Austin Heaton Challenges Blog-First B2B Content Strategies, Reveals Bottom-Funnel Hierarchy That Drove 1.7M Organic Sessions and 6,120 AI Search Clicks
With 67% of B2B content targeting top-of-funnel and AI engines cannibalizing informational queries, SEO and AEO consultant Austin Heaton outlines the five-layer content hierarchy his clients use to generate revenue from both traditional and AI search.
Las Vegas, NV, February 12, 2026 --(PR.com)-- Most B2B content strategies start in the wrong place.
Marketing teams launch with a blog, publish weekly informational posts, and wait months for traffic that never converts. Meanwhile, the pages that actually generate demos, signups, and revenue sit empty or unbuilt.
According to Databox, 67 percent of B2B content produced is aimed at top-of-funnel, directing a disproportionate share of resources toward the stage with the lowest conversion potential.
Austin Heaton, a 12-Year SEO and Answer Engine Optimization consultant who works as a fractional Head of Search for B2B companies across SaaS, FinTech, and AI, has built his client practice around the opposite approach: bottom-funnel pages first, blog content second.
The methodology has produced 1.7 million organic sessions with 1,419 percent growth across his client portfolio and driven AI-powered conversions up by 533 percent over the past 12 months.
"Top-funnel informational queries are now being resolved directly inside AI Overviews, featured snippets, and generative answers. Your blog post ranks, gets impressions, and generates close to zero pipeline," said Austin Heaton.
"Comparison pages and commercial content convert two to three times better than generic blog posts, and they are the content types earning the most citations in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. If you are building a B2B content strategy in 2026 and starting with the blog, you are building the roof before the foundation."
The Five-Layer Content Hierarchy
Heaton's framework follows a specific build order designed to establish revenue infrastructure before scaling traffic. Every client engagement begins with the same sequence, with the first high-intent pages published within seven days.
Layer 1: Solution and service pages. Core revenue pages targeting purchase-intent keywords. These describe what the company does, who it serves, and why it matters, with social proof, clear CTAs, and structured content that AI engines can cite.
Layer 2: Comparison and alternative pages. For example: "Product vs Competitor" and "Best B2B AI Tools" pages that capture buyers actively evaluating options. These carry the highest commercial intent in B2B SEO and perform exceptionally well in AI platform citations where users ask comparison questions.
Layer 3: Case studies and results pages. Documented proof of outcomes that convert mid-funnel prospects and serve as citation-worthy content for AI engines. Research indicates that pages with 19 or more data points earn nearly twice the ChatGPT citations as pages with minimal data.
Layer 4: Pricing and packaging content. Transparent pricing content including plan comparisons, ROI calculators, and cost breakdowns that capture high-intent searches and reduce friction in the sales cycle.
Layer 5: Blog content and thought leadership. Only after the first four layers are established does Heaton build the blog. Each post links to bottom-funnel pages, turning the blog into a distribution engine for revenue content rather than a standalone traffic play.
Why This Hierarchy Outperforms in AI Search
The content hierarchy is not only a Google strategy. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other generative engines favor content with commercial depth, structured data, and original insights. Research from SE Ranking found that pages updated within three months averaged six ChatGPT citations versus 3.6 for outdated content, and content with expert quotes received 70 percent more citations than pages without them. Bottom-funnel pages naturally contain these signals. Generic blog content does not.
Client results from Heaton's portfolio illustrate the impact directly.
One SaaS client's bottom-funnel and mid-funnel content drove 5,130 ChatGPT referral clicks, a 1,746 percent increase, alongside 572 Perplexity clicks and 158 Gemini clicks. Total AI clicks reached 6,120 with a 927 percent year-over-year increase.
An e-commerce client saw the same pattern play out across six AI platforms simultaneously: ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek. In both cases, the pages earning citations were product-oriented and comparison-driven, not informational blog content.
"Every B2B company I audit has the same gap: they are not focusing enough on authority building - they have no structured case studies, no pricing content, and no team bios that AI engines can cite," Heaton added.
"The fix is not producing more content. It is reordering the content you produce. Build the pages that close deals first, then use the accessory pages to drive traffic toward them. That sequence is the difference between a content operation that generates pipeline and one that generates pageviews."
Austin Heaton works with B2B companies as a Head of SEO and AI Search, implementing the five-layer content hierarchy through full-stack execution across technical SEO, content strategy, AI search optimization, and LLM auditing. More information is available at austinheaton.com.
About Austin Heaton
Austin Heaton is an SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) expert specializing in AI-first search strategies for SaaS, FinTech, e-commerce, crypto, and media publishing. With 12 years in search and three years pioneering AI search optimization, he delivers end-to-end execution across technical SEO, content strategy, authority building, and LLM auditing. His work has been featured in Fast Company, SimilarWeb, European Business Review, and Zapier.
