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CASE STUDY
Online Reputation & SERP Recovery
Campaign Snapshot
Personal Brand Reputation Management
- PR agency client – an individual represented by a PR agency seeking to suppress negative press
- Aggressive schedule – 8 weekly placements for 1 month
- Strategic anchoring – Each article linked to multiple personal profiles using the individual’s name and related anchor texts
MONTHS
1
PLACEMENTS
32
AVG. LINK DA
57.2
BACKLINKS
68
PAGES RANKED
27
SUCCESS RATE
94%
Client Profile
The subject is an individual represented by a PR agency who faced negative press stemming from a court-case accusation, of which they were ultimately acquitted.
Search results for their name were tainted by this controversy.
Prior to this campaign, they had not undertaken any targeted SEO or Digital PR efforts to suppress unfavourable content.
Objective
With search results for the individual’s name impacted by negative press, we implemented a one-month reputation recovery campaign that would:
- Push the negative court-case coverage off three pages of search results
- Land selected pages in each of the top 10 organic positions for the client's name
Strategy
- Weekly orders spanning one month, each publishing eight editorial placements on reputable blogs
- Placements link out to social media profiles to displace unfavourable results
- Each editorial used the individual’s name as a primary anchor and up to two additional context-related anchors across multiple URLs
Research Foundation
1. Online Reputation as an Economic Asset (Uri Samet, 2024)
Meta-analysis of studies from 2000–2025 showing that digital perception has a measurable, positive impact on organisational value – driving sales, brand equity and even stock performance.
2. SERP Correlation Study (Ahrefs, 2025)
Analysis of 1 million US-keyword SERPs shows referring-domain count still correlates strongly with Google rankings (ρ ≈ 0.255), reaffirming backlinks’ critical role.
3. Backlinks’ Monthly Gain vs. Ranking (Search Engine Land, 2024)
Top-ranked pages acquire 5-14% more followed backlinks per month compared to lower-ranked pages – demonstrating a clear link between ongoing link acquisition velocity and high SERP placement.
How This Research Drives Results
Publishing high-authority articles quickly ensures positive profile pages take over page one results, shaping first impressions and shifting attention away from outdated press.
A consistent cadence of placements supports all three findings – restoring trust, controlling branded searches, and protecting long-term reputation.
Project Builder Setup
Strategic Foundation
Rank Engine’s Project Builder turns weekly campaign planning into a few minutes of setup.
Precise audience filters, URL targeting, and Smart Select criteria fed our AI agents the exact same blueprint – so every article and site-selection stayed perfectly aligned with the client’s message.
Key setup benefits
- Precise audience targeting
- Linked out to multiple target pages from each article
- Smart Select prioritises SEO impact
- Regional focus concentrates efforts on primary market
CAMPAIGN TYPE
Digital PR was selected as the campaign type, which integrates their personal brand as a real-world example within quality op-eds.
DELIVERY TIME
Delivery time was set to a one week turnaround to ensure the fastest results and limit reputational damage to the client.
REGIONAL FOCUS
Regional targeting was set to ensure content (news, facts, stats, quotes) focused on the client’s area of operations.
ADDITIONAL URLS
Each article includes your target URL and up to 2 Additional URLs. This allows for a possible 3 backlinks per placement.
DA TARGETING
Smart Select was chosen – balancing the best outcomes for relevance, traffic, and authority. DA40 / DA50 / DA60+ options remain available when DA is the primary goal.
TLD TARGETING
Global TLD targeting balances authoritative prospects with geographic relevance. This allowed for a mix of authoritative .coms as well as niche .au placements.
URL & ANCHOR
The target URL and anchor text were entered here. Clicking Add opens another placement slot – so you can set up additional articles/backlinks.
APPROVALS
Clients who prefer oversight can tick either box to review article drafts or site choices before anything goes live. Left unchecked allows for fully managed publishing and the fastest turnaround.
