Case Study: A Real Example of How We Evaluated 42 Publishers — and Why We Rejected Most of Them

Client Overview

A B2B SaaS brand approached us with a simple request:
“Help us build a safe, long-term backlink foundation.”

They weren’t looking for dozens of quick placements.
They wanted quality, relevance, and zero risk — because their founder had already seen what low-quality backlinks can do to a young SaaS domain.

Before building a single link, we followed our standard process:

Evaluate everything. Approve almost nothing.

Why Evaluation Matters More Than Outreach

Most agencies start outreach on day one.
We don’t.

Our first job is to protect the brand by filtering out publishers that:

• accept anything for payment

• use AI-generated content at scale

• belong to large, disguised link networks

• force unnatural keyword anchors

• have unstable traffic patterns

• publish unrelated topics with no editorial reasoning

A link is only valuable if the publisher is trustworthy.

So before sending any pitch, we performed a manual evaluation on 42 potential publishers.

What We Found During the Evaluation

1. 17 Publishers Showed Clear AI Footprints

Not a little AI — full articles written in identical tone, structure, sentence length, and templated intros.
Good content isn’t perfect. AI-generated content often is.

These sites fail the “editorial authenticity” test.

2. 9 Publishers Belonged to the Same Network

Even though the domains looked unrelated, deeper inspection showed:

• identical formatting

• same author names

• overlapping IP addresses

• same outbound linking patterns

• repeated monetized categories

Networks get hit together — and they take your links down with them.

3. 6 Sites Had Unstable or Manufactured Traffic

Sharp spikes from non-English regions, sudden surges caused by paid traffic, or unexplained drops.
Unstable traffic = unstable trust.

4. 5 Publishers Overused Commercial Anchors

Multiple posts had unnatural, money-driven anchors placed mid-sentence.
This is a sign the site sells outbound links aggressively.

5. 3 Publishers Passed Every Test

They had:

• real editorial tone

• human authors

• consistent niche focus

• healthy outbound link patterns

• no signs of automation

• stable traffic over 12+ months

These were the kind of sites worth placing links on.

How We Decided What Makes a Publisher “Safe”

Our decision-making for this SaaS client followed a strict hierarchy:

Relevance First

If their audience wouldn’t read it, we don’t place it.

Editorial Authenticity

We read multiple articles — not just metrics — to understand the site’s voice.

Outbound Link Health

A publisher’s reputation is reflected by who they link to.

Historical Footprints

We look at publishing patterns, author behavior, and any signs of recycled templates.

Anchor Flexibility

If a publisher forces keyword anchors, we avoid them instantly.

Traffic Stability

We prefer modest but consistent traffic over inflated vanity metrics.

Only when a publisher passes all of these tests do we move forward.

What This Meant for the SaaS Brand

Out of 42 publishers:

• 3 were approved

• 39 were rejected

This wasn’t a failure — this was the success.

The founder wasn’t paying us for quantity.
They were paying us for judgment.

By rejecting risky publishers, we prevented:

• random AI-generated links

• network-based exposure

• unsafe anchor patterns

• relevance mismatches

• long-term volatility

And once the approved publishers were secured, their site started earning placements that aligned naturally with the product’s positioning and audience.

Key Lessons From This Evaluation

1. Most publishers look safe only on the surface.

Quality becomes clear only when you inspect deeply.

2. A few clean links are more powerful than dozens of risky ones.

3. Metrics alone never tell the full story.

Real evaluation is human-first.

4. Rejection is part of the process.

A good agency rejects more opportunities than it accepts.

5. The safest links come from sites that publish because they want to, not because they have a price list.

How This Built a Better Long-Term Strategy

The SaaS brand now enjoys:

• a cleaner backlink profile

• safer anchor distribution

• better topical alignment

• no exposure to networks

• more trust from Google

Instead of chasing quick wins, they invested in credibility and safety — and that’s what compounds over time.

If You Want Us to Vet Your Publishers With the Same Level of Detail

Client Feedback

“This was the first agency that actually explained why most publishers weren’t a good fit for us. They showed us every red flag, walked us through their reasoning, and never pushed for quick placements. The level of detail in their evaluation process gave us a lot more confidence in the links we eventually built. It finally felt like someone was protecting our brand, not just selling backlinks.”
— Founder, B2B SaaS Brand

We’ll review your current opportunities and tell you exactly which ones are safe — and which ones aren’t.