Backlinks are still one of the top three ranking factors in Google’s algorithm—and they matter even more in highly competitive verticals like personal finance. As VP of Marketing at a major Canadian publisher, I launched a strategic offsite SEO campaign that earned links from brands like CIBC and PC Financial, while strengthening our domain authority and growing organic traffic.

Here’s how we did it—and how I’ve replicated similar success with other campaigns.

Building Link-Worthy Content

First, we needed an asset that was worth linking to. I commissioned a survey of 2,000 Canadians asking which credit cards they actually use and prefer. We paired that survey with a rigorous, data-rich ranking methodology that scored over 200 credit cards on metrics like rewards, fees, insurance, and customer satisfaction.

The result: two flagship pieces of content:

• Most Popular Canadian Credit Cards Survey
• Best Credit Cards in Canada (based on our scoring framework)

Both were highly structured, easy to reference, and journalist-friendly—critical for any earned media strategy.

Two cornerstone assets:

• 🔗 Most Popular Canadian Credit Cards Survey
• 🔗 Best Credit Cards in Canada

Multi-Channel Outreach Strategy

We launched a full-funnel campaign to support distribution:

• A press release syndicated through financial newswires
• Targeted outreach to personal finance journalists and bloggers
• Organic and paid social posts across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook
• On-site editorial placements and homepage promos
• Email and push campaigns to our owned audience

Instead of using mass email templates, we personalized our outreach based on journalist beats and backlink profiles. content that filled an information gap—and that people naturally wanted to cite.

The Results: Backlinks from the Best

The results validated the approach.

Earning a backlink from one of Canada’s biggest banks? That’s worth more than a dozen from random directories or link farms. It increased our domain authority, drove relevant referral traffic, and helped improve page-level rankings for highly competitive terms like “best travel credit card Canada.”

Related Campaign: Money Awards at Wise Publishing

At Wise Publishing, I developed and led the Money Awards, a cross-channel campaign designed to build brand authority and earn high-quality backlinks—aligned with our broader SEO and affiliate revenue goals.

The campaign spanned multiple channels:

• Our website and editorial features
• Email and push notification campaigns
• Syndicated partner articles and newswire press releases
• Targeted paid media campaigns

I coordinated execution across departments by creating a detailed campaign calendar, hosting weekly syncs, and maintaining a shared dashboard for full transparency—from product to PR.

To ensure we were driving meaningful outcomes, I tied campaign KPIs directly to our core business metrics: organic traffic growth, domain authority, and affiliate revenue.

The result?

• Two major Canadian banks linked to the campaign
• Our domain rating improved measurably
• We saw increased visibility and authority across key affiliate categories

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Key Takeaways

Tactic	Why It Worked
Data-led content	Built credibility and made outreach more successful
Multi-channel distribution	Ensured content reached journalists, influencers, and audiences
Clear business alignment	KPIs tied to revenue and search visibility, not vanity metrics
High-authority backlinks	Focused on quality over quantity—bank links > generic directories