A B2B marketing automation platform was stuck on page 3 for their core product keywords, losing ground to competitors with stronger domain authority. After 10 months of strategic .edu link building targeting marketing and business programs, they achieved page 1 rankings for 23 core terms and $42,000/month in new recurring revenue.
Client Overview
The client is a marketing automation SaaS company based in San Francisco, California. Their platform helps mid-market companies (100-1,000 employees) automate email marketing, lead scoring, and campaign management. They compete against established players like HubSpot, Marketo, and Pardot.
| Metric | Before Campaign | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Company Stage | Growth | $12M ARR, profitable |
| Target Market | Mid-market B2B | 100-1,000 employee companies |
| Domain Age | 7 years | Established but underperforming |
| Domain Authority | 38 | Below competitors (55-75) |
| Organic Traffic | 8,400/month | Heavy reliance on branded |
| Avg. Position (Core Terms) | 24.6 | Page 3 on average |
Challenges
The marketing automation space is notoriously competitive, with well-funded competitors dominating organic search:
Competitive Pressure
- HubSpot: DA 93, massive content library
- Marketo: DA 82, enterprise focus
- Mailchimp: DA 92, SMB dominance
- ActiveCampaign: DA 78, aggressive content marketing
Keyword Difficulty
- "Marketing automation software": KD 85
- "Email marketing platform": KD 82
- "Lead scoring software": KD 71
- "Marketing automation tools": KD 79
The Authority Gap
Strategy & Approach
Our strategy targeted marketing programs, business schools, and technology departments that naturally discuss marketing automation concepts:
1. Target Selection Criteria
- Universities with digital marketing programs
- Business schools teaching marketing technology
- Communications and advertising departments
- Student marketing associations and clubs
- Academic research on marketing automation
2. Content Assets Created
- Marketing Automation Glossary (200+ terms, academic-level definitions)
- State of Marketing Automation Report (annual research study)
- Marketing Automation ROI Calculator (interactive tool)
- Academic case studies on automation implementation
3. Link Placement Strategy
- Course resource pages (syllabi, reading lists)
- Department resource libraries
- Student organization resource pages
- Research center publications
Implementation
The 10-month campaign focused on consistent, high-quality link acquisition:
| Month | Links Acquired | Source Type | Avg. DR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 2 | Marketing program resources | 70 |
| Month 2 | 1 | Business school syllabus | 75 |
| Month 3 | 2 | Communications dept, student org | 68 |
| Month 4 | 2 | Research center, faculty blog | 72 |
| Month 5 | 1 | Digital marketing program | 74 |
| Month 6 | 2 | Advertising dept, career services | 69 |
| Month 7 | 1 | Marketing association | 71 |
| Month 8 | 2 | Business library, course page | 73 |
| Month 9 | 2 | Research paper citation, dept resource | 76 |
| Month 10 | 1 | Academic conference proceedings | 78 |
Total links acquired: 16 editorial .edu placements with an average DR of 72.6.
Results
Before Campaign (Month 0)
After Campaign (Month 10)
Average Position for Core Keywords
The Page 1 Breakthrough
Revenue Impact
SaaS economics made the revenue impact straightforward to calculate:
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Organic Traffic | 8,400 | 28,600 | +240% |
| Organic Signups/Month | 34 | 156 | +359% |
| Signup-to-Paid Rate | 18% | 18% | — |
| New Paid Customers/Month | 6 | 28 | +367% |
| Average Monthly Revenue/Customer | $1,900 | $1,900 | — |
| New Monthly Revenue | $11,400 | $53,200 | +$41,800 |
The $41,800/month in new recurring revenue represented an immediate payback on the $72,000 campaign investment. By month 12, the campaign had generated over $500,000 in new ARR.
Monthly Organic Signups
CAC Reduction
Key Learnings
Key Takeaways
- Page 1 changes everything in SaaS. The CTR difference between page 3 and page 1 top 5 is 10x. Rankings matter enormously.
- Marketing program links are highly relevant. Links from digital marketing and business programs signal topical authority to Google.
- Glossary content attracts academic links. Our 200-term glossary earned 4 links on its own as professors referenced it in courses.
- SaaS revenue compounds rapidly. $42k/month in new MRR becomes $500k+ ARR, with potential for years of LTV.
- Authority gap closure is the key lever. Moving from DA 38 to DA 52 enabled rankings that content alone couldn't achieve.