pages.
↳ Google stopped sending junk traffic from irrelevant queries.
↳ Seasonality kicked in.
↳ Branded search moved elsewhere, but sign ups stayed stable.

If demo requests, trials or sign ups are flat or up, a traffic drop is not always a crisis.

Sometimes it means you trimmed the noise and what’s left is more qualified.

2. 'Our SEO audit score is low.'

A low 'SEO score' from a tool is not the same as 'your SEO is bad'.

Those scores are rough indicators, not gospel. 

Even Google has said they do not use a single site 'score' to rank pages.

Use audits to spot technical blockers and obvious issues.

Do not treat 78/100 vs 92/100 as the difference between failure and success. Your revenue and qualified traffic tell the real story.

3. 'We’re getting fewer clicks from Google.'

Yes, AI overviews, Reddit results and other rich features can reduce some clicks.

That does not mean SEO is pointless. It means you need to:

↳ Prioritise keywords and pages where people still click.
 ↳ Double down on content that answers intent better than a one-line AI summary.
 ↳ Track leads and revenue that start with search, even if the path is messier.

So…

Before declaring SEO broken, ask:

What actually changed?
What do the conversions say?
Is this a real issue, or just different surface metrics?

If this calmed you a bit, share it with someone who’s stressed about their SEO and comment with the 'problem' you hear the most.

Google

Yes, you can fix your low SEO revenue.

(But you may not want to hear points 5, 6, and 7.)

Here’s everything I’ve learned from years of doing SEO for 200+ brand-new and mature sites:

1. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜

↳ If the keyword doesn’t have a clear path to a lead, trial, or sale, it’s a nice-to-have. 

Revenue starts when you prioritise bottom and mid-funnel queries over random top-funnel ideas.

2. 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 → 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲𝐬

↳ One “money page” won’t save you. 

You need clusters that move people from “I have a problem” to “I’m ready to choose a vendor” with clear CTAs at every step.

3. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 (𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬)

↳ No CRM, no pipeline tracking, no attribution = you’re guessing

Until you can see which pages and queries drive deals, you’re doing SEO in the dark.

4. 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭

↳ The question isn’t “Is this 2,000 words?” It’s “Did this page bring in any qualified leads in the last 90 days?” 

Ruthlessly cut or improve the rest.

Now for the part you may not want to hear:

5. 𝐒𝐄𝐎 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫

↳ If your pricing, positioning, or product is off, more traffic will not magically create revenue. 

SEO amplifies demand… it doesn’t invent product–market fit.

6. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤

↳ You can send qualified organic leads all day. 

If replies are slow, demos are unstructured, or follow-up is lazy, your 'SEO problem' is actually a sales problem.

7. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧

↳ Going from £0 to meaningful organic revenue in 3–4 months on a new or weak domain is fantasy. 

Most solid cases I’ve seen hit real traction in 6+ months of consistent, focused work.
_____

Bonus:

8. 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

↳ I’d take 500 visits/month that drive five good deals over 50,000 visits that convert no one. 

If your pipeline and invoices are growing, your SEO is working, even if your traffic graph looks modest.

P.S: Which of these stings a bit right now?

If I had to rebuild my SEO agency from scratch…

These are the 20 things I’d do from DAY ONE:

(Save this if you're planning to scale any agency or company)

1. Seek help early instead of pretending I could do everything alone.

2. Delegate strategically so I only focus on revenue and client results.

3. Build one signature offer before trying to sell eight different things.

4. Pick one niche and speak that niche’s language everywhere.

5. Document every repeatable process from day one.

6. Track lead sources properly so I stop guessing where clients come from.

7. Build a pipeline I can maintain daily, not when I “feel like it.”

8. Invest heavily in client onboarding so retention becomes a strength.

9. Build case studies as soon as I get my first tiny win.

10. Say NO to misfit clients even when cash feels tight.

11. Price based on value and outcomes, not hours or word count.

12. Treat my website like a product and improve it weekly.

13. Create content for buyers, not other SEOs.

14. Automate everything that doesn’t need a human brain.

15. Focus on long term relationships instead of one-off projects.

16. Build a small team of specialists rather than hiring generalists.

17. Stay consistent even when results are slow because SEO compounds, and so does trust.

18. Build a simple CRM and actually use it from day one.

19. Start collecting testimonials the moment clients say anything positive.

20. Prioritise predictable, recurring revenue instead of chasing random one-offs.

Follow these 20 and scaling becomes a lot less painful.

