This one is a white-label link-building project. The client came through a link building agency, which wanted something not offered in the market.
They have done it all for the client. Get them featured in a listicle and place their links in niche-relevant blogs and websites. And a couple of high DR and traffic guest blogs in the period of six to seven months.
However, the client was not happy with the repetitive work and wanted something different. They wanted to get mentioned among the top brands in the custom sofa niche, in publications and news sites.
The agency tried HARO themselves but didn’t get a single link in a month. Since they have already worked with me in the past, they decided to outsource this project.
Results at a Glance
We signed up on HARO and Qwoted to pitch journalists in the lifestyle and home decor niche. We got four direct links from niche-relevant websites and two syndications on MSN and Yahoo. The campaign lasted three months, and here are the results.
Here are the results of our link-building campaign on the brand.
- Organic traffic increased by 102%, growing from 23K to 46.4K monthly visits.
- The website gained 2,000+ referring domains and improved its Domain Rating from 47 to 51.
- Organic keyword count remained relatively stable because low-value pages were intentionally removed while existing pages were consolidated and optimised.
- According to the SEO agency, the client experienced a 15% increase in sales following the campaign.
- High-authority editorial placements were secured in publications including Homes & Gardens, Family Handyman, and Elle Decor.
- Additional visibility was gained through syndication on MSN, Yahoo, and AOL, helping expand brand reach and authority.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Rating (DR) | 47 | 51 |
| Organic Traffic | 23,000 | 46,400 |
| Referring Domains | Baseline | +2,000 |
| Organic Keywords | Stable | Stable |
| Sales | Baseline | +15% |
| Editorial Placements | 0 | Homes & Gardens, Family Handyman, Elle Decor |
| Syndicated Coverage | 0 | MSN, Yahoo, AOL |
AI visibility improvement
While I was working on Qwoted and HARO for the brand, the SEO agency was building links via guest posting, blogger outreach, and niche edits. The combined effort of both teams gave the best results in AI citations.
| Platform | Visibility Growth |
|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews | +509 |
| ChatGPT | +203 |
| Google AI Mode | +709 |
| Grok | +709 |
| Gemini | +188 |
| Copilot | +89 |
Key Takeaways
- Securing editorial placements through HARO and Qwoted helped the brand earn links from highly relevant publications in the lifestyle and home decor niche.
- The campaign contributed to a 102% increase in organic traffic, growing monthly visits from 23,000 to 46,400.
- Domain authority improved from DR 47 to DR 51, supported by an increase of more than 2,000 referring domains.
- The client reported a 15% increase in sales, demonstrating that the campaign generated business impact beyond SEO metrics.
- Placements in Homes & Gardens, Family Handyman, and Elle Decor helped strengthen the brand’s authority and trust signals.
- Syndication on MSN, Yahoo, and AOL expanded the reach of these placements and exposed the brand to a much larger audience.
- The combined efforts of HARO, Qwoted, guest posting, blogger outreach, and niche edits significantly increased the brand’s visibility across AI-powered search platforms.
- AI citations grew across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot, and Grok, positioning the brand as a trusted source for AI-generated answers.
- This campaign demonstrates how digital PR and strategic link building can improve traditional SEO performance while also increasing visibility in the emerging AI search ecosystem.
Client Endorsement and Review
Since this was a whitelable client, I was unable to get a direct review on my profile on Upwork or Trustpilot. However, both the agency and client were delighted to see placements in the first month.
The client said in an email, “It’s a pleasure to work with you. You are very responsive and always willing to help. We’ve built some great links for our site together. He’s very connected in all industries, so you won’t have any problems finding links for your niche. Would definitely recommend working together!”
About the Client:
- Industry: Home decor (custom sofa)
- Target audience: American families
- What they wanted: They wanted to get featured in top news outlets and niche-relevant publications
- Duration: 3 months
The Problem
The competitors were featured in niche-relevant publications, which the sofa client wants to replicate. They tried a few options at a premium price but failed to get what they actually wanted. They even paid $800 per link to secure a mention, but there was not enough
The client was looking for an affordable and responsible team who can lend monthly mentions and links. Another problem was that the SEO team had almost exhausted its inventory of websites in the home decor space. They were also out of options, and premium publications were asking $2000-$5000 for a dedicated featured post.
