The Client:
A newly launched HVAC industry publication with the goal of becoming a recognized authority, attracting advertisers, and creating a sustainable traffic source in a space dominated by legacy publications with more than a decade of content and backlinks under their belts.
The Challenge:
The HVAC media space was crowded with well-established competitors that had:
- 10+ years of consistent publishing history.
- Massive content libraries covering every corner of the industry.
- Strong backlink portfolios, built from years of being referenced as the go-to sources.
Breaking into this space – and actually outranking these legacy players – required more than just publishing content. It demanded a smarter, faster, and more creative approach to authority building.
The Approach:
Rather than trying to out-publish these competitors article-for-article, I built a strategy focused on owned media ecosystem building and multi-channel authority stacking. Specifically, I deployed:
- Owned media syndication, ensuring content was not only published on the publication itself, but also strategically repurposed across partner sites, niche directories, and industry platforms to rapidly build backlinks and visibility.
- Podcasting as a content hub, inviting industry experts and innovators to join – something none of the legacy publications were doing. This not only generated unique content, but also created opportunities for natural backlinks and co-promotions with guests.
- Selective acquisition of powerful backlinks, prioritizing quality over quantity to signal authority to Google faster.
- Aggressive keyword targeting for both core terms like HVAC News and long-tail, high-intent searches related to HVAC regulations, technology, and best practices.
The Results:
Within just a few months:
- The publication outranked decade-old competitors for high-value terms like HVAC News and HVAC News Network.
- It generated hundreds of organic readers from search alone, despite being a new site competing against long-standing brands.
- It began attracting advertisers and contributors, who saw the publication’s rapid rise and wanted to align with its momentum.
- The combination of owned media, smart syndication, podcasting, and backlinks created a dense digital footprint that made the brand impossible to ignore, even for industry veterans.
Key Insight:
- Finding the gaps your competitors ignore is the ultimate competitive advantage – even if they’ve been in the game for 10+ years.
The Takeaway:
- You don’t have to outspend or out-publish your competitors – you just have to out-strategize them.
- A well-executed multi-channel approach, combined with carefully chosen backlinks and content formats your competitors aren’t using, can leapfrog even the biggest players in your industry.
