Online Education Link Building Case Study

The online education space is saturated, with over 500,000 education apps across major app stores, making it one of the most competitive digital categories. For our client, an online education platform tailored to help children learn outside of the classroom, faced a significant challenges:

• Low Organic Traffic: Despite having a newly designed, user-friendly website, the client struggled to attract organic visitors, resulting in low traffic volume.
• Poor Keyword Rankings: Critical educational keywords essential for their target audience were not ranking well in search results, limiting their visibility and reach.
• Lack of Backlink Authority: Without high-quality backlinks, the site lacked the necessary credibility to compete with industry leaders, affecting its ability to rank in the SERPs.

The challenge was clear: how could this platform cut through the noise, improve its online visibility, and position itself as a trusted resource for parents and educators?

At Rhino Rank, we specialize in creating customized link building strategies that help businesses stand out in the highly competitive online education space. For this client, our goal was to help them build high-quality backlinks and establish a strong organic link portfolio, ultimately helping the client establish themselves as a trusted resource for parents and educators.

After conducting a detailed backlink audit, the client’s dedicated Account Manager concluded that the website had virtually no referring domains, which would explain its difficulty in ranking and the lack of organic traffic.

So, with a monthly budget of $1,500 dedicated to link building, we designed a comprehensive strategy that utilized the combined effectiveness of our Curated Links and Visual Links.

Curated Links to drive authority

• Curated Links Package 2 ($1,125)
  • 5x RD20-100 links
  • 4x RD100-250 links
  • 4x RD2050-500 links
  • 2x RD500+ links

We selected a Curated Links Package 2, strategically placing 15 links across various domains to enhance the client’s authority and search performance. This tiered approach ensured a natural distribution of anchor text, combining branded keywords and profitable terms to enhance overall SEO health.

Visual Links to improve diversity 

Visual Links pass the same value as our Curated Links and are the perfect solution for building an organic backlink portfolio. 

• 2x RD100-250 links ($160)
• 2x RD2050-500 links ($190)

By using Visual Links, we strategically placed royalty-free and AI-generated images into existing content on reputable websites. These images were featured in articles related to education, child development, and parenting, which not only boosted our client’s topical relevance but also enhanced their visibility and authority in the education sector. This approach helped drive more targeted traffic to the site and improved its overall SEO performance.

To maximize the effectiveness of our link-building strategy, we dedicated considerable time and effort to anchor text distribution, ensuring the backlinks were both natural-looking and strategically valuable. Here’s how we structured it:

• 70% Branded Anchors: By using the client’s brand name we were able to build brand recognition and trust with both search engines and users. This approach helped avoid over-optimization while maintaining a natural backlink profile that still contributed to SEO growth.
• 20% Generic Anchors: Including generic terms like “find out more about child development” and “see the full curriculum” helped maintain diversity in the backlink profile. This prevented any suspicion of manipulation, keeping the anchor text varied and aligned with best SEO practices.
• 10% Targeted Keywords: To directly drive traffic and align with the client’s business goals, we used high-value targeted keywords like “best online learning for kids.” These keywords were crucial for improving the client’s rankings for relevant search terms, helping them capture more organic traffic from their target audience.

Additionally, thanks to our manual outreach process, we could ensure that every link was placed on high quality, relevant domains, including authoritative parenting blogs and respected educational resource sites. These placements were carefully chosen for their strong reputation within the niche and their alignment with the client’s target audience. 

Our tailored approach delivered exceptional results in just 3 months.

As shown in the graphs below, organic traffic increased by 383%, leading to a significant rise in the number of visitors to the platform. Additionally, the client saw a 229% improvement in keyword rankings, successfully achieving Page 1 rankings on Google for their highest converting keywords.

This case study demonstrates how a strategic, ethical link building campaign can transform the visibility and performance of an online education platform. By leveraging a mix of Curated Links and Visual Links, we were able to help the client rise above the competition, effectively connecting with their target audience while adhering to best SEO practices.