Case study
Running collection into the top 6 with guide-first outreach
26
Editorial links
16→6
Collection rank
+ 53 %
Session lift
51
Cluster RDs
Challenge
The running sneaker collection ranked between positions 14 and 19 for core commercial terms while most historical links pointed at the homepage and a viral collab drop. Category and fit-guide URLs were underlinked against legacy athletic brands with denser training-media coverage.
Approach
We shifted placements to a gait-and-stack-height guide plus the running collection for the first nine weeks, then layered 11 product roundups once the guide held. Twenty-six editorial links shipped over five months with branded and descriptive anchors prioritized.
Interactive outcomes
Toggle each metric to compare the starting baseline against the measured result.
16
Prior 90-day baseline
18
Campaign timeline
Select a phase to see what shipped and why the sequence mattered.
Phase 01 · Weeks 1–3
Published a gait and stack-height guide and prepared editor sample kits before spring list season opened.
Phase 02 · Weeks 4–9
Fifteen placements favored the guide and collection. Homepage chasing was paused entirely.
Phase 03 · Weeks 10–20
Eleven running-shoe roundups landed after the guide cleared position 13 on mid-tail queries.
Full narrative
A US DTC performance sneaker brand had a running collection stuck around average position 16. Historical links celebrated a collab drop and the homepage. The fit guide and collection barely registered in referring-domain counts (18 combined).
Guide first for nine weeks, then roundups. Exact-match commercial anchors stayed under 10 percent. Median DR: 47. We rejected sneaker-coupon farms and spun “best shoes” PBNs.
Collection moved to position 6 by week 14. Non-brand sessions to the footwear cluster rose 53 percent over the prior 90-day baseline by month five. Referring domains on the guide and collection reached 51.
Services used
Roundup and best-of list inclusions for hero products. Timed to seasonal demand, mapped to parent collections, and pitched with samples and specs editors actually use.
Contributor placements on publishers with real traffic and topical fit. Built for category and buying-guide URLs, not marketplace articles with three advertiser links.
Newsroom and trade citations for ecommerce stores. We pitch stories journalists can justify, track acceptance rates, and map links to category and launch URLs that matter.
More evidence
Next step
Send your domain, primary money pages, and current monthly organic sessions. We reply within two business days with a gap note and a fit recommendation.
After you submit, a strategist reviews your referring domains and replies with whether we can help, and at which tier.
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