In this case, we didn’t focus on link building. The website already had a very high brand authority.

Instead, we worked closely with WPX on content planning and strategic direction, helping them prioritize the right topics and structure their content efforts more effectively. The approach was simple: identify what actually drives traffic in their niche and double down on it, while avoiding generic, low-impact content.

We guided their team on what to publish, how to position their content, and where to focus their efforts to get the highest return. With just a few well-planned articles per month, the goal was not volume, but precision.

The result was consistent, compounding growth across the entire year. Organic traffic increased by over 140%, with significant improvements in sessions, users, and engagement metrics. This case shows that with the right strategy and execution, even a relatively small amount of content can drive strong results.

When the client approached us

When we started in June 2025, the domain had almost no SEO performance.

But more importantly, it had no authority.

The site was sitting on page 5 for its own brand.
Competitors were outranking it for branded variations.
Negative mentions were ranking above the actual website.

This wasn’t a content problem.

It was a link authority problem.

The Goal

Increase organic traffic by building authority through links.

But we didn’t approach this randomly.

We focused on two things:

1. Brand keyword domination
2. Supporting high-intent pages with links

The Challenge

This niche is extremely restrictive.

Most publishers don’t want to link to NSFW or AI girlfriend platforms.
Digital PR is almost impossible.
And many high-authority sites reject placements completely.

So we had to be precise.

Every link mattered.

What We Did

1. Branded Link Building

We started by fixing the biggest issue:

The brand had no authority.

We built branded anchor links from relevant and authoritative sites.

At the same time, we submitted the site to high-quality AI directories to strengthen brand signals.

Result:

The site moved from page 5 to owning its brand SERP.

2. Authority Links to Core Pages

We focused on pages targeting high-intent keywords like:

AI girlfriend
NSFW AI chat
Other commercial pages

Instead of spreading links randomly, we pushed authority into specific pages.

Each link had a purpose.

This helped us increase rankings for competitive keywords faster.

3. Supporting Domain Strategy

We bought multiple domains for brand protection.

One of them was turned into a standalone SaaS-style website.

Why?

Because many sites wouldn’t link to the main domain.

But they were willing to link to a “clean” SaaS-looking site.

We used this domain to acquire links from tech and SaaS blogs.

This allowed us to build authority in places that were otherwise inaccessible. We haven’t finished the 301 redirect yet. I’ll explain this project in another case study,

4. Reddit Brand Mentions Campaign

We ran a 3-month Reddit campaign.

We actively participated in relevant threads and naturally mentioned the brand.

This did two things:

Increased branded searches
Improved trust signals around the brand

Right after this campaign, we saw the biggest spike in performance.

5. Consistency Over Volume

We didn’t spam links.

We built a small number of high-quality, relevant links every month.

No automation.
No junk placements.

Just controlled authority growth.

Results After 9 Months

Brand Keyword

From page 5 → Position 1

Full control over branded search.

Traffic Growth

From 4,481 to 55,558 monthly traffic

That’s over 1100% increase.

Overall Performance

Clicks increased by 411 percent
Impressions increased by 588 percent

Results:

Graphic 1: Clicks & impressions for the brand keyword (fantasy ai). The big spike in September was shorly after we launched the brand awareness campaign in Reddit.

Graphic 3: Monthly organic traffic acquisition for 2025. The increase of traffic in December compared to March is with 1140% (from  4481 to 55558)

What This Case Proves

You don’t need hundreds of links.

You need the right links.

Even in restrictive niches, authority can be built if you understand:

Where to get links
How to structure them
What to prioritize

Most people fail because they build links without a strategy.

We build them to win specific positions.

Want the same results?

If your site is stuck, it’s not your content.

It’s your authority. Contact me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgitodorovbg/

One of the most interesting cases we worked on recently was for a client in the adult AI space.

The main brand is: Fantasy AI
https://fantasy.ai/

It’s an AI girlfriend platform, which immediately creates a major problem.
Most websites refuse to link to it. And the few that are open to it ask for 3–5x the usual price.

In practice, that means:

• Around 90% of potential placements are closed
• Outreach becomes extremely inefficient
• Traditional link building doesn’t work

So we had to rethink the approach completely.

The Strategy

Instead of forcing links to the main domain, we created a secondary site:

https://fantasy-ai.app/en.html

Same brand name – Fantasy AI
Same positioning.
But framed as a broader AI companion / assistant product.

This allowed us to:

• Keep the brand “Fantasy AI” consistent
• Maintain strong topical relevance
• Control the surrounding context (AI, AI companion, AI assistant, etc.)
• Open doors to SaaS, business, and media websites that would NEVER link to our client!

