CASE STUDY

Unicorn Startup Earns 587 Backlinks in Two Weeks with Chambers of Commerce Outreach Campaign

Client Overview

The client offers a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs to start, run and grow their business. They support founders with LLC formation, liability protection, finances, and online presence from a single, accessible dashboard.

Results:

  • 763 custom articles created
  • 587 live placements
  • 77% success rate
  • 500+ new referring domains

Challenge

The client needed to promote a new service launch before the end of the year. This service was a response to a federal mandate. Most of the client’s customers (small business owners) were unaware of the requirement or its implications.

Timing was critical.

We had less than six weeks to deliver results. They needed to rapidly increase visibility on the new service page to help it rank in a highly competitive search environment, capturing as much new business as possible.

Given the timeline, we needed a unique approach to getting hyper-relevant links at scale.

SOLUTION

Rather than pursue traditional link-building tactics, we developed a campaign that targeted Chambers of Commerce, highly relevant (but underutilized) publishers that had direct access to the client’s ICP.

These organizations support small business owners, making them an ideal distribution network for federal mandate-related content. The content we shared was very important to their ICP, resulting in high success rates and positive brand association.

We also created a corresponding survey to help provide additional insights and direction for the client that also supported lead generation.

OUR PROCESS

We identified 763 Chambers of Commerce, created geo-targeted educational articles, and earned 587 placements—in only two weeks.

  1. Target Identification: Identified and vetted 763 Chambers of Commerce across the U.S. based on geographic relevance and ICP alignment.
  2. Content Creation: Using available data, client insights, and AI tools, create geo-specific articles explaining the federal mandate.
  3. Editing: Review each article for tone, clarity, and accuracy, including relevant anchor link placement of the client’s service page.
  4. Outreach Management: Contacted publishers with personalized outreach, negotiated placement, and secured new links.
  5. Amplification Support: Worked with each Chamber to support additional promotion (social media graphics, newsletter blurbs, and tailored CTAs).
  6. Survey Deployment: Conducted a short survey to gauge public awareness of the mandate, sharing insights with the client along with any leads generated.
  7. Message Adaptation: Revised all in-progress and future content to reflect the updated status of the mandate due to changing regulations.
  8. Internal Coordination & Tracking: Tracked placements, traffic, and link impact using internal tools to illustrate impact of backlinks on ROI.
Organic keywords by intent

ROADBLOCKS

Midway through the campaign, a federal court temporarily overturned the federal requirement. This development surfaced through a placement response (not the client).

We paused production, rewrote in-progress content to reflect the legal shift, and reframed the messaging to focus on trust, compliance, and risk mitigation—positioning the filing as a best practice even without a legal mandate.

Once we had a solution to the problem, we contacted our client informing them of the changing government ruling and providing a way forward. As a result, we maintained momentum and continued to deliver links without significant disruption.

Growing the regional economy

RESULTS

The campaign delivered 587 link placements in just two weeks—a 77% success rate. This far exceeded industry norms.

As a result of these placements, the sales page saw a significant spike in visibility on commercial and transactional keywords. And the page saw a massive jump in traffic.

By targeting unknown-unknowns (FUQs), we created messaging that interested and resonated with prospective publishers. They were grateful for the information, often sharing it within their teams and eager to share it with members.

Key Results:

  • 763 articles written and customized for local Chambers
  • 587 live placements (77% success rate)
  • 500+ new referring domains
  • Dozens of Chambers amplified the content through email and social media
  • Messaging positioned as a PSA, creating unexpected goodwill and visibility
The campaign sparked meaningful engagement - Graph showing performance of referring domains

Beyond SEO, the campaign sparked meaningful engagement. Chambers shared the content via email and social media, treating it as a public service announcement and forwarding it internally—amplifying reach beyond link equity.

The survey responses helped validate our efforts, reinforcing the interest prospects had in the new service.

At the end of the survey, we asked participants if they were interested in a service to address the concerns covered in the survey and shared those leads with the client.

As a result of this campaign, the client’s team hit their performance goal and earned a bonus for driving visibility to that key sales page before the end of the year.

WHAT’S NEXT:

The campaign laid the groundwork for future efforts. By tracking which Chambers responded most actively, the team created a shortlist of high-engagement targets for future outreach.

The client now has a proven playbook for scalable visibility through Chambers—a channel they can continue to leverage for future service launches or brand awareness pushes.

And they’ve expressed interest in expanding their use of surveys to help identify and support customers’ future needs.