Pharmaceuticals Link Building Case Study

Link building in the pharmaceutical sector presents several challenges due to strict regulatory compliance, intense keyword competition, and the need to maintain brand reputation and trust. Companies must navigate FDA, HIPAA, and local health regulations to avoid penalties and ensure their links do not direct users to misleading or non-compliant content. Additionally, the industry’s competitive nature makes acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources extremely difficult, while the rise of medical misinformation adds further risk. This means there are limited opportunities for link placement on reputable health-related sites, making it harder to develop a diversified and effective backlink profile.

For our client, an online pharmacy, achieving a strong online presence was a significant hurdle. Despite offering high-quality products, they struggled with low traffic, poor keyword rankings, and limited brand recognition in an industry that is both highly competitive and strictly regulated.

At Rhino Rank, we specialize in creating ethical link building solutions tailored to industries like pharmaceuticals. Our goal was to increase the client’s online visibility while adhering to all regulatory standards.

To start, we conducted a thorough website audit. This revealed that the client’s backlink profile was overly reliant on exact match keywords, which could negatively affect their rankings. We therefore recommended diversifying their link profile to create a more organic, balanced SEO strategy.

So, with a monthly budget of $4,000, we developed a comprehensive link building strategy that utilized both Curated Links and Guest Posts.

Curated Links to drive authority signals

• x20 Restricted Niche Low – RD20-250 ($1,500)
• x12 Restricted Niche High – RD200+ ($1,800)

Both the RD20-250 and RD200+ links were strategically placed on relevant domains within the pharmaceutical niche. These links helped establish a baseline of authority and provided strong signals of trust and credibility to search engines, positioning the pharmacy as an expert in the field.

Guest Posts to drive relevancy signals

• 2x DA30+ Guest Posts ($240)
• 1x DA40+ Guest Posts ($190)
• 1x DA50+ Guest Posts ($280)

These guest posts were strategically placed on reputable health blogs that had consistent traffic and loyal readerships. These placements not only improved the pharmacy’s backlink profile but also enhanced their brand visibility within the target audience, further cementing their authority in the pharmaceutical sector.

The client’s previous strategy involved using “exact match” keyword anchors, where the link text directly matched the target keywords (e.g., “best online pharmacy”). While this could improve rankings for those exact keywords, it also carries the risk of being flagged by search engines as unnatural or spammy. Overusing this method can lead to penalties or lower rankings.

Therefore, our new link building strategy focused on the following anchor text distribution ratios:

• 80% Branded Anchors: We used the pharmacy’s name and branded service terms (e.g., “ABC Pharmacy” or “ABC’s prescription services”). Branded anchors help build the pharmacy’s identity and brand recognition. They are seen as more natural by search engines because they don’t manipulate search rankings through keyword stuffing. This approach is also less likely to be flagged as spam.
• 20% Relevant Keywords: We still included some industry-related keywords, but these were strategically and naturally integrated into the content. This means the keywords were placed in a way that makes sense to readers and adds value to the content, not simply to optimize for search engines.

The links were then placed on reputable health blogs that have broad reach and loyal audiences. These blogs are trusted by their readers, and their endorsement signals to search engines that the pharmacy is a trusted source of information in the pharmaceutical field.

The results speak for themselves. Within just 18 months, our client experienced some incredible results, including a 620% increase in organic traffic. 

This surge in organic traffic was directly linked to an increase in our client’s search engine rankings, with a 208% increase in ranked keywords.

These results speak to the effectiveness of our tailored strategy in a competitive, highly regulated industry. Our client’s online pharmacy saw a dramatic improvement in both search engine visibility and traffic, leading to increased trust and conversions from new and returning customers. It is therefore no surprise that the client has chosen to continue working with Rhino Rank, planning to expand their SEO efforts and maintain their position as a trusted pharmacy brand online.

In conclusion, this case study highlights the success of our client in the highly competitive pharmaceutical sector, demonstrating the power of an ethical, tailored link building strategy. Through strategic Curated Links and Guest Posts, we were able to significantly boost the client’s SEO performance while adhering to the strict regulations of the industry.