Repost if this helps another founder.

P.S. What's the ONE thing you wish you'd done sooner?

This week in SEO has been a busy one...

...with a few helpful reminders and some interesting updates across Google, GEO, and LLMs.

Here’s what stood out:

➔ Google’s tightening up guidance on review schema

➔ AI Overviews are mostly popping up for early-stage shopping searches

➔ Running the same site on multiple TLDs can work against you

➔ Canonicals really are case-sensitive

Swipe through for the full breakdown.
—

If you found this useful, a like or share goes a long way ♻️

Most SEOs overcomplicate SEO

You don’t need 200 ranking factors to succeed.

You just need the few that actually move the needle.

When you focus on those, you can:

→ Save time by cutting out low-impact tasks
→ See results faster with less trial and error
→ Build rankings that hold steady long-term

Swipe to see the 10 ranking factors to prioritise.
___

Found this useful? Pls like and share ♻️

10 SEO RANKING FACTORS TO PRIORITISE (2025)

Jobs to be done/pain point SEO content is still wildly underrated.
(yet it converts like crazy).

e.g., “How to do Y”

[where Y is a problem or process your product fixes.]

They convert well because the person typing that query is trying to make a very specific pain go away as soon as possible.

So don’t overthink it:

Start with one very unsexy but important question:

“My company is a business that solves __________.”

If you cannot fill that in clearly, you do not have an SEO problem, you have a PMF problem.

Next, we need more context: 

→ Ask sales what people say on calls right before they decide to buy
 → Ask support what problems keep popping up in tickets and live chat
 → Read demo notes, CRM fields and internal Slack messages for exact phrasing

Then write content about those problems, even if Ahrefs says "0 volume." People don’t stop having the problem just because your tool cannot see it.

When you write:

 → Lead with actual help first, not a product monologue
 → Weave your product into the solution in a calm, non-cringe way

It is not fancy, but this type of content quietly brings you people who are already halfway to “yes”.

PS: What did I miss? Let’s chat.

👉 Follow for daily, practical SEO lessons that actually move the needle.

It’s smart to prepare for LLM discovery early. Ignoring it would be shortsighted.

But sidelining the SEO strategy that’s currently feeding your pipeline doesn’t make sense either. 

That’s just swinging from one extreme to another, and neither reflects how search is actually evolving.

What we need right now is balance.

1. 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞

Whether we like it or not, this is where the majority of intent lives. People still go to Google to compare options, validate decisions and look for solutions.

2. 𝐋𝐋𝐌𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥

But the quality is high.

 – AI search traffic often converts better
 – LLM usage is rising quickly
 – And they’re becoming a new discovery layer

The sensible approach is both.

1. 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

If you’re not ranking for core topics, branded queries or comparison terms, LLMs won’t see you as credible either.

2. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐋𝐌 𝐒𝐄𝐎 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡

And don’t raid your SEO budget to fund it. LLM optimisation deserves its own budget, its own goals and its own roadmap. One channel shouldn’t weaken the other.
—
I’d love to hear your take: do you agree? 

Let’s discuss in the comments👇

Many startup GTM strategies are fundamentally broken.

Here’s how to fix that. 
[Repost and save for later]

The uncomfortable truth is that most teams DON’T have a GTM strategy. They have a collection of activities.

If these sound familiar, you’re, sadly, one of them:

↘ You do not have a clear and simple ICP anyone on your team can repeat without thinking.

 ↘ Your positioning changes every quarter because 'this did not convert the way we hoped'.

 ↘ Most of your pipeline depends on the founder posting or hopping on calls.

 ↘ You cannot explain in one sentence how a stranger discovers you, trusts you, and becomes a customer.

 ↘ You are “testing channels” but not giving any of them a real chance to compound.

 ↘ Your content is optimised for impressions, not qualified demand.

