On November 7th, we were assigned a brand-new page to optimize for one of our long-term SaaS clients — a company that leads the industry in customer support software. The page was a commercial landing page targeting a high-intent keyword: “ticketing system.”
This wasn’t a refresh. It wasn’t a tune-up. It was a landing page we had never worked on before.
Our goal was simple: get this page ranking higher for a competitive, high-intent keyword in a saturated SERP. The first page was packed with SaaS companies — big and small, new and established — all vying for visibility on this high-value term.
What followed was a focused, agile link building campaign that quickly pushed the page to the #1 position — and set the foundation for sustained visibility in a highly competitive space.
The Keyword Landscape
The primary keyword — “ticketing system” — is a highly competitive, high-intent term in the SaaS space.
Early on in the campaign, Ahrefs reported a keyword difficulty score of 54 (Hard) for “ticketing system,” estimating that it would require approximately 99 referring domains to rank in the top 10. The competition is tough with with top-ranking pages backed by strong domains, deep topical authority, and robust backlink profiles.
Ranking for a keyword like this doesn’t just require solid on-page optimization — it demands strategic off-page SEO and a clear plan to compete against some of the biggest names in the industry.
The Starting Point
When we began working on the page, it was already established and driving traffic — but it hadn’t yet cracked page one.
According to Ahrefs, it was ranking around position 15 for its primary keyword, “ticketing system,” with an estimated 4,900+ monthly organic visits, 566 backlinks, and 107 referring domains. It wasn’t starting from scratch, but it also wasn’t reaching its full potential.
Despite this foundation, the page was stuck in the middle of the SERPs, outpaced by competitors with stronger authority or more aggressive off-page efforts.
Our Strategy: Quality, Relevance, and Authenticity Over Everything
In a competitive space like this, you can’t brute-force your way to the top with volume alone — especially not for a high-intent keyword like “ticketing system.”
Our link development strategy is rooted in quality over quantity, with every placement driven by relevance and authenticity.
We don’t chase metrics. We build contextual links on domains where the content — and the link — make sense. That means carefully evaluating not just the site itself, but the actual article, its topic, tone, and audience.
We follow a proprietary system that vets domains through two key lenses:
- Relevance – We assess how closely the site’s focus and content align with our client’s industry and audience.
- Authenticity – We only pursue placements on real sites with real owners. That includes brand blogs from established companies and personal blogs where there’s a clear, verifiable person behind the content.
We avoid generic, low-effort WordPress blogs that follow the same template and exist solely for link selling — because in tough, competitive SERPs, authenticity matters. Google can tell the difference, and so can your potential customers.
Lastly, we do look at metrics like Domain Rating (DR) or Domain Authority (DA), organic visibility, organic traffic, and keyword rankings using third-party tools — but only after a site passes our relevance and authenticity filters. Metrics help us gauge strength, but they’re never the starting point.
Execution: Precision Over Volume
Over the course of just under three months, from early November through the end of January, we built a total of 9 high-impact backlinks to the page.
While the volume was low by design, the precision was everything.
- Every link used exact match anchor text — carefully placed to feel natural, relevant, and valuable in the context of the surrounding article.
- The average Domain Rating (DR) was 61.9, with every site passing our strict relevance and authenticity filters.
- All placements were on real websites owned by real brands or businesses — no generic blogs or PBNs.
This wasn’t spray-and-pray outreach. It was a targeted, methodical campaign designed to build trust and relevance — the kind of link profile that earns rankings and holds them.
The Results:
By January 30th, 2025, less than three months after kicking off the campaign, the page hit #1 for the primary keyword: “ticketing system.”
That top spot translated into a meaningful lift in visibility and performance:
- #1 ranking for a competitive, high-intent keyword with a KD of 54
- ~50% increase in estimated organic traffic to the page
- Solidified authority in a highly competitive vertical — with just 9 carefully placed, contextually relevant links
This was the outcome of a deliberate, quality-over-quantity strategy — not luck, not scale. It’s proof that thoughtful, strategic link development still works, even in saturated SaaS SERPs.
Months Later: Continued Growth
The results didn’t just spike — they stuck.
A few months after hitting the #1 position, the page continues to outperform — with substantial gains in both keyword visibility and organic traffic.
Here’s how things look now compared to when we started:
- Organic keywords: Up from 951 to 3,800+ — a 299% increase
- Organic traffic: Up from 4.9K to 19.1K — a 290% increase
This kind of sustained growth is exactly what strategic, high-quality link development is designed to do — not just drive short-term movement, but build long-term momentum in competitive SERPs.
Final Thoughts
This campaign is a prime example of what’s possible when you combine strategic focus, high editorial standards, and authentic link development. You don’t need hundreds of links — you need the right ones.
If you’re looking to move high-value pages up in tough SERPs, let’s talk.
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