Main Street Books, a small bookstore in Portland, Oregon, transformed their online presence by overhauling their backlink strategy in just six months. Here's what they achieved:
This case study shows how small businesses can improve SEO by focusing on quality backlinks, local partnerships, and smart tools.
Main Street Books, an independent bookstore based in Portland, Oregon, has been a community staple since 2015. While the store thrived locally, its e-commerce website contributed only about 15% of its revenue. With 12 employees and an annual revenue of $850,000, the business aimed to strengthen its online presence to better compete with larger retailers.
Here’s what their website offered:
Although their local business was steady, their SEO performance painted a different picture, revealing areas that needed improvement.
When Main Street Books conducted a backlink analysis in September 2024, they uncovered several challenges:
Of particular concern was their drop in local search rankings. For "bookstore near me", they had fallen from position 3 to position 8, significantly impacting their visibility.
These findings highlighted the need for a focused SEO strategy, which they pursued through Humble Help's platform.
Main Street Books leveraged Humble Help's automated SEO tools to tackle their backlink issues head-on. The platform offered several features to streamline their efforts:
Store owner Sarah Martinez collaborated closely with Humble Help's SEO specialists to refine their approach.
"Access to automated tools and expert guidance transformed our backlink strategy", said Martinez.
The analysis revealed that 80% of their backlinks came from automated directory submissions, with only 20% stemming from authentic business relationships or earned media. This insight was pivotal in shaping their six-month plan to clean up toxic links and focus on building high-quality connections.
Main Street Books used Humble Help's tools to audit their existing backlinks. The findings highlighted a few pressing problems:
The team categorized backlinks by authority, relevance, and traffic, which shaped a clear three-phase strategy.
Based on the audit, Main Street Books rolled out a three-phase plan:
1. Clean-up Phase (October 2024)
Using Google's disavow tool and direct outreach to webmasters, the team eliminated 12 of 15 toxic backlinks in just one month.
2. Local Authority Building (November-December 2024)
To strengthen their local presence, they:
3. Industry-Specific Outreach (January-February 2025)
The focus shifted to connecting with:
Main Street Books relied on Humble Help's toolkit to monitor and improve backlink quality. Here's how the tools made a difference:
| Tool Feature | Primary Function | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Link Monitor | Tracks new and lost backlinks in real-time | Found 35 new linking opportunities |
| Quality Scanner | Assesses domain authority and relevance | Filtered out 90% of low-quality requests |
| Outreach Automation | Manages email campaigns to potential partners | Secured a 28% response rate on outreach |
| Performance Analytics | Measures backlink impact on rankings | Boosted domain authority by 45% |
Store owner Sarah Martinez dedicated about five hours weekly to backlink management, integrating these tools into her routine. Automation flagged issues and highlighted opportunities, allowing the team to focus on building relationships.
"The automated tools helped us work smarter, not harder. We could instantly see which backlinks were actually helping our SEO and which ones needed attention", said Martinez in their February 2025 progress review.
This structured, tool-driven approach boosted both traffic and rankings, setting a strong foundation for ongoing success.
Here’s how the backlink strategy impacted Main Street Books.
From October 2024 to March 2025, Main Street Books significantly strengthened its backlink profile:
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Quality Backlinks | 45 | 187 | +315% |
| Domain Authority | 22 | 42 | +91% |
| Local Citations | 8 | 56 | +600% |
| Industry-Specific Links | 3 | 48 | +1,500% |
The quality of referring domains saw a major improvement. Before the campaign, only 12% of backlinks came from domains with authority scores above 40. Now, 83% of backlinks are from such high-quality sources.
The improved backlink profile led to a noticeable increase in organic visibility:
| Performance Indicator | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic Search Traffic | 2,850 visits | 7,425 visits | +160% |
| Google First Page Rankings | 12 keywords | 45 keywords | +275% |
| Local Search Visibility | 15% market share | 42% market share | +180% |
| Average Session Duration | 1:45 minutes | 3:20 minutes | +91% |
The bookstore now ranks #1 for "Portland independent bookstore" and is in the top 3 for 28 local search terms. These improvements in traffic and rankings laid the groundwork for strong financial gains.
The five-month campaign cost $3,245, broken down as follows:
This investment delivered impressive results:
In short, the backlink strategy proved to be a cost-effective way to boost online visibility and drive revenue growth.
Main Street Books saw great results by teaming up with local organizations, hosting author events, and sharing educational content. Collaborating with local schools to create reading lists and educational materials not only built strong community ties but also earned them quality backlinks. These efforts laid a solid foundation for tackling the challenges they encountered.
Even with these successes, challenges came up that required smart solutions. Here's how Main Street Books handled them:
Main Street Books' strategies offer valuable takeaways for improving backlinks:
These practical strategies reflect Main Street Books' approach and can help other small businesses achieve similar SEO gains.
Main Street Books' experience highlights how a well-planned backlink strategy can elevate a small business's online visibility. By focusing on building genuine community connections, crafting shareable content, and regularly monitoring link quality, they achieved measurable results. The numbers speak for themselves: a 160% boost in organic traffic and a 275% increase in first-page rankings. This shows that even small businesses can see impressive SEO results with the right approach to backlinks.
Humble Help provides personalized digital marketing solutions through its Brand Boost Package. This free starter kit includes a website check-up and tools for creating strong content - key elements for building a solid online presence. Their AI-powered platform simplifies backlink management by offering a user-friendly dashboard to track essential SEO metrics. It also helps businesses connect with relevant industry players, ensuring their backlink profiles drive consistent traffic and support long-term success.
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