The Execution

We focused on building links to the secondary domain from sites that would never link to an adult-oriented product:

• SaaS blogs
• Service providers
• Business websites
• Online publications and magazines

So far:
→ 51 links from unique domains
→ Real sites, not low-quality placements

All using:

• branded anchors
• natural mentions
• relevant surrounding content

Why This Works

Even though the links point to a different domain, the signals remain strong:

• Same brand name (“Fantasy AI”)
• Similar product positioning (AI companion)
• Consistent topical relevance

This keeps the semantic connection between both properties.

What is The End Goal?

Once the link base is strong enough, the plan is to:

→ Implement a 301 redirect to the main domain

Because of:

• brand consistency
• topical alignment
• clean link profile

We expect to retain the vast majority of the value from those links.

Takeaway

In restricted or “impossible” niches, you don’t fight the system directly.

You work around it.

Instead of trying to force links where they’re not welcome, you:

• shift the positioning
• control the narrative
• and build authority in an acceptable context

Then transfer that value back.

But that wasn’t good enough.

Their brand deserved to be seen first. So we got to work.

The Goal

To help Coinbound.io dominate for the most competitive, lead-driving keywords in the crypto and Web3 marketing industry, and convert organic traffic into qualified business.

Challenges when building links for Coinbound.io

We began at the start of January 2025, but it wasn’t easy.

• Most editors and publishers refused to link to anything crypto-related.
• The niche is saturated with generic “top agency” lists and low-authority content.
• The site had already plateaued on Google — despite strong brand recognition.

What We Focused On

We targeted two key pages:

1. Homepage – https://coinbound.io
2. List page – https://coinbound.io/top-web3-marketing-agencies/

Our strategy was clear:
Laser-targeted backlinks + authority-driven content optimization = real growth.

Each month, we built just a few high-quality, niche-relevant links — no automation, no fluff.

Results After 6 Months

Homepage Rankings: https://coinbound.io/

Before: Ranking at the bottom of page 1 or page 2
Now: Positions 1 and 2:

• “cryptocurrency marketing agency” – Position 1
• “blockchain marketing agency” – Position 1
• “crypto marketing agency” – Position 2
• “crypto marketing” – Position 3
• “crypto marketing services” – Position 1

The homepage now consistently ranks top 1–3 for the most commercial, highest-volume keywords in the industry, driving consistent leads.

*Here, we noted only the most important keywords that we were focused on. The home page ranked for hundreds of new keywords.

Web3 Agency List Page Rankings: coinbound.io/top-web3-marketing-agencies

Before: ~200 organic visits/month
Now: 400+ targeted visits/month, converting into daily qualified leads.

Keyword improvements:

• “web3 marketing agency” – Position 1
• “web3 digital marketing agency” – Position 2
• “web3 marketing services” – Position 2

This page now serves as an inbound lead magnet, attracting founders, startups, and established brands actively seeking agencies.

**Note: Link building works best when it goes hand in hand with technical optimization and content updates — credit to Jess Joyce from jessjoyce.com for driving that part of the process; a holistic approach always wins.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how we helped one of our clients move from position 13 to position 6 on Google, for a keyword that directly brings in leads and revenue.

*This client asked us not to reveal their name.*

We started this project with a solid drawback! The page we’re trying to push didn’t have the keyword in the URL and in the H2, and still isn’t!
We stepped in with a laser-targeted backlink strategy.

Here’s what we did:

Built 3 high-quality links per month
Ran this for 3 months
Each link had an exact match anchor and sat in a highly relevant paragraph

No fluff. No tricks. Just clean, powerful backlinks with the right signals.

The result?

From position 13 (no traffic at all)
To position 6 (450 targeted hits/month)
That traffic led to 34 free trials and 11 paying customers over the 3 months we were working on the campaign

Two months after we stopped building links, they’re sitting at position 8. That’s expected. If you’re not actively reinforcing your rankings, a slight dip is normal.

But even now, the page is still pulling in leads and sales.

What does this show?

You don’t always need to “perfect” the page.
You don’t need 100 backlinks.
You just need the right links, pointed at the right page, with the right anchors.

If you have a page that’s stuck on page 2 or 3 — and you know it should be bringing in customers — let’s talk.

Book a call and let’s see what a smart, targeted backlink strategy can do for your business.

Having spent years as a freelancer, building strategies and creating content for various clients since 2017, I had gathered a wealth of experience. This journey led me to an offer from SEMrush to establish their link-building team from scratch. While the opportunity provided a vast budget and substantial resources, the corporate structure required approvals for every action, which stifled my need for agile execution. Frustrated by these constraints and inspired to have autonomy in my creative process, I decided to launch my own platform, ThriveMyWay.com. Driven by a desire to innovate on my own terms, I used the insights and savings from my time at SEMrush to boldly establish my website, aiming to manage it exactly as I envisioned.

