Outcomes, not vanity metrics.

The team had shipped a competitive product into a noisy AI-tool market. They were ranking nowhere on 'best AI for X' lists, had only token presence on the major directories, and were burning paid acquisition because organic discovery was non-existent. Internal capacity to chase 100+ directory submissions did not exist.

We started with the directory submission sprint to get a discovery floor under the brand, then layered in guest post and niche edit campaigns targeting commercial keywords where the team already had product-page content. Anchor distribution was modeled against the top three SERP competitors and held to a strict campaign calendar.

1. Month 1

   Directory submission sprint

   87 hand-submitted listings across the top AI directories. Master copy and tagline library built. First trickle of referral traffic began in week three.

2. Month 2

   Guest post engine on

   Anchor calendar locked. Five guest posts shipped on DR50+ AI and SaaS publications. Internal team approved every prospect and draft.

3. Month 3–4

   Niche edit velocity layer

   Eight niche edits per month inserted alongside guest posts to fill the velocity gap and balance anchor distribution. First commercial keywords moved into the top 10.

4. Month 5–6

   Compounding window

   Listings accumulated review and vote signals. Branded search 3x'd. Two pillar pages reached page-one rankings; outreach pivoted to pages adjacent to those wins.

• AI tool directory (top-10 by traffic)
  DirectoryDR 71
• B2B SaaS publication
  Guest postDR 64
• Marketing-tech blog
  Guest postDR 58
• AI roundup site
  Niche editDR 53
• Productivity-tools review site
  Niche editDR 49

The product served large freight brokers — a buying audience that does not respond to paid acquisition. Pipeline was almost entirely outbound, and the team needed credible third-party social proof to shorten the sales cycle and justify pricing on multi-year contracts.

We ran a hybrid program: Managed Outreach for predictable monthly link velocity on commercial pages, paired with Digital PR positioning the founders as expert sources on supply-chain topics. A quarterly data study (anonymized customer freight data) became the engine for tier-1 placements.

1. Month 1

   Source profile setup

   Two founders set up as named sources. Talking-point library built around freight visibility, broker margin pressure, and supply-chain risk topics.

2. Month 2–3

   Daily HARO cadence

   60 pitches per month across HARO, Qwoted, and direct journalist relationships. First trade publication mentions landed in week six.

3. Month 4

   Quarterly data study

   Anonymized customer freight data turned into a 14-page report on broker margin compression. Embargo coordinated with three reporters; coverage waved across two weeks.

4. Month 5–9

   Compounding authority

   Inbound journalist requests began arriving by month six. Sales team started referencing trade press mentions in enterprise calls — close rates on multi-year deals lifted noticeably.

• Tier-1 business publication
  Quote featureDR 91
• Freight industry publication
  Data studyDR 76
• Supply-chain trade journal
  Expert quoteDR 68
• Logistics tech blog
  Guest postDR 62
• B2B SaaS publication
  Guest postDR 59

The agency had hit a fulfillment ceiling. Founders were spending 40% of their week on outreach operations instead of strategy and sales. Client load could not grow without hiring an outreach team — a 9-month commitment with hiring risk and capacity volatility.

Onboarded onto the Reseller Pro tier with branded reporting templates and the priority fulfillment lane. We shipped the same retail quality bar but under their agency identity. Founders reallocated freed capacity to client strategy and net-new sales — both lifted.

1. Month 1

   Reseller onboarding

   Wholesale rate card delivered. Branded report templates built. First three pilot clients moved onto Ankore-fulfilled link building under the agency's banner.

2. Month 2–3

   Fulfillment lift-off

   Migration of remaining client accounts. Founders reclaimed roughly 16 hours per week previously spent on outreach operations.

3. Month 4–8

   Sales engine on

   Reclaimed capacity routed into outbound and content. Six new client accounts signed in the next two quarters — agency hit its highest-ever month-over-month growth.

4. Month 9–14

   Tier upgrade

   Crossed $10K/month resold volume. Moved to Reseller Plus with custom rates and dedicated account manager. Ongoing.

• Client A · ecommerce vertical
  Guest postDR 67
• Client B · B2B SaaS
  Niche editDR 71
• Client C · local services
  CitationsDR 54
• Client D · D2C consumer brand
  Digital PRDR 63
• Client E · marketplace
  Guest postDR 58