Cheap clicks can hide an expensive mistake. π
Picture this: you launch Reddit ads for your SaaS.
People click. The dashboard looks busy. But hardly anyone reaches the moment where your product becomes useful.
Your first instinct: Reddit doesn't work.
A better question: what did this test actually prove?
If you changed the audience, offer, creative and landing page together, you bought activity without isolating the problem.
Before your next test, write down four things:
1. The buyer
Not "SaaS founders." A founder dealing with a specific problem your product solves.
2. The promise
What can they accomplish? Lead with that, not your feature inventory.
3. The next step
Make the landing page continue the same promise. Don't advertise one use case and send people to a homepage explaining everything.
4. The success event
Pick an action that reflects business value. A click is a visit, not a customer.
Then set a spending limit and decide what evidence would justify another test. Don't turn someone else's budget benchmark into a rule for your business.
Read the replies, too. If people keep asking the same question, your message may be missing an answer.
Now separate two jobs:
Paid ads buy distribution while you're paying.
Useful Reddit threads can keep ranking on Google for months and become sources for AI answers. That durability is possible, not guaranteed.
Neither channel fixes an unclear offer.
The lesson: don't optimize for the cheapest attention. Design a test that tells you what to do next. π§ͺ
#growthmarketing
@DeepthiConnects Unsexy is fine. Unattributed is the trap. For those X replies, can you trace users back to specific conversations, or are you judging by engagement?
@Theolevi_XAi Ten strategies can become ten distractions. I'd ask for one buyer group, the Reddit threads where they're already asking for recommendations, and a useful response to test before sending any DMs.
@itskevinhood Nice! Worth checking what else changed. Faster pages and clean HTML help crawlers, but AI engines also lean heavily on what Reddit threads and other sites say about you. Which prompts are you showing up for?
Helpful doesn't mean hiding your affiliation. π¬
When your product genuinely fits a Reddit question, explain the fit and disclose your connection. If the community bans promotion, respect that boundary.
#founders
Tag a founder who needs to hear this π
Your competitor isn't beating you with a better product.
They're beating you by being in the conversation.
#indiehackers
Keep SEO. Add an answer scoreboard. π§
SEO focuses on search visibility. AEO focuses on visibility within answers. GEO overlaps with that goal in generated responses.
Start with one buyer question, one clear answer and repeatable checks.
#SaaS
Your next buyer might never browse your site. π
Picture a founder asking AI which tool fits their team. The answer becomes their starting shortlist.
Here's a practical AEO workflow for making your brand easier to understand and your content more useful.
Track answers separately from rankings. π
Log the prompt, engine, date, brands named and sources cited.
Repeat the checks over time. Answers can vary, so don't treat a single mention or omission as a verdict.