What happens when you build hundreds of links across ~20 pages?
Academic Partnerships approached us with simple needs: “We don’t have the time or expertise to focus on off-page SEO.”
They were already ranking well for branded keywords and local terms, but it was time to bring in traffic nationally. At that point, link building was the missing puzzle piece.
So, they chose Linkflow. And, a year and a half later, exemplified the benefits of having a rock-solid link profile.
Links Built
620
Average DR of Links
53
Page 1 Keywords
19%
Increase
Campaign Length
20
Months and counting
Background
When it comes to their online programs, universities’ main goal is to recruit and retain their students. Academic Partnerships partners with them to create the digital and creative marketing collateral that helps them accomplish that.
In short, they’re marketers themselves. And they offered a great service.
That’s part of what made them so successful prior to hiring us. But, as they developed marketing assets for their university partners, they started to plateau when it came to growing their own business on the web.
- Regional stardom: Academic Partnerships had already carved their niche in localized markets. Well-recognized for their branded keywords, they were regional rockstars in SEO. But they knew that excellence in a local sphere was just the starting point.
- The missing link: While they had the in-house talent for direct response marketing and other channels, off-page SEO was a conundrum they neither had the time nor expertise to crack.
- Prior disappointments: Adding a layer of complexity to their situation was a history of sub-par experiences with other SEO agencies. The lack of clear communication and demonstrable ROI led to a level of skepticism. They didn’t want an agency. They wanted a partner who could break the cycle of disappointments.
The goal wasn’t merely to scale. It was to scale with intention. They wanted each new visitor to fit their target audience of collegiate organizations, and they needed to drum up more demand on a national scale.
They knew their audience. We knew how to reach them.
Our Strategy
One-size-fits-all never works in the SEO world. Understanding Academic Partnerships’s unique challenges and specific needs, we devised a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy. It was bespoke, data-driven, and laser-focused on achieving measurable ROI.
High quality, high quantity.
In many cases, focus is channeled into a select few pages. It’s often better to build links to the ‘money pages.’
Academic Partnerships had more than a dozen pages with this kind of momentum. So, we consistently built high-quality, contextually relevant links across an expansive selection of pages — 18 in total.
Diversification allowed all their valuable content to get more search traction, and it maximized the number of opportunities they had to rank.
Keyword stewardship
Given their history of strong local rankings for certain terms, the last thing we wanted was for their top keywords to cannibalize each other.
Through meticulous monitoring, we ensured that each of their key pages ranked for the most optimal keyword. Along the way, we kept an eye out for any signs of self-competition that could dilute their SEO efforts.
Content recommendations
Backlinks drive traffic. Content gets conversions. After analyzing Academic Partnership’s key pages, we gave targeted content suggestions to bolster the efficacy of our link building initiatives.
The objective was clear: make each link not just a bridge to Academic Partnership’s website, but a gateway to actionable content their target audience actually responds to.
A Strong Link Profile = A Bulletproof Foundation
Academic Partnerships migrated their website after working with us for over a year. Site migrations are common, but they often negatively impact your SEO and organic traffic.
Organic Traffic
The proof is in the pudding. In a few short weeks, their organic traffic returned to (and exceeded) pre-migration levels.
Here’s a quick look at the numbers:
- 620 links built across 18 pages
- An average DR of 53
- A 19% increase in page 1 keywords
- 16% more clicks over a 6-month period
Takeaways
- Focus on pages that drive revenue. When you kick off your link building strategy with existing momentum, you can reach your goals faster.
- Diversify your link profile to maximize opportunities. Quality first. But the more link building opportunities you take advantage of, the more potential there is for organic growth.
- When in doubt, zoom out. SEO is a long-term investment. It’s about consistent upward trends, not one-off performance spikes.
- Your link profile will save you. You wouldn’t drive a car without insurance, would you? A site migration, Google algorithm update, or any other unforeseen event could tank your website. With backlinks, it’s easier to recover.
Find out how we can improve your domain authority, traffic, and conversions steadily and safely.
