James Dooley Podcast

James Dooley
AI search visibility in the SEO community is something everybody is talking about. How do you get more visibility in the LLMs? This could be ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Gemini AI Overviews. I have Dawood Khan back on the podcast. We previously spoke about Reddit marketing and Reddit SEO. Anyone not using Reddit needs to get on it quickly because it is one of the most cited sources for LLMs. Dawood is always two steps ahead of the game. He understands omni-channel, omni-present, holistic marketing. I do not want to keep praising you, so let’s jump straight in. Can you explain what is coming next with your SaaS products, not just Reddit SEO and Reddit marketing, but how you are taking this into AI search visibility?

Dawood Khan
Thank you for having me on the podcast. Right now, CrowdReply is mainly focused on Reddit marketing. You can use the platform to generate traffic and leads from Reddit. You can manage brand reputation. Another thing we already support is ranking in LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. Reddit is one of the most cited platforms. When someone searches in ChatGPT, it uses its own knowledge base, but it also pulls from the internet. That can include Wikipedia, YouTube, and Reddit threads. Based on all those sources, it generates an answer. CrowdReply already helps with that, but it is still very Reddit-centric. Over the next couple of months, we are adding an LLM visibility and tracking component so it becomes much easier to rank across LLMs.

James Dooley
For anyone wanting to learn more about Reddit, check the previous episode. There is a full thirty-minute discussion on Reddit SEO and Reddit marketing. Moving away from Reddit and looking specifically at AI search visibility, what other platforms are you planning to integrate into CrowdReply that can be cited by LLMs?

Dawood Khan
The biggest demand besides Reddit has been Quora. Quora is the second most cited platform by LLMs. Facebook is also climbing quickly and has increased a lot over the last few months. We expect that to continue. We are also seeing YouTube, but for now the main focus will be Reddit, Quora, and Facebook. Longer term, we may add Wikipedia mentions and YouTube mentions. The goal is to cover as many social platforms as possible. There are many factors involved in LLM ranking, but one of the key factors is being cited across trusted sources. The more a brand is talked about across multiple channels, the stronger the reference signal for LLMs.

James Dooley
When people search today, forums and discussions appear everywhere. Facebook, Quora, and Reddit consistently show up. You mentioned showing examples like roofers in Manchester or Liverpool. Can you explain how that works in practice?

Dawood Khan
Yes. Let me explain the basics. If we search something like “what is a good roofing company in Manchester” in ChatGPT, it returns an answer with citations. These citations are the sources it used. ChatGPT checks those sources and looks at which brands are mentioned across them. If one brand is mentioned across more sources than others, it is more likely to appear higher in the AI answer. The more citations you cover and the more places your brand appears, the stronger your ranking becomes in LLMs.

James Dooley
That ties into query fan-out. The system expands a query into multiple variations around price, speed, location, and intent. That increases the chance of Reddit and Facebook being cited multiple times. It is similar to Reddit upvotes. More upvotes push comments higher. More citations push brands higher in LLMs.

Dawood Khan
Exactly. It is very similar in principle. There are more factors involved, but the core idea is coverage across citation sources. You can think of it like traditional link building. The workflows are different, but the idea is the same. Getting your brand mentioned on authoritative pages, listicles, and discussions creates long-term benefits because those sources are reused by AI systems.

James Dooley
A lot of SEOs still focus purely on buying backlinks. Links still matter, but the real differentiator now is corroboration. Third-party consensus proves who you are, what you do, and why you are trusted. Getting added to existing listicles is powerful because those pages are already cited. I care less about nofollow or dofollow and more about clear brand statements that machines can understand and reuse.

Dawood Khan
Brand visibility is huge right now. LLMs look for brand names across the web and analyse the sentiment and context around them. If your brand is consistently associated with positive attributes like good value, reliability, or strong customer service, the AI will repeat those associations in future answers.

James Dooley
That leads into branded search and clicks. When AI cites a brand, users often click through, search the brand, and engage. Branded searches and branded clicks are a major ranking signal. AI should not just mention you. It should recommend you. That turns AI into part of your digital salesforce.

Dawood Khan
Absolutely. We have seen this with real examples. For a VPN app, we used Reddit brand mentions without any links. People saw the brand name in threads, searched it on Google, and installed the app. Conversion rates were extremely high because users made an intentional decision. This worked even though the brand was new and had very little existing web presence.

James Dooley
That is why concerns about zero-click searches miss the point. AI visibility increases brand visibility when done properly. Affiliate sites that failed after major updates did not build brands. Brand building is now essential.

James Dooley
For people watching this, how can they track when CrowdReply expands into a full AI search visibility platform?

Dawood Khan
It will take a few months. We are adding Quora, Facebook, and potentially other platforms. We are also adding AI search visibility tracking so users can see where they are being cited and on which platforms. Anyone can reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter. I am always happy to answer questions and share strategies.

James Dooley
AI search visibility is critical going into 2026. Brands need mentions across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity. Leave a comment if we missed anything. Dawood, it has been an absolute pleasure.

Dawood Khan
It has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me.