Rankulate Founder Adrian Czarnoleski Shares Startup Alternatives to Paid Advertising

Adrian Czarnoleski highlights smarter startup growth - shifting budgets from ads to SEO, organic content, and AI-driven visibility.

NY, UNITED STATES, September 5, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Startups regularly make the same mistake when launching by spending the bulk of their budget on paid ads. But, according to SEO Consultant Adrian Czarnoleski, founder Rankulate, this is a dangerous trap to fall into.

“Too many companies are running on ads as life support,” Czarnoleski said. “I’ve seen startups doing millions in revenue while also spending almost the same amount on ads. The day those campaigns were turned off, most of the business disappears.”

That being said, Czarnoleski encourages a diversification strategy. Paid ads can certainly drive immediate sales but should not be nearly the entire budget. A much better split, in his opinion, would be 50% paid ads, and then invest the remainder into channels that support growth that are long and compounding.


SEO. Compounding Growth That Builds Authority

SEO is still one of the most overlooked channels for startups. Results may not be immediate, but that return on investment is compounded.

“Think of SEO as controlling the real estate in your market,” Czarnoleski said. “If your startup is the top search result for the questions being asked by your customers, you’re not just getting clicks, you’re building authority.”

Startups can start with:
• Publishing detailed guides around customer pain points.
• Optimizing for long tail keywords with lots of intent.
• Publishing well optimized high-intent product pages targeting keywords from your niche

Startups that started early can exponentially grow from organic traffic in 3-9 months, according to Czarnoleski.


Reddit. Conversations That Convert

Users have made Reddit into one of the most powerful grow organic growth strategies, with threads appearing as top 3 results in Google literally every day. Not only is it being used in search, but also being referenced in AI overviews and LLM generated answers.

"If you are not showing up in Reddit discussions for your startup, you are invisible to where customers and AI tools are looking," says Czarnoleski.

Some effective tactics:
• Create a branded sub-reddit, and write threads around some specific high-volume keywords in your niche to put your branded_center of the conversation.
• Look for high-ranking existing Reddit threads related to intent driven keywords in your category/product or industry, and hone in on those, presenting genuine, value added responses to interact with the discussion.
• Create a brand presence on existing and high-ranking posts on Reddit so that, when LLMs and other AI tools pull for overview data, your startup is going to continually be referenced as part of the conversation.

This not only captures search traffic, but puts you in front of emerging discovery channels such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI overviews.


YouTube. Evergreen Content That Works 24/7

While lots of early stage founders are getting into paid video, Czarnoleski describes the "hidden beauty" of building "organic" YouTube views.

"Videos that's are optimised to be search driven - not ad driven - become 'assets' for years to come," he said. "A single 'how to' or problem-solving video can generate traffic and conversions for years after it was initially uploaded."

In other words, build content that positions you as a response to a buyer's question.

Key strategies:
• Focus on keyword-focused videos ("How To" and problem-solving videos), based on features you have in your product
• Publish videos that highlight features of your product
• Think about YouTube as a search engine - not a social platform

Often, this "evergreen" content can be the best long-term ROI vs paid video campaigns, as you can build trust and authority at scale.


Press Releases. Free Credibility Boost

Press releases continue to be one of the least expensive ways to gain credibility.

“When done correctly you can get recognized without spending a lot of money,” said Czarnoleski. "Journalists want a story, not a paid advertisement." Startups can frame releases around important milestones or insights and focus on get coverage in niche media channels to have the most impact.


AI Visibility. The Hidden Multiplier

Czarnoleski explains that there is an unintended but impactful side effect of diversifying their avenues for growth: visibility in AI overviews and LLM-based tools.

“Paid ads will not get you into AI results,” he said. “It’s your content, where you are participating in Reddit discussions, where you are building credibility on YouTube or PR, that the LLMs trust and cite.”

Rankulate is already seeing clients getting as much as 10-15% of their leads from AI sources directly, a figure Czarnoleski referents as “serious revenue that most startups are overlooking”.


The Investor Lens

Czarnoleski said startups that depend on advertisement revenue could face serious problems down the line.
“Investors look for distribution leverage,” he said. “The type of brands that have potential to scale without wasting ad dollars on clicks.”


About Rankulate

Rankulate is an SEO consultancy started by Adrian Czarnoleski, focused on helping startups and high-growth companies build sustainable growth models. Rankulate uses data-led SEO frameworks and a distribution-first mindset to help businesses build revenue through organic means.


Media Contact

Organization: Rankulate
Contact Person: Adrian Czarnoleski, Founder
Email: contact@rankulate.com

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