Linkable Asset Case Study: How One Free Tool Generated Over 270 Backlinks and Major Media Coverage

When people talk about linkable assets, the conversation often focuses on the theory. Create something valuable, promote it, get links, grow traffic, improve rankings. But rarely do you get to see the real numbers behind a campaign. How many links were actually built? What kind of press pickup happened? Did it lead to measurable SEO gains?

Today we want to walk you through the real numbers from our own linkable asset campaign. This is a full breakdown of how a single free tool – our Internal Link Analysis Tool – generated hundreds of links, 38 unique referring domains, major media coverage, AI search visibility, and a measurable improvement in rankings across one of the most competitive niches online.

Think of this as a behind-the-scenes look at what linkable asset promotion really looks like when it works.

If you need help with building and promotion of your linkable assets, let us help you with our proven linkable asset services. We can help you with ideation, building and promotion of any linkable asset you like!

What We Built: A Free Internal Linking Visualisation Tool

We created a free tool that allows any website owner to plug in their URL and instantly visualise their internal linking structure. The tool renders a graph showing clusters, orphan pages, and site architecture patterns. It is available here:

Internal Link Visualization Tool

Internal linking is a topic that affects every website. It is technical enough to make SEOs curious, visual enough to be engaging, and broad enough to appeal to bloggers, businesses, and agencies. This gave it high linkable potential from day one.

But the magic happens only after you promote it.

Phase 1: The Press Release  – 200+ Syndications Within Days

Once the tool went live, we ran a press release through a distribution service. What followed was instant traction.

Within a few days:

• 200+ press release syndications
• Every single one contained a backlink
• Coverage included household-name media outlets such as:
  • AP News
  • Benzinga
  • NBC
  • Fox

Examples of press links include:

• AP News Link
• Fox 44 News Link
• KSNT News Link

Press release syndication alone is not the long-term link goldmine. However, it serves two crucial purposes:

1. Instant brand visibility
2. An initial wave of backlinks that accelerates indexing and discovery

This set the foundation for what happened next.

Phase 2: Passive Backlinks  – 57 Additional Links from 38 Domains

The real power of linkable assets is in the organic pickup that happens after the initial promotion.

According to Ahrefs:

• The tool URL gained 57 new backlinks
• From 38 unique referring websites
• These were editorial, not syndicated
• They linked voluntarily because the tool was valuable

Examples include:

• Business Mole
• Z News Service
• Hesper Herald
• Article City
• Fortune Herald

These editorial links are the ones that materially improve authority. They are contextually relevant, unique, and meaningfully placed within content that gets traffic.

Phase 3: Blog post amplification  – 16 Syndicated News Pickups

We also published an announcement blog post on our site:

Internal Link Visualization Tool Launch Post

This post itself got picked up and syndicated to an additional:

• 16 news sites
• All identified by Ahrefs
• All containing backlinks pointing to the announcement

This secondary amplification happens because sites monitor RSS feeds, SEO tools, and trending content. A linkable asset grows its own network once the initial spark is lit.

Phase 4: Direct Media Attention  – Interview Invitation

One unexpected side effect of publishing a genuinely useful tool is that real media takes notice. A tech publication reached out requesting an interview with our founder.

The SEO Corner Founder Interview

This kind of inbound attention is exactly what linkable assets are designed to create. Once journalists see that your brand produces genuinely useful resources, they are more likely to profile you, quote you, reference you, and watch future releases.

Total Link Numbers At a Glance

Here is a simple breakdown of the numbers so far:

Source	Backlinks	Unique Domains	Notes
Press release syndication	200+	Syndicated	Fast distribution, brand visibility
Organic editorial backlinks	57	38	Most valuable links for SEO
Blog post syndication	16	16	Picked up automatically
Interview feature	1	1	High-value contextual link
Total	~274+ links	~55 domains	And still growing

These numbers continue to rise over time because linkable assets behave like compounding SEO machines.