 ↘ You panic-raise prices or discount heavily because CAC is creeping up, but you do not know why.


A real GTM motion looks very different:

↘ One clearly defined customer you are obsessed with.

 ↘ A message that is repeated so consistently the team is sick of hearing it.

 ↘ A small number of channels designed to compound over time (not just 'work this month').

This is exactly how I think about SEO and content at Embarque.

Not as 'we should probably blog more',
but as a GTM pillar that:

↘ brings in qualified buyers on autopilot

↘ reduces your dependency on founder-led chaos

↘ lowers CAC over time instead of quietly inflating it

If your GTM feels noisy, reactive, and exhausting, the problem is not that you are 'bad at marketing'.

It is that you are trying to grow on top of a shaky GTM foundation.

Fix that, and suddenly:

↘ every campaign has a place

↘ every channel has a job

↘ and your content, SEO, paid, and outbound start pulling in the same direction

P:S: Curious to hear where your GTM feels 'off'.

Comment below with the biggest GTM challenge you’re facing right now 👇

Willpower is a false prophet.

Every year, I made the same quiet promise to myself. 

(In about three weeks, most of us will be doing the same.)

“I’ll just push through this time. I’ll rely on willpower.”

Every time I leaned on willpower alone, it collapsed.

After repeating that cycle more times than I care to admit, I finally saw the issue.

I was treating willpower as a strategy instead of a spark.

Willpower is short-lived. It shows up when life feels calm and manageable, then slips away the moment stress or fatigue arrives. 

Yet we keep expecting it to carry our biggest goals.

Once I stopped doing that, everything shifted.

Instead of asking myself to be “stronger”, I started asking a better question:

How can I make this easier to follow, even on a bad day?

So I:

 → Built simple routines
 → Changed my environment so the better choice became the default
 → Reduced the number of decisions I had to make
 → Stopped waiting to “feel ready” and relied on structure instead

Willpower did not disappear. It simply moved into the role it was meant for.

It helps me start BUT structure helps me stay consistent.

I still make promises to myself. The difference now is that I no longer expect raw determination to carry me. 

I expect the systems I have built to support me when willpower inevitably fades.

So…

1. Treat willpower as a spark, not a system

Willpower can start change, but it will fold under pressure unless habits, structure, and systems handle the follow-through.

2. Blaming yourself hides the real problem
Most “failed” attempts come from weak systems, not weak character. Self-blame only slows down the redesign your goals actually need.

3. Design for bad days, not perfect ones

If your habits only work when life is calm and you are motivated, they are not built for real life yet.

4. Make the right action the easy action

Change sticks when your environment and routines make the better choice simpler, faster, and less stressful than avoiding it.

The moment you stop depending on willpower, real progress finally begins.

This week in SEO had a few genuinely useful updates, plus a core update that could move things around a bit.

Here’s a quick recap:

➔ Google expanded Preferred Sources and AI partnerships with publishers
➔ The EU opened an investigation into Google’s use of online content for AI
➔ Google started rolling out the December 2025 core update
➔ AI Mode now shows more visible, contextual links to websites

Swipe through the carousel for the details and what to do next. 👇 

—
Found this helpful? A like or share goes a long way. 

#seo #seotips #seoexpert

This Week in SEO: Core Update, AI Mode, EU

Want to stay ahead of the SEO game with the latest updates?

Most people react to changes without really understanding the impact.

But if you take a few minutes to adjust, you’ll keep your site optimized and ready for the future.

Here’s what you need to know:

→ OpenAI’s code red means ChatGPT is about to get way better

→ Google might ask you to rebuild your site if it’s stuffed with junk content

→ Big homepage videos? No problem if they load last

→ llms.txt? Don’t get too excited—it’s not officially supported

Swipe through to stay on top of these updates and make smarter SEO moves.

—

Found this useful? Pls like and share ♻

#seo #seotips #founders #ai #contentstrategy

This Week in SEO: llms.txt, OpenAI, Video SEO

Traffic is easy. Turning that traffic into qualified pipeline is the real test of SEO.

That is what we did for an MDM SaaS.


