A WordPress membership plugin client came to us, ranking nowhere for their main keyword. After 24 months of targeted link building, we delivered a 3,900% increase in organic traffic and helped them move to page one for the search term “WordPress membership plugin”.
Client Background
The client operates a company that utilizes a WordPress membership plugin to enable website owners to create subscription-based content, paid communities, and member-only areas.
Despite having a solid product, they were getting crushed by established players like MemberPress, Restrict Content Pro, and Paid Memberships Pro.
Their plugin had all the features users needed, but nobody could find it. They were tired of wasting money on paid ads and wanted to establish genuine, lasting visibility through search engines.
The Challenge
When our client approached us, their WordPress membership plugin was struggling to gain visibility in a highly competitive market.
Despite having a solid product, they were buried on page 10+ for their target keyword “WordPress membership plugin” and received minimal organic traffic.
The main hurdle? Finding high-authority websites willing to link to a relatively unknown plugin in a competitive space dominated by established players.
Despite the clarity of objectives, the project presented several unique challenges:
- High DR Targets: The client specifically wanted backlinks from websites and WordPress-relevant domains with high Domain Ratings. However, most of these websites were editorially strict, niche-specific, or did not accept third-party content easily.
- Niche Relevance: Getting featured on websites that were both authoritative and directly relevant to WordPress plugins required highly customized outreach, value-driven content, and strong relationship-building efforts.
- Maintaining Natural Link Profile: With a narrow keyword focus, it was important to avoid over-optimization and ensure that links were placed in natural, diverse anchor text environments.
Project Goals
Together, we outlined two primary objectives:
- Drive sustainable organic traffic to the client’s website, particularly product pages and key blog posts.
- Improve Domain Rating (DR) to strengthen the website’s overall authority and competitive edge in the WordPress plugin niche.
These goals were aligned with the client’s broader marketing and sales efforts, especially their focus on inbound acquisition.
What We Set Out to Do
Primary Goal: Build 20-25 high-quality backlinks
Success Metrics: Increase organic traffic and domain rating
Timeline: 24 months
Target Keyword: WordPress membership plugin
Our Approach
We focused on two core strategies:
1. Niche Edit Links
We secured contextual placements in existing articles on authoritative websites. These edits involved adding backlinks to relevant content that was already indexed and performing well in search results. This method helped us:
- Gain quick SEO value through aged content
- Increase referral potential from already-ranking pages
- Keep the backlink profile natural and topic-aligned
2. Guest Posting Campaign
We also built relationships with editors and publishers from targeted and WordPress blogs to publish original guest articles. Each article was written to provide genuine value, while naturally including backlinks to the client’s website. This ensured:
- Editorially-approved placements on niche blogs
- Brand mentions and contextually relevant backlinks
- Long-term visibility and engagement through educational content
Both methods focused on quality over quantity, prioritizing relevant traffic and long-term impact.
Key Takeaways
Patience Pays Off: Building authority in competitive niches takes time. The most significant gains happened in months 18-24.
Relationships Matter: The best placements came from sites where we built genuine relationships with editors and content managers.
Quality Over Quantity: 25 strategic backlinks from relevant, high-authority sites outperformed hundreds of low-quality links from irrelevant sources.
Content Context is King: Links placed within relevant, helpful content performed better than obvious promotional placements.
This case demonstrates that with the right strategy and persistence, even unknown products can achieve remarkable visibility in competitive markets.
From Rejection to Results
The biggest obstacle was convincing high-domain-rating sites to work with us. Many had strict editorial guidelines or preferred working with established brands.
Our solution was simple: We led with value. Instead of pitching the plugin directly, we offered genuinely useful content about membership site best practices, WordPress security, and user management strategies.
High-Authority Backlinks Secured
After 24 months of consistent outreach and relationship building, we secured backlinks from several high-authority domains:
- xspeedstudio.com
- wpbakery.com
- blossomthemes.com
- dialpad.com
- hasthemes.com
Results: 3,900% Growth in 24 Months
After 2 years of consistent work, the numbers exceeded our expectations:
Traffic Explosion (3,400% Increase)
- Starting Point: 100 monthly visits from organic search
- Final Result: 3,500 monthly visits from Google
The traffic wasn’t just bigger – it was better. Visitors were actively searching for membership solutions, leading to higher engagement and more conversions.
Domain Rating Breakthrough
- Starting Point: DR 30
- Final Result: DR 72 (now outranking most established competitors)
This massive DR jump from 30 to 72 created a compound effect. As domain authority grew, the site started ranking better for keywords we weren’t even actively targeting.
Keyword Rankings Explosion
- Starting Point: 291 ranking keywords
- Final Result: 1,900 ranking keywords (552% increase)
- Primary Keyword: “WordPress membership plugin” moved from nowhere to the top 10
- Long-Tail Success: Hundreds of keywords reached the top 5 positions
The Real Impact
The dramatic increase from 291 to 1,900 ranking keywords meant the plugin was now visible for searches the client never even knew were possible.
This keyword expansion brought in highly targeted traffic from users at different stages of their buying journey.
The Bottom Line
3,900% organic traffic growth
This wasn’t just about the numbers. The quality of traffic improved dramatically. Visitors were actively searching for membership solutions, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.
The plugin moved from complete obscurity to ranking on the first page for its primary keyword, establishing our client as a legitimate player in the WordPress membership space.