Phase 5: Search Impact  – Rankings, AI Overview, and Traffic

So what happened after the links built up?

1. Featured in AI Overview

The tool now shows up in Google’s AI Overview results. This is prime visibility for a free tool and drives highly targeted traffic from users actively searching for internal linking solutions.

2. Top visibility in organic search

When you search relevant internal linking tool keywords:

• A syndicated press release ranks 3rd
• Our actual tool ranks 5th

This means we hold two positions on page one for a valuable tool-based query. Double visibility. Double clicks. Double authority.

3. Sitewide ranking improvements

The backlinks pointed directly at the tool URL, but the entire website experienced improvements in rankings. This is exactly what should happen when you build strong authority links into any part of your domain.

Even more impressive:
These ranking gains occurred in the SEO niche, which is one of the hardest, most competitive verticals online.

Yet a single well-built, well-promoted tool moved the needle.

Why the Tool Appears in AI Overview Results

One of the most interesting outcomes of this entire campaign is the tool now showing up directly inside Google’s AI Overview results. This placement is incredibly valuable. Users are increasingly relying on AI-generated summaries to find quick answers, recommended tools, and trusted resources. Being featured there puts your asset in front of searchers before they even scroll to the traditional organic rankings.

So why did our tool get included?

Although Google does not publicly reveal the full mechanics behind AI Overview selection, the most plausible explanation lies in something we observed throughout the campaign: our tool was being mentioned repeatedly across a wide range of authoritative websites.

AI systems pick up on signals from many places simultaneously. When news outlets, technology sites, marketing blogs, and industry publications all reference the same resource in a short period of time, Google’s models begin to understand that:

• The resource is real.
• The resource is trustworthy.
• The resource is being talked about by credible sources.
• Users might benefit from seeing it as a recommended option.

The large wave of press release syndications started that momentum. The subsequent editorial pickups strengthened it. Mentions from recognised media outlets like AP News, Benzinga, NBC, and Fox serve as strong reinforcement signals. Google’s AI systems learn from this collective footprint across the web and begin treating the tool as noteworthy enough to surface in summary-style answers.

In other words, the AI Overview inclusion is not random. It is the direct result of:

• The number of authoritative sites discussing the tool
• The contextual relevance of those mentions
• The credibility of the domains publishing those discussions
• The diversity of sources linking to it
• The repeated confirmation that this tool solves a real SEO problem

Mentions in AI systems behave very similarly to traditional E-E-A-T signals. When the algorithm sees a resource gaining traction across authoritative environments, it begins spotlighting that resource in more prominent positions. Our tool’s inclusion in AI summaries is a reflection of this cumulative credibility.

This is one of the clearest examples of how linkable assets influence not only traditional SEO but also AI-driven visibility. A genuinely useful tool, amplified by high-authority mentions, becomes something Google’s models feel confident recommending — which is exactly what you want when building long-term topical authority.

Why This Case Study Matters

This case study proves a fundamental truth about link building in 2025:

One high-quality linkable asset can outperform months of guest posting.

Because:

• Tools attract natural editorial links
• Press releases create instant momentum
• Journalists and bloggers love useful resources
• Syndication extends reach far beyond a single promotion
• AI Overview now amplifies useful content automatically
• Links to a tool lift the entire domain when relevance is strong

Most importantly, linkable assets build authority without continuous outreach. Once live, they grow on their own.

Summary and the Numbers

Our Internal Link Analysis Tool demonstrates the real power of linkable assets when executed correctly. With a single free resource, we achieved:

• Over 274 backlinks
• From 55+ unique domains
• Inclusion in major media outlets
• A full interview feature
• AI Overview visibility
• Page-one organic rankings for multiple results
• Sitewide ranking improvements across a competitive niche

If you ever needed proof that linkable assets are one of the most scalable and efficient ways to build links, this is it. With the right idea, the right execution, and the right promotion strategy, a single asset can fuel months or even years of organic backlink growth.