Before working with us they had:

➝ 3,700 monthly visits and weak conversions

➝ Educational content that did not convert

➝ Zero plan to win high intent searches


After our work together they:

➝ Added $250K+ in qualified pipeline

➝ Hit 8,500 monthly visits in six months

➝ Reached top three rankings for 94 high intent keywords

Swipe through for the full breakdown. 👇
__

If this helped, please like, save, and share ♻️

HOW WE BUILT A $250K PIPELINE FOR AN MDM SAAS WITH SEO

One of the biggest levers in LLM SEO is brand mentions.

This keeps showing up in the research, including what Ahrefs and Semrush have published.

It also matches what we are seeing in our internal data at Embarque. 

When a brand gets mentioned across the same sources LLMs pull from, it tends to appear more often in citations and recommendations. 

You become the safer, more obvious entity to reference.

That’s one of the ways we got >25k+ LLM sessions for a video downloader client.

So the goal is simple...

Get your brand mentioned in the places LLMs already use.

Here’s a simple way to do this:

1. Search your main topic on Google and in the LLMs your buyers use.
2. Collect the sources that keep getting referenced. Lists, comparisons, guides, glossaries, community posts, etc.
3. Put them in a Google Sheet. Track the URL, author or editor, whether you are already mentioned, and what you would need to be included.
4. Find the right contact. Writer, editor, partnerships lead, or content manager.
5. Reach out with a clear, helpful message and ask for inclusion. 

Not everyone replies. That is fine.

You do not need everyone. You need the right handful of sources that keep showing up across prompts.

Once you have done that, reinforce it with your own distribution:

- Create your own “best of” listicles where it makes sense to include yourself, and make the list genuinely useful.
-Join relevant subreddits and contribute. Mention your brand naturally when it is truly the best answer.
-Publish YouTube videos where your brand is mentioned in context.

Do this consistently and you start solidifying your brand as a trustable and citable entity for LLMs.

What do you think about this? Let’s chat in the comment 👇 

P.S: If you want help building and running this system, we do it at Embarque. Link is in my bio.

Google started testing an update to how they display links in AI Mode and AI Overviews.

Basically, they’re adding more links inside the AI answer, and short contextual intros around those links that explain why you should click.

It’s kind of funny because not long ago, Google was still saying clicks to publishers haven’t really dropped.

Now, ironically, they’re tweaking the UI to push more clicks.

It’s getting harder to truly trust Google, haha.

But the upside is solid.

If this is implemented well, it should do two things.

→ Send more traffic back to publishers.
 → Give us clearer signals for LLM citations, because those link intros are basically Google telling us what they value in a source.

When this goes live, try this.

1. Pull your top 10 money queries.
2. Check AI Mode and AI Overviews for those queries.
3. Write down which sources get linked and the exact “why click” context Google adds around them.
4. Drop everything into a sheet and tag the patterns you keep seeing.
Examples: original data, step by step instructions, pricing tables, comparison criteria, definitions, templates.
5. Then add those patterns back into your content so it becomes easier for an AI answer to justify linking to you. 

___

PS: What do you think about the new feature? Let’s chat in the comments. 👇 

Found this helpful? Like and repost

My non-negotiable rules for running successful marketing campaigns

(8 rules after partnering with 200+ clients)

1. Set one North Star revenue-based metric… then support it with only 1–2 secondary metrics. The more numbers you track, the less you actually manage.

2. Assign a clear point person for every campaign. No ownership = no outcome

3. Never run a campaign if you can’t explain the expected outcome in one clean sentence.

4. Launch fast, iterate, and refine.

5. Delegate strategically… not emotionally. Give tasks to the best owner, not the nearest person. This single shift doubles throughput.

6. Set a deadline (this one’s HIGHLY underrated and overlooked). But without deadlines, things can fall apart quickly. 

7. Build repeatable systems (briefs, SOPs, templates). Consistency isn’t talent, it’s infrastructure. Systems scale what talent starts.

8. Review campaigns weekly, not monthly. Momentum is built in short cycles. Monthly reviews are where good campaigns go to die.

Bonus: Great campaigns are never about doing more. 

They’re more about:

￫ reducing friction
￫ sharpening focus
￫ aligning a team behind one clear outcome

Focused teams → predictable results

That’s the whole game.

