An e-commerce marketing platform approached us with strong brand recognition but stuck in organic growth. Over 12 months, we launched a focused link-building campaign to improve their domain authority and elevate rankings for core transactional and informational keywords.

By the end of the engagement, their monthly organic traffic surged from 90K to 165K, their DR climbed from 85 to 87, and they added 50,000+ new keywords to their ranking profile.

Client background

The client provides a robust email and SMS marketing solution for e-commerce businesses. 

Their platform includes automation workflows, Shopify integrations, AI email content generation, and conversion-focused features like abandoned cart emails and segmentation tools.

While their product suite was strong, their SEO growth had stalled. Most blog content was ranking for low-volume terms, and their DR improvements had stuck. They needed authoritative backlinks from relevant websites to push their high-value pages into stronger positions in search results.

The challenge

The client set ambitious goals: increase Domain Rating, elevate traffic, and improve keyword visibility without relying on spammy links or generic outreach.

But this came with specific challenges:

1. Niche-relevant website targets

The email marketing and e-commerce space is crowded. Finding high-authority, niche-relevant websites that would allow contextual backlinks was difficult. 

Many sites were either closed to third-party contributions or overwhelmed with low-quality pitches.

2. Editorial barriers on top domains

The client wanted backlinks from reputable sites with strict editorial standards. Getting through required deep research, personalization, and genuine value-led outreach.

3. Maintaining a clean link profile

With a high existing DR, the link velocity and anchor diversity had to be managed carefully to avoid triggering Google’s filters or unbalancing the link profile.

Project goals

We worked with the client to set three clear targets:

• Deliver 20–25 high-quality backlinks each month
• Increase Domain Rating from 85 to 87
• Grow organic traffic and keyword count significantly over 12 months

What we set out to do?

Primary goal: Deliver consistent, strategic backlinks each month
Success metrics: Traffic, keyword growth, and DR improvement
Timeline: 12 months

Keyword focus areas:

• Email marketing best practices
• Abandoned cart
• Build an email list
• AI email generator
• Shopify & Shopify apps
• Email segmentation

Our approach

We focused on two proven link-building strategies:

1. Niche edit links

We secured contextual backlinks in already-published, high-performing articles. These links were added in a way that felt natural and editorial, offering immediate SEO impact.

Why it worked:

• Used aged, indexed content with existing traffic
• Maintained topical alignment with minimal editorial friction
• Reduced turnaround time and increased referral visibility

2. Content-led outreach

We developed custom content pitches for e-commerce, email marketing, and SaaS blogs. These were centered around valuable insights (not salesy language), making it easier to earn placements.

Topics we pitched included:

• How AI is changing email marketing
• Email automation strategies for Shopify stores
• Building segmented email lists for higher conversions

This opened doors to domains with high authority and reader trust.

High-authority backlinks secured

Through consistent outreach and content quality, we landed placements from several top-tier websites in the marketing and SaaS space, including:

Each link was placed within content that aligned closely with the client’s expertise, ensuring maximum topical relevance.

Results: 83% Traffic growth in 12 months

Not only did we increase traffic volume, but the quality of the traffic also improved. More visitors were arriving through high-intent, conversion-focused search terms.

After a year of consistent link building and outreach, the results surpassed expectations:

Traffic growth (+83%)

• Starting point: 90,000 monthly visits from organic search
• Final result: 165,000 monthly visits from Google
  The growth wasn’t just in volume; visitors were arriving through high-intent searches, resulting in stronger engagement and conversions.

Domain rating improvement

• Starting point: DR 85
• Final result: DR 87
  Even a two-point DR increase at this high level significantly boosted authority, helping the site compete more effectively for competitive terms.

Keyword rankings expansion

• Starting point: 80,000 ranking keywords
• Final result: 130,000 ranking keywords (+62%)
  Key transactional and commercial-intent keywords climbed in rankings, with several competitive terms entering the top 5 search results.

Key Takeaways

• Authority takes time: Even with an established base, climbing from DR 85+ takes consistent effort and exceptional link quality.
• Editorial value wins: Our best placements came from genuinely helpful content, not generic guest posts.
• Link context matters: Contextual links within topically relevant content consistently outperformed sidebar or author-bio links.
• Keyword mapping is critical: Each backlink was mapped to a specific keyword cluster, ensuring results weren’t left to chance.

From outreach to outcomes

The most challenging aspect of the campaign was obtaining approval from editorially strict websites. Many required multiple rounds of negotiation, and some rejected initial pitches outright.

Our solution? Focus on value first. We offered unique takes on current trends (like AI-generated email content), industry reports, and tactical how-to content, making our contributions more appealing.

By leading with relevance and quality, we built real relationships with content managers, turning cold outreach into long-term placement opportunities.

The bottom line

In just 12 months, we helped a competitive eCommerce SaaS brand.

This project proves that even established players can see substantial gains with the right combination of link relevance, strategic outreach, and consistent execution.

If you are struggling with your linking strategy and want experts to handle things for you, do contact us.