October 2023 – June 2024  |  Life Insurance Industry

Strategy: Digital PR Link Building  |  DR 80+ Publications

1. Executive Summary

This case study presents the keyword ranking transformation achieved for Canara HSBC Life Insurance (canarahsbclife.com), one of India’s leading life insurance providers, through a focused Digital PR link building campaign executed between October 2023 and June 2024.

The campaign was laser-focused on a single, high-impact strategy: acquiring editorial backlinks exclusively from high Domain Rating (DR 80+) publications.

Over nine months, this approach drove all 12 tracked keywords from page 4–9 of Google to Page 1, with several reaching the top 3 positions — a remarkable outcome in the highly competitive Indian life insurance and financial services niche.

No broad SEO overhaul was required. The results demonstrate the concentrated power of premium Digital PR when applied to a domain with existing on-page strength, proving that targeted authority link building alone can deliver Page 1 dominance for competitive financial keywords.

Campaign Headline Results (Oct 2023 – Jun 2024)

Keywords reaching Page 1: 12 out of 12 (100%)
Best ranking achieved: Position 2 (Online Term Plans, Monthly Saving Schemes)
Average starting position: 58 (Page 5-6)
Average final position: 4 (Top of Page 1)
Strategy: Digital PR links from DR 80+ publications exclusively
Duration: 9 months

2. Client Overview

Canara HSBC Life Insurance is a joint venture life insurance company in India, offering a comprehensive range of life insurance, savings, investment, and protection products.

The company operates in one of the most competitive digital marketing verticals in India — financial services — where major insurance brands, aggregators, and fintech platforms battle for visibility on high-intent keywords.

The digital landscape for insurance keywords in India is intensely contested, with established players like LIC, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential, and SBI Life commanding strong organic presence.

Achieving Page 1 rankings for terms such as “ULIP Plans”, “