(Save + repost for later ♻️)

P.S. What’s one campaign rule you’ll never break again?

Want to know if LLMs are actually sending traffic to your site?

Most teams have no idea.

GA4 bundles LLMs into random “Referral” buckets, so you never see the full picture right off the bat.

Which means you’re probably missing valuable insights.

Your content might already be showing up in ChatGPT or Perplexity...

...but without the right setup, you can’t tell which pages are getting discovered or how those visitors behave.

We fixed that with a proper GA4 configuration.

Now you can:

➔ See which pages get surfaced by AI tools
➔ Understand how those users interact once they land
➔ Spot opportunities to improve rankings and scale visibility

This carousel shows you how to set it all up step by step.

—
Found this helpful? A like or share goes a long way. 

#seo #seotips #seoexpert

How to Track LLM Traffic in Google Analytics (GA4)

Certified Clay Expert & Agency owner | I'll help you build a scalable outbound engine that gets meetings booked on autopilot in the next 180 days | Visit Youtube: @growth-today to see how

Growth shouldn’t feel random.

Most of the B2B companies hit the same walls:
Inbound leads that don’t convert

Outbound that burns reps out without results

Partnerships that look good on paper but never drive pipeline

A CRM full of noise instead of reliable data


I’ve seen it across founders, sales leaders, and marketing teams. The problem isn’t effort, it’s the lack of a repeatable, scalable GTM system.
That’s what we build at Growth Today.

Instead of disconnected tools or random campaigns, we design and implement repeatable GTM engines across sales, marketing, and partnerships that…

✅ Enrich and qualify data
✅ Activate inbound leads into real opportunities
✅ Automate outbound prospecting
✅ Keep CRMs clean and reliable
✅ Orchestrate multi-channel campaigns
✅ Make BDR teams more effective or fully replace them
✅ Align marketing + partnerships with sales for compounding growth

Recent wins:

 → Built a clean, automated CRM that doubled conversion rates
 → Launched a content-driven demand gen engine that 3x’d inbound lead quality
 → Systematized partner outreach → pipeline from alliances grew 40% in 6 months

Growth doesn’t come from more outreach or more tools.
It comes from building the right system once and scaling it.
If you’re a B2B founder or revenue leader serious about building predictable pipeline, let’s connect.

Book your call: https://calendly.com/growth-today/intro-meeting

Brigitta Ruha

if my first startup didn’t fail… ⚡️

I’d never gone through lots of shit 😬 BUT:

looking back, it had to happen. It changed my whole path (in ways I could never imagine).

🎢 BECAUSE my first business failed, I:

– saw a massive gap in how to actually run GTM funnels (ads, outbound, content, cold calls)

– was SO done with the fast that how “Revenue Operations” was always about collecting, not using, data for growth

– built resilience, wall after wall

– realized what my real strengths are (wasn’t what I thought at first)

– started prioritizing mental and physical health first

– learned to trust my intuition waaay more (Clay was a 15-person team when I first talked to Varun, Bruno. Now look at it.)

– Now get to grow businesses with the best team around

– Build something sustainable, where the goal is to EMPOWER people, not just “solve problems”

– Watch my team and our clients actually connect

– Give my team a real sense of purpose-work with meaning, not just a job

– Live one of my best adventures yet 🥹

Or as Steve Jobs would say: we can only connect the dots backwards. ✨

Those “dots”-all the mess, the lessons, the pivots - are what make us stand out.

And I LOVE that we help people turn those dots into a real advantage at Growth Today

👉 turning dots into a competitive advantage and something meaningful.

... turning five years of building, running, and scaling GTM channels. Marketing, partnerships, sales. (AI is just the start.)

We build growth engines. We don’t do “lead gen.” (Hate that word, btw.)

I wanted to share this because LinkedIn is full of shiny wins and drama posts.

we ALL have tough days. we ALL fail.

sometimes hard, sometimes less.

but isn’t it about what we make out of those fails?

the “what ifs” will always be there....

hope that’s the sign someone needed today - you’re exactly where you need to be.
(even if it doesn’t feel like it yet)

🙋‍♂️ aaand if you wanna share your take on this would love to hear - maybe some more “fails” turned into lessons.