Content creation strategy

In September 2021, I initiated ThriveMyWay with a clear strategy: produce a high volume of quality content. To achieve this, I hired multiple writers at competitive rates by streamlining the content creation process. I developed detailed outlines for each article, including H2 headers and provided precise video briefs using Loom, which detailed exactly what each article should cover. This method allowed me to reduce costs significantly—paying writers around $0.04 per word—by simplifying their task to mainly research and write, without the burden of keyword discovery or topic development. By December, this efficient process resulted in the publication of 200 articles, setting a solid foundation for the website’s growth.

Why this strategy doesn’t work anymore?

Reflecting on the past, my process for creating content involved spending approximately $40 for a 1000-word article, with an average overall cost of $80 per piece for high-quality, well-optimized content from native-speaking writers. Today, the landscape has changed dramatically. With advancements like ChatGPT, coupled with efficient processes and a virtual assistant, the same caliber of content can now be produced for about $25. This cost reduction is achieved through the use of virtual assistant services averaging around $8 per hour, significantly lowering the financial barrier to creating quality content.

301 redirect from DigitalNovas to ThriveMyWay

I decided to merge my existing website, Digital Novas, with ThriveMyWay. This involved setting up 301 redirects from Digital Novas to ThriveMyWay, significantly boosting traffic and jumpstarting the new project. I prepared for the SEO migration by creating a checklist and systematically mapping out the redirects. This strategic integration helped retain valuable SEO assets, like over 2,000 backlinks from nearly 800 domains, and maintained the content’s ranking strength, ensuring a smooth transition and sustained performance on the new site.

If you are interested in learning more about how I did the redirect step-by-step – I published a guest post on Cloudways.

The result after the redirect started kicking in:

The Link Building part

Strategy 1: Guest Posts

Initially, I leveraged my relationships with editors and bloggers. Before the AI era, bloggers were eager for well-researched content that would rank well on Google, which I provided for free in exchange for a backlink. I also facilitated backlinks to and from my partners, which significantly boosted my network. After that, those friends and partners were eager to link back to me.

Examples:

• https://flippa.com/blog/how-to-hire-content-writers-for-your-blog/
• https://serpstat.com/blog/10-tips-to-successfully-train-a-new-seo-team/
• https://www.zerobounce.net/blog/email-resources/be-a-better-marketer/how-to-start-a-blog

Strategy 2: Creating Linkable Assets

Instead of creating new research, I accessed extensive databases like Statista and repurposed that data into engaging blog posts filled with useful statistics. These posts became go-to resources for journalists looking for data on specific topics, leading to high-quality backlinks to my site.

Examples:

• https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/09/28/the-importance-of-multi-format-case-studies-in-marketing/
• https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/best-ways-to-learn-wordpress
• https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/types-of-web-hosting/
• https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-08-25/quiet-quitting-is-just-a-new-name-for-an-ancient-reality
• https://www.wix.com/blog/ecommerce/2020/10/ecommerce-statistics

Strategy 3: Capitalizing on Trends

By quickly adapting to trends, like during the mobilization of Russian men due to the conflict in Ukraine, I created timely and relevant content that captured immediate interest. I shared these insights with major media outlets, securing backlinks from prominent sources like FAZ. Similarly, post-COVID, I researched changes in the travel industry, which also garnered significant media attention and backlinks.

Examples:

• https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/suchanfragen-von-russen-im-internet-wohin-emigrieren-17895100.html
• https://www.eurotopics.net/fr/278514/de-plus-en-plus-de-russes-s-expatrient
• https://mail.tourismexpress.com/nouvelles/la-nouvelle-realite-de-la-distribution-hoteliere-en-ligne-par-frederic-gonzalo

These strategies not only built a strong backlink profile but also established ThriveMyWay as a highly authoritative site in a remarkably short period.

Mistakes

Enough bragging.

Let me tell you the mistakes I made in 2022:

• Didn’t publish much content. Very few newly published posts from May to October.
• Decided to delete all our social media accounts – stupid idea.
• Neglected website speed and UX issues – Big Mistake.

This resulted in a hit by the December Google update. Just 1 day before Christmas. Thanks for the Christmas present, Big G. I’ll always appreciate it.

As you can see from the GSC screenshot above, in the March update we started growing our traffic again! But that’s not a coincidence. In January we busted our asses updating all our posts.

