Context and introduction

Going, one of the best-known flight-deals platforms in the English-speaking market, wanted to close the gap with its strongest direct competitor and build a clear advantage over the rest of the category — all through 100% earned link building, with no paid or sponsored content.

Objective

Raise domain authority in a highly competitive segment (starting at DR73, against a competitor at DR82) and build real presence in AI engines, all through genuine outreach.

What we did

  • Backlink reconnection: hundreds of sites still referenced the brand's former name (Scott's Cheap Flights); we reached out to editors and authors to update the reference to Going.
  • Converting unlinked mentions: direct outreach to outlets that already mentioned the brand without a link.
  • Link insertions: strategic placement of links within articles already ranking for relevant category searches.
  • Scholarship strategy: developing and promoting the Going Abroad Scholarship as a link-building asset, targeting university pages and student resources (.edu domains).
  • Reactive Data PR: identifying pages with real organic traction and reaching out to specialist journalists to earn editorial coverage.

Results

  • DR73 → DR75: sustained growth in a range where most domains stall for years.
  • Impact on the scholarship page: +2,000 backlinks and +100 new referring domains on the scholarship URL, purely through our own outreach.
  • URL Rating growth: the scholarship URL raised its UR from 14 to 20, with 154 referring domains and an average DR of 71.8.
  • Link quality: 200+ backlinks earned through outreach with an average DR of 65, where 71% come from DR60+ domains.
  • Editorial coverage at no cost: followed links in high-authority outlets such as Travel + Leisure, TravelAwaits and AOL / TravelHost through Data PR.
  • AI visibility: consolidated presence with 5,000+ answers in AI Overviews, 7,500+ in ChatGPT, 6,000+ in Perplexity and 16,000+ in Grok.

Going's case shows that well-executed, 100% earned link building can move domain authority in ultra-competitive niches while, at the same time, building solid visibility in AI search.

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