🙋‍♀️ and if you're looking for a place (not just a job) where you can own real things and work with purpose, shoot us an email. We’re hiring CSMs, SDRs/AEs, BizOps.

Repost if you think somebody should hear this 🥺

React if you can resonate ❤️

#personaldevelopment
#mentalhealth

Co-Founder @Growth Today | We Build Repeatable GTM Engines Across Sales, Marketing & Partnerships 🚀

The #1 reason top reps close more deals?

They know when to stop.

Not stop caring.

Not stop trying.

Just… stop grinding themselves into dust 😅

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

Average reps stay in hustle mode 24/7.

Top reps go hard when it matters —

and then they actually unplug.

Because in sales, your energy is your edge.

You can’t run sharp discovery calls when you’re running on fumes.

Top reps protect their energy the same way they protect their quota.

They show up fully - then they close the laptop, touch some grass, and recharge so they can do it again tomorrow.

Hustle matters.

But knowing when to stop?

That’s a real competitive advantage.

That instant close they're celebrating?

It took them 2 months of mess to get there

You see the LinkedIn post: "Just closed our biggest deal! 🎉"

One great call and boom… done.

But this is what you don't see:

→ 14 cold emails that got ignored

→ 4 data enrichment loops to find the right contact

→ 3 messaging angles that completely flopped

→ 1 operator juggling 7 different tools

→ 2 months of consistent follow-ups before they finally replied

It's messy, manual, and honestly? not glamorous at all

And all the complexity only works when you master the basics

The tools help you scale, but the foundation gets you close.

The best outbound isn't the most automated, it is most human.

You don’t need more AI tools, you need the ones that help you fill the pipeline

These 6 made it to my ‘never launch without’ list 👇

Icypeas 
Find accurate emails fast, no more guessing games

Clay 
Hyper-targeted enrichment + AI-crafted outreach

BounceBan (Verify risky emails without sending messages)
Scale without hitting spam hell

EmailGuard
Warm up your inbox before launch

Ghost
Writes better, faster, smarter, and built for outbound

Attio
Because data > gut feelings

Instantly.ai
Where follow-ups stop slipping through the cracks

Each one saves me hours every week and together

If you’ve got an AI tool that helps you sell smarter not louder… drop it below 👇

If your sales content isn't working on LinkedIn, it's probably not your fault.

Most of us create content the way we are taught:

- Share insights
- post case studies
- Talk about the product

Sounds right, doesn’t it?

Except... prospects aren't engaging. and the pipeline isn't moving.

The thing is that… instead of posting more, we need to post in a smarter way

Different content types drive different outcomes: →

- Some build awareness but won't book meetings) 
- Some spark conversations (hello, pipeline 👋
- Some establish credibility

So, what do we do now?

Stop creating content that looks good and start creating content that starts conversations

Your prospects are on LinkedIn, they're scrolling, learning, and looking for solutions

The question is… are you showing up in a way that makes them want to talk to you?

Hope it helps 💪

12 months, 1 system and a Human-first GTM.

Want to build a human-first GTM system in 2026?

Here's your 12-month roadmap

Most GTM systems fail because they're built for metrics, not humans. This one's different.

We designed this as a step-by-step plan to help you build a system that actually works for your team and your buyers.

✅ Q1: Audit, define, design

✅ Q2: Launch experiments, automate smart, test your co-pilot 

✅ Q3: Make it sustainable, refine what works, align your team 

✅ Q4: Codify learnings, scale intelligently, review & evolve

A simple and clear plan you can actually follow.

Save it, or share it with your team. ♻️

And if you try even one month of this, let me know how it goes. I'm here for the messy progress stories. 😅

this is why I never complain about Google and Microsoft ⚡️

I want to understand it, here’s how.

What is detected as spam is constantly evolving.

After all the research and constant analysis (with some of our clients sending 738,000 emails/mo (LOVE IT)), I realized it always comes down to one thing:

having a clear strategy (whether you’re using email for marketing or sales use cases) + email infrastructure health.