Content Production
Topic Refinement
The platform refines and expands any client-submitted topics, layering in deep research from the brief, industry news, and expert commentary.
Autonomous Ideation
If no topics are provided, the system analyses the client brief, scans current industry news, and reviews fresh expert commentary to surface the most relevant angles.
Content Drafting
The platform generates an editorial-quality draft for each theme, integrating case studies, data points, expert quotes, and the client’s core expertise.
Link & Media Enrichment
We embed contextual backlinks to the client’s pages, add relevant images, and include external citations, ensuring each article is rich, credible and visually engaging.
Editorial QA
Our team then verifies all facts, polishes tone, and ensures brand mentions read as genuine insight, not promotional content.
Weekly Process
Research & Content
AI agents conduct deep research across industry sources and expert commentary, drafting editorial-quality articles that blend real-world examples, mini case studies, and the client’s career-development expertise.
Every piece is then proofread to verify facts and align tone with the client’s messaging.
Prospecting
This client chose Smart Select to score thousands of sites on relevance, traffic, backlink health authority and other ranking factors. DA-first targeting is available when strict authority ranges are required. Only the top-scoring candidates advance to outreach.
Approvals
Clients can opt in for Content Approval and/or Placement Approval before publication. This optional oversight ensures both messaging and partner selection meet their standards.
Unlimited revisions and full Google Docs access enable real-time collaboration.
Outreach
Each article is pitched as an insight-driven piece. The client selected a 30-day drip-feed delivery window (versus 1- or 2-week options), allowing slower-responding but highly authoritative sites time to accept. These negotiations secured placements on relevant sites that boost search visibility.
Publication
Accepted articles publish within 24–72 hours on approved, reputable sites, featuring natural brand mentions and targeted anchor text aligned with SEO objectives. Each placement is relevant to career development topics, reinforcing the client’s expertise.
Link Building Strategy
Profile Target Selection
We focused on ranking ten key properties for the client’s name on page 1 of Google: their social media profiles and personal blog. These pages already appeared on pages 1–3, making them ideal foundations to strengthen.
To create full SERP dominance and reinforce page 1 visibility, our newly published editorials also secured spots on pages 2 and 3 – ensuring negative results were moved out of sight.
ANCHORS & URLS
Each editorial placement featured one primary backlink using the client’s name as anchor text, pointing to one of the target profiles. They also used our Additional URLs feature to include up to two extra backlinks per article – Rank Engine automatically selects descriptive anchors positioned naturally near the client’s name.
This yielded as many as 3 contextually relevant backlinks per article, accelerating link acquisition while maintaining authenticity.
The sites named in the diagram are examples.
Results
Target Page Rankings
Page
1
2
3
Baseline
2 profiles (20 %)
4 profiles (40 %)
4 profiles (40 %)
Month 1
10 profiles (100 %)
8 articles (80 %)
9 articles (90 %)
Change
↑ 400%
↑ 100%
↑ 125%
Negative Press Rankings
Page
1
2
3
Baseline
6 pages (60 %)
0 pages (0 %)
0 pages (0 %)
Month 1
0 pages (0 %)
0 pages (0 %)
2 pages (20 %)
Change
↓ 100%
0%
↑ 20% New
Key Takeaways
First Impressions Define Trust
Securing 100% positive page-one visibility means every search for the individual’s name now reflects credibility and achievements – not controversy – instantly rebuilding audience confidence.
Every Search Becomes an Asset
Controlling 90%+ of pages 1–3 means even deeper searches uncover trusted content and presents opportunities for positive engagement.
Durable Brand Protection
A cohesive network of interlinked profiles and quality content locks in top placements and creates resilient search-engine signals that defend against future negative press.
Results You'll Love
ROI You'll Love Even More
Completely Risk-Free:
Money-Back Guarantee
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Content & Website Approvals
Nothing goes live without your sign-off - free approvals on your first order.
2-Year Uptime Guarantee
While rare, if any backlinks go offline, we’ll restore or replace them for free.
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