Visit austinheaton.com.
Media Contact:
Austin Heaton
SEO & AEO Consultant
Website: austinheaton.com
Marketing teams launch with a blog, publish weekly informational posts, and wait months for traffic that never converts. Meanwhile, the pages that actually generate demos, signups, and revenue sit empty or unbuilt.
According to Databox, 67 percent of B2B content produced is aimed at top-of-funnel, directing a disproportionate share of resources toward the stage with the lowest conversion potential.
Austin Heaton, a 12-Year SEO and Answer Engine Optimization consultant who works as a fractional Head of Search for B2B companies across SaaS, FinTech, and AI, has built his client practice around the opposite approach: bottom-funnel pages first, blog content second.
The methodology has produced 1.7 million organic sessions with 1,419 percent growth across his client portfolio and driven AI-powered conversions up by 533 percent over the past 12 months.
"Top-funnel informational queries are now being resolved directly inside AI Overviews, featured snippets, and generative answers. Your blog post ranks, gets impressions, and generates close to zero pipeline," said Austin Heaton.
"Comparison pages and commercial content convert two to three times better than generic blog posts, and they are the content types earning the most citations in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. If you are building a B2B content strategy in 2026 and starting with the blog, you are building the roof before the foundation."
The Five-Layer Content Hierarchy
Heaton's framework follows a specific build order designed to establish revenue infrastructure before scaling traffic. Every client engagement begins with the same sequence, with the first high-intent pages published within seven days.
Layer 1: Solution and service pages. Core revenue pages targeting purchase-intent keywords. These describe what the company does, who it serves, and why it matters, with social proof, clear CTAs, and structured content that AI engines can cite.
Layer 2: Comparison and alternative pages. For example: "Product vs Competitor" and "Best B2B AI Tools" pages that capture buyers actively evaluating options. These carry the highest commercial intent in B2B SEO and perform exceptionally well in AI platform citations where users ask comparison questions.
Layer 3: Case studies and results pages. Documented proof of outcomes that convert mid-funnel prospects and serve as citation-worthy content for AI engines. Research indicates that pages with 19 or more data points earn nearly twice the ChatGPT citations as pages with minimal data.
Layer 4: Pricing and packaging content. Transparent pricing content including plan comparisons, ROI calculators, and cost breakdowns that capture high-intent searches and reduce friction in the sales cycle.
Layer 5: Blog content and thought leadership. Only after the first four layers are established does Heaton build the blog. Each post links to bottom-funnel pages, turning the blog into a distribution engine for revenue content rather than a standalone traffic play.
Why This Hierarchy Outperforms in AI Search
The content hierarchy is not only a Google strategy. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other generative engines favor content with commercial depth, structured data, and original insights. Research from SE Ranking found that pages updated within three months averaged six ChatGPT citations versus 3.6 for outdated content, and content with expert quotes received 70 percent more citations than pages without them. Bottom-funnel pages naturally contain these signals. Generic blog content does not.
Client results from Heaton's portfolio illustrate the impact directly.
One SaaS client's bottom-funnel and mid-funnel content drove 5,130 ChatGPT referral clicks, a 1,746 percent increase, alongside 572 Perplexity clicks and 158 Gemini clicks. Total AI clicks reached 6,120 with a 927 percent year-over-year increase.
An e-commerce client saw the same pattern play out across six AI platforms simultaneously: ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek. In both cases, the pages earning citations were product-oriented and comparison-driven, not informational blog content.
"Every B2B company I audit has the same gap: they are not focusing enough on authority building - they have no structured case studies, no pricing content, and no team bios that AI engines can cite," Heaton added.
"The fix is not producing more content. It is reordering the content you produce. Build the pages that close deals first, then use the accessory pages to drive traffic toward them. That sequence is the difference between a content operation that generates pipeline and one that generates pageviews."
Austin Heaton works with B2B companies as a Head of SEO and AI Search, implementing the five-layer content hierarchy through full-stack execution across technical SEO, content strategy, AI search optimization, and LLM auditing. More information is available at austinheaton.com.
About Austin Heaton
Austin Heaton is an SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) expert specializing in AI-first search strategies for SaaS, FinTech, e-commerce, crypto, and media publishing. With 12 years in search and three years pioneering AI search optimization, he delivers end-to-end execution across technical SEO, content strategy, authority building, and LLM auditing. His work has been featured in Fast Company, SimilarWeb, European Business Review, and Zapier.
Visit austinheaton.com.
Media Contact:
Austin Heaton
SEO & AEO Consultant
Website: austinheaton.com
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Austin Heaton SEO Consulting
Austin Heaton
+1 909-230-3577
austinheaton.com
Austin Heaton
+1 909-230-3577
austinheaton.com
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