Without regularly running tests against spam (on copy, domain, the inbox itself, and comparing against the reply rates), we’re just sending emails that might or might not connect with our goals.... or in the inbox 🙃

Therefore, we always start with... Which audience you’re going to reach out to first? Have you done this before? 👀

It’s simple but so powerful.

here’s what to include:

→ Match the inbox type. Analyze if your prospects use Google, Microsoft, or something custom. Send from what matches.

→ Audience: cold vs. warm? Different rules, different plays.

→ Sequencing Maybe you need 4 touchpoints. Maybe 17. Match to the buyer, not a random best practice.

→ Nail your offer + USP. Give something they want to grab. 

• Agency? Share your best ad swipe file. 
• SaaS? Drop a pre-built automation flow. 
• AI? Offer a free workshop or a ready-to-go agent.

What doesn't build trust? 

- Asking them to visit a landing page with no real/unclear value. 
- Workflow builders for execs (they’ll never use it, the manager will do)

aaand the cooooolest thing is, we use an AI agent for coming up with these at Growth Today (Seriously, I don’t even have to think of the different offers)✨

Any other Google/Microsoft/spam love-hate relationship stories or experiences?

P.S. Google and Microsoft shut down old domains and inboxes, too. If your response rate dropped these past weeks, and your partner didn't tell you this, talk to us. We can save you:)

Find it useful? 
Repost 🔄 
Like it? React 👍 

Want more tips on outbound? Hit the 🔔 on my profile

I've saved 60 conversation starters that actually get replies.

Because "just following up" doesn't count 👀

Here's the thing:

Your outbound fails because most messages sound like... every other message.

→ ‘Just circling back on this...’
→ 'Wanted to bump this up in your inbox...

These don't start conversations, they ask for favors

And honestly… most of us have done this

That's why I put this together 👇

60 Conversation Starters for Outbound

A collection of real lines you can use for…

✅ Re-engaging cold threads without being desperate

✅ Warming up lukewarm leads

✅ Starting fresh conversations that don't feel pitchy

✅ Following up in ways people appreciate

✅ Nudging decisions respectfully

✅ Reaching execs without wasting their time

Each starter includes:

→ Why it works
→ When to use it
→ The psychology behind it

Want access to the full resource?

Comment 'CONVO' and I'll send it over.

(Make sure we are connected 😀)

P.S. Follow Brigitta Ruha for more actionable outbound knowledge

If your pipeline strategy fits into a tweet…

it’s probably not a strategy 😅

I get why we chase quick fixes.

One magic channel, or one AI tool that’ll hack your market without having to put in the work.

Sounds good, doesn’t work.

Here’s the part people usually skip:

The real pipeline gets built in the boring middle

the messy work between “send more emails” and “add another tool.”

Nobody glamorizes that part, but it’s exactly where everything changes.

So I put together a quick cheatsheet to show the real difference between:

What people think pipeline building is

vs.

What it actually looks like when it works

Is it more effort than a tweet-sized hack?

Yeah.

Does it actually build a predictable pipeline?

Also yeah.

If you’re tired of advice that sounds smart but doesn’t move the needle,

save this, it’ll make next quarter a lot easier 😉

Your team doesn't resist experimentation

They resist your approach to it.

Here's what I used to do,

Drop a "let's test this!" with zero context, expect everyone to just... get excited? 

Then they used to drag their feet

The problem wasn't my team… It was me thinking experimentation is just mechanical.

Experimentation needs structure and clarity. Otherwise, It just feels like more work piled on top of everything else

So here's how we do it now

Step 1: Create Safety Before Speed

If people fear failure, they'll never test. Make it clear.

Step 2: Start with Micro-Experiments

Don't drop a new GTM framework overnight. Pick one workflow, one segment, one channel.

Step 3: Show the Data, Not the Drama

Teams trust numbers more than slogans. Visualize impact and let results do the talking

Step 4: Close the Loop, Together

Review tests as a team. What did we learn? What do we keep? What do we kill?

This way experiments do not feel like solo projects

So if your team groans when you pitch a test... ask yourself… 

Am I making this easy enough to say yes to?

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jules Ignacio Canlas's LinkedIn Performance

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