Khadija Zaman
AI Search Manager (SEO, AEO, GEO) · in-house at Wellows
Summary
AI Search Manager at Wellows with 6+ years in search, the last three owning the SEO, content, AI-search and automation programs in-house. Specialism: semantic SEO and getting brands cited inside ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews, measured in GA4 rather than assumed. Builds the tooling and the pipelines (Python, BigQuery, n8n) that make the work repeatable, and tests her own published claims against a null before standing behind them.
Selected results · each with its source and window
- LLM referral sessions 9× in 8 months, from 176/monthZero paid spend. Wellows, in-house.GA4 · Jul 2025 – Feb 2026
- LLM referral traffic 22× in 12 monthsA separate, confidential client. Baseline not published.GA4 · 12 months · headline figure
- Search impressions 680K → 3.78M · avg. position 28.9 → 17.3Site-wide organic growth alongside the AI-search program. Wellows.Google Search Console · 12 months
- Core update recovery: avg. position 32 → 8.2After a 70% organic click loss (231K → 69.2K in four months). Five workstreams run by one owner. Confidential publisher.Google Search Console · 12 months to May 2026
- Position 55 → the 20s within days, held 11 weeksA property flat near position 55 for two months, re-rated by a mid-September step change. Confidential.Google Search Console · Jul – Nov 2025
- 1,647 practitioners on three tools, 100% organicQuery Fan-Out Generator (829), LLM Query Builder (149), AI Humanizer (669), built at Wellows. Search Engine Land uses the first in its topic-cluster guide.Own tracking · Wellows' live counter for the first tool later read 6,849
- 8K → 25K monthly sessions in six monthsTopic cluster architecture for an affiliate site: intent-mapped clusters, commercial pillars, internal linking, no technical overhaul.Headline figures, no full write-up
- KIVA launch: 447 users, 110 paying signups, #1 U.S. ratingFull go-to-market on zero paid budget: positioning, launch content, SEO-led distribution, partnerships. #1 rating on All About AI.Launch month · headline figures, no full write-up
Experience
2023 – present
AI Search Manager (joined as Marketing Manager)
Wellows, a Disrupt.com company · B2B SaaS · in-house, Karachi
- Own SEO, content strategy, AI-search visibility (GEO/AEO) and marketing automation end to end.
- Built the AEO framework from Koray Tuğberk's semantic model and Google's query fan-out patent; ran grounded versus non-grounded citation experiments tracking explicit citations and implicit mentions separately.
- Took LLM referral sessions from 176/month to roughly 9× in 8 months with $0 paid; grew Search Console impressions 680K → 3.78M and improved average position 28.9 → 17.3.
- Designed and shipped three SEO tools as LLM entry points (1,647 users, all organic); one is the tool Search Engine Land walks readers through in its guide to topic clusters for AI search.
- Published a cross-engine AI citation overlap study, then rebuilt it against a permutation null and retracted two headline findings that did not hold.
- Wired n8n, GA4, BigQuery and Looker Studio into reporting that segments LLM referrals and runs without manual exports.
2021 – 2023
SEO & Content Lead
webAffinity · digital agency
- Led SEO strategy and content programs across multiple client verticals.
- Built repeatable execution frameworks that scaled organic growth without scaling headcount.
2020 – 2021
SEO Specialist
Intersys · technology
- Led content and SEO strategy for affiliate and e-commerce clients: keyword research, on-page optimisation, and the foundation for technical SEO and data-driven reporting.
2019 – 2020
SEO Executive
Digitonics · digital agency
- Content creation and SEO execution for affiliate and e-commerce clients.
Writing & recognition
- Search Engine Land · its guide to topic clusters for AI search runs on the Query Fan-Out Generator I built at Wellows. The article credits Wellows. Article · COO’s post naming me
- Open source · six SEO and AI-search projects on GitHub, including the engine behind the LLM Query Builder and an MCP server for AI Overview citation checks. List
- LLM Query Builder on Product Hunt · launch post by Masab Gadit credits me for the build.
- Cross-engine AI citation overlap study · published on the Wellows blog, Jan – Jun 2026, then re-tested against a permutation null with two findings retracted.
- AllAboutAI.com · bylined contributor on SEO and AI search; author pages grew 10.7K → 23.6K clicks year over year (Search Console, 2025 vs 2024).
- khadijazaman.com/blog · field notes on GEO/AEO, semantic SEO and automation.
Training & certifications
- AI Boot Camp · NUST, completed April 2025 · Python, AI agent building, deep learning
- Advanced Semantic SEO Framework · Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR, GSQI advanced training
- Train the Trainer · FranklinCovey, Multipliers®, School of Leadership
Stack
Industries: SaaS, cybersecurity, affiliate, agency. Every figure above is stated with its source and window; the case studies at khadijazaman.com/work/ show the working. Named references outside Wellows are available on request.