Those are the actions we took in January to improve the website:

• Website Speed and UX issues.
• Created new social media profiles.
• Started a massive content update.

What content updates have we made?

• Included a story in as many posts as possible.
• Included a Pro Tip in each post.
• Re-wrote and optimized titles.
• Improved formatting and structure of the articles: Bullet points, shorter paragraphs, and more numbered steps in the posts.
• Identify and include at least one new secondary keyword for each post and put it in the title.
• Targeted featured snippets and optimized some posts to catch them.
• Fixing up the schema markup codes. They had messed up.
• Adding additional 2-3 images/screenshots per post
• Fix grammar mistakes. [I was shocked there were some, you never know until you run a check]
• Improved Internal Linking
• Added relevant quotes
• Added more stats

I decided to sell

Even though the traffic on my website was growing daily and the rankings were skyrocketing, I noticed a very disturbing trend from the last couple of Google updates. Google seems not to be tolerating content websites as much as software-centric businesses.

For example, ranktracker.com follows a strategy similar to what I implemented with ThriveMyWay. However, despite linking to some shady websites and publishing a lot of guest posts, Google tolerates them because they are seen more as a real business than just content site.

They receive a lot of branded searches, with people often searching for ‘rank tracker’ to log into their site, indicating to Google their importance to users. This bias made me decide to sell ThriveMyWay. I listed it on Flippa and quickly got many interested buyers. I was in talks with Nick Eubanks from Semrush. He was close to buying but went on holiday and was offline for 2 weeks. By the time he replied, ready to buy with a good budget, I had already sold the site to Nebojsa Vujic from Serbia for $102k. He was easy to work with, a very easygoing and cool guy. I definitely could squeeze another $30-40k from the sale if I tried to sell to another buyer but i preferred to do business with someone easy to do busienss with.

What’s happened with thrivemyway.com after I sold it?

I sold the website on the 27th of July 2023.

When I sold Thrive My Way to the new owner, the website experienced significant growth in organic traffic during the first few weeks. It continued to grow steadily after the March update, and every day brought more traffic, making everything look promising. However, this only lasted for two months.

In September, Google’s Helpful Content Update targeted content websites that lacked a real business behind them, such as software companies, agencies, or other legitimate businesses. Websites that were simply plain blogs without a clear purpose were hit hard, and Thrive My Way lost a significant portion of its traffic. I hoped the website could recover some of its losses by the next update, but that didn’t happen.

The new owner didn’t seem to take great care of the website. They didn’t publish any helpful or valuable content targeting relevant keywords. The only new content was sponsored posts, and there was no filter on what they accepted. When I owned the site, I was very strict about sponsored posts, only working with relevant businesses like marketing agencies or software companies. In contrast, the new owner started selling sponsored posts to gambling, casino, crypto, and other questionable niches, just to get backlinks.

On top of that, they didn’t work to improve the website or publish new, high-quality content. Instead, they seemed to be using it as a content farm for backlinks. This approach led to another major disappointment in the March 2024 update, where the website lost even more traffic and became even more limited.

I’m not accusing them of anything—they own the site now and can do whatever they want with it. I also know their strategy focuses on managing many websites, including larger ones, and they rely on producing a lot of AI-generated content to revive expired domains. Their method is based on volume rather than focusing on quality for a single website. That’s just the way they work.

Where is thrivemyway.com now?

Surprisingly, the website still maintains some organic traffic, averaging around 40,000 to 50,000 visitors per month. While this traffic isn’t particularly valuable, as it comes from less competitive keywords, it shows that Google hasn’t completely abandoned the site. This suggests there’s still potential for recovery if the right steps are taken.

Thrivemyway.com Plan for 2025

If I were the current owner, considering Google’s stance against purely content-based websites, I would take a strategic approach to rebuild and revitalize the site. First, I would establish a business or company behind it—perhaps a software platform, an agency, or even an e-commerce store. This would give the website a more substantial purpose and align it with Google’s preference for sites backed by real businesses.

Second, I would perform content pruning to clean up the site. This means removing any articles that are irrelevant, low-value, or linked to questionable resources like casino sites or crypto marketplaces. Pruning away these harmful elements would significantly improve the site’s credibility. Additionally, I would update and refresh older content that is still valuable and relevant, optimizing it to make it more competitive and useful for readers.

Even without publishing new content, these actions alone—building a business presence, pruning irrelevant content, and updating existing articles—could help the site regain significant traffic in future Google updates. By focusing on quality and relevance, the website could make a strong comeback.

Anyway, this is just a personal vision of what could be done. The reality lies with the new owner and their approach to managing the website. I genuinely wish them success and hope they find a way to make the most of its potential.