Gigworker: Domain Rating 0 → 63 Built Purely Through HARO
Gigworker.com is a one-stop resource for gig workers (under 10 employees, founded by Brett Helling). We built its search authority from zero through reactive PR and earned media over a two-year engagement (January 2019 – December 2020).
The Challenge
Gigworker started with a DR of 0 and no backlink profile. The goal was to build credible, compounding SEO authority for founder Brett Helling (entrepreneur, author, and founder of several high-profile web properties including Ridester) — without paid links.
Thought leadership matters: 65% of buyers say it significantly changed their perception of a company for the better (Edelman). And per SurveyMonkey, 70% said it's very important that thought leadership motivates the reader to take action, and 71% said educational content counts as thought leadership.
The Approach
A two-year pay-for-performance HARO campaign earning high-authority, natural backlinks through personalized journalist pitches.
HARO Journalist Outreach
Daily monitoring and rapid, personalized responses to relevant journalist queries on HARO (now Connectively), targeting top-tier publications across business, tech, and career verticals.
Founder Thought Leadership
Positioned Brett Helling as the go-to expert voice on gig economy, freelancing, and platform work — generating recurring media quotes and compounding authority.
Sample Placements Earned
| Publication | DR | Monthly Traffic |
|---|---|---|
| Techopedia | 88 | 2.5M |
| Referral Rock | 80 | 54K |
| Agility PR Solutions | 76 | 25.9K |
| Hubstaff | 79 | 211K |
| Best Company | 72 | 87.5K |
The Results
DR reached 63 from zero — an extraordinary climb on a logarithmic scale where each increment requires exponentially more authority.
Built purely through earned media over two years — no paid links, no shortcuts.
Valued at $58,000/month in equivalent PPC spend — entirely free organic traffic.
Ranking for over 45,000 keywords, driven by authority from 100+ PR placements.
Brett Helling Quoted in Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a time-tracking SaaS that enables companies to review and improve the productivity of onsite, offsite, and virtual employees/workers/vendors. It has a DR of 79 and organic traffic of 211,000.
Gigworker.com earning a backlink from Hubstaff was a massive win given its high relevance to gig workers. Brett Helling being quoted on Hubstaff was an additional boost to Gigworker's E-E-A-T, SEO, and PR visibility.
The Outcome
Using HARO and similar reactive-PR platforms, we earned high-authority backlinks from publications like Forbes, Mashable, and Reader's Digest — establishing Gigworker as a quotable expert source and lifting its Domain Rating from 0 to 63.
Brett Helling, Founder of Gigworker (Rethink402 LLC)
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