Therefore, they decided to go with HARO, Featured, and Qwoted to get mentioned in super relevant magazines and publications, which paid well.
Competitor Analysis
Before moving forward, we did an extensive and in-depth competitor link analysis using Ahrefs. We find that competitors in the luxury + custom sofa niche have and are spending heavily on digital PR. The links that mattered the most in ranking high on Google.
Before contacting me, the agency reached out to three digital PR agencies. However, they were demanding a $5000-$10000 monthly retainer and no placement guarantee.
This was unfavourable for the SEO agency because it was they, paying and not the client. So they contacted me and were happy with the pay-per-placement offered by us.
We agreed on:
- I will take care of HARO, Featured, and Qwoted link building, which includes prospecting for journalist queries three times a day. Writing compelling emails and responses, and sending them.
- They (SEO agency) were looking after guest posting, featured posts, niche edits, etc.
They provided me with the email address of an employee working for the brand. I set up the Qwoted account and subscribed to the daily HARO email. And we began working.
Why do we choose HARO, Featured, and Qwoted?
The answer is quite simple. Because the client wanted backlinks and branded mentions from high DR, high traffic, and top-rated publications. These links and mentions are not available for sale in the market, and agencies claiming to get them will charge a monthly retainer and lock you into a six-month contract.
To overcome these obstacles, the SEO agency and client decided to hire us. And we provided premium results from the first day. The second reason for leaving established names in the digital PR niche is our pay-per-placement rule.
We don’t bind clients into a six-month contract or a monthly retainer. We keep our work transparent and only charge clients for placements and links after we get them. HARO and Qwoted provided us with the opportunity to get our client featured among the top names in the home decor niche.
Month #1
I started by analyzing the industry and competitors. I want to know their link-building techniques, whether the links were paid or organic. They also gave me an email ID of their lead designer to subscribe to the HARO mailing list and set up a Qwoted profile.
I completed the profile by adding all the necessary details like a headshot, bio, job details, etc. Answering relevant journalist queries started on the second day.
I wanted to go super aggressive with this campaign and deliver quick, high-quality results. I pitched every journalist, asking questions about the sofa, furniture, and interior design.
Results started after 10 days of hardcore pitching, and we were featured in Homes & Gardens. The SEO agency and client were happy to see the editorial placement and asked if I could do more.
I asked my team member to double down on the efforts on this campaign. And we landed another two links from high-DR sites. By the end of the month, we got another link for the brand, and this time it was from Family Handyman. The month ended perfectly, and I began preparing for the next month.
Month #2
The second month started with high hopes because of the past month’s results, and we also got a placement on another Homes & Gardens article on the third day of the month.
Down the line, we also got syndication to Yahoo and MSN of one Homes & Gardens that was published this month. Yes, it was syndication, but there was the link and brand mention. The client and SEO agency were both very happy because they are now featured on MSN and Yahoo.
Month #3
We didn’t get anything in the first ten days. However, on the fifteenth day of month three, we got a placement on Elle Decor (DR 85), along with a bunch of other high DR and niche-relevant websites.
This was topped when the Elle Decor blog was republished on AOL (DR 91). We also got a few more mentions and links from Homes & Gardens.
Month #4 (Campaign paused)
In three months, we got more than 15 editorial links from premium websites and publications. 15 links from high DR, niche relevant and high traffic webistes. This had a positive impact on their overall SEO and AEO.
The sofa brand started ranking for industry-relevant keywords and getting cited by LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini. The client and the SEO agency were super happy with our results and decided to pause the campaign to see the results.
Conclusion
This campaign shows the impact that editorial placements can have when combined with a strong SEO strategy. Through HARO and Qwoted, we secured mentions in leading publications such as Homes & Gardens, Family Handyman, and Elle Decor, along with syndication on MSN, Yahoo, and AOL.
The result was a 102% increase in organic traffic, a stronger backlink profile, improved sales, and greater visibility across both traditional search engines and AI platforms. For brands in competitive industries, digital PR remains one of the most effective ways to build authority and accelerate growth.
Interested in reading more? Here is how we got a CCTV camera brand featured on top sites.