The Client:
A software company looking to strengthen its backlink profile, boost organic authority, and drive targeted traffic to its website.
The Goal:
The primary goal was to secure high-authority backlinks to support the company’s long-term SEO growth, but also to create a high-visibility campaign that positioned the company as a creative data source worthy of media attention. Securing placements in mainstream publications like Sports Illustrated would not only help with SEO – it would also give the client a credible media win they could leverage in future sales conversations.
The Challenge:
The software itself wasn’t inherently sports-related, meaning we needed to find a creative bridge between the product’s capabilities and a story that sports media would actually care about. We couldn’t just pitch the software – we needed to create a story that used the software in a way that felt naturally newsworthy for the sports world.
The Approach:
We created a data-driven content campaign using the client’s software to analyze and compare performance data tied to college sports programs. But we didn’t stop there – we intentionally highlighted rival schools within the article, knowing it would spark friendly online competition and fuel organic engagement from fans, alumni, and even local press.
The full process included:
- Publishing a blog post packed with data insights comparing rival college teams, giving each school’s fans a reason to share, comment, and argue.
- Writing and distributing a press release to amplify the campaign, pitching the story to both sports media and regional outlets tied to the featured schools.
- Executing targeted email outreach to sports journalists, focusing on writers who love data stories and have a history of covering college sports rivalries.
- Monitoring social platforms for organic engagement, as students, alumni, and sports fans started debating and sharing the content themselves, creating a self-sustaining wave of attention.
The combination of timely rivalry-driven content, smart data storytelling, and targeted outreach landed the campaign directly on the desk of a Sports Illustrated editor, who picked up the story and published it – securing a high-authority backlink directly from SI.com.
The Results:
- The Sports Illustrated backlink provided a significant SEO boost, strengthening the client’s overall domain authority.
- The story itself generated a traffic spike both from organic search and from social engagement driven by fan rivalry.
- The company was able to proudly state they were featured in Sports Illustrated, instantly increasing their credibility with prospective customers.
- The organic social response from fans of the rival schools created additional earned media exposure, with the story circulating through fan groups, alumni pages, and even some local college town media.
Key Insight:
- When you make content that sparks emotional investment – like school pride and friendly rivalry – organic engagement becomes free fuel for authority campaigns.
The Takeaway:
- Great SEO isn’t just technical – it’s creative storytelling backed by smart distribution.
- This project proved that the right mix of creative data, cultural relevance, and strategic media outreach doesn’t just secure backlinks – it creates conversations, turning a simple campaign into a multi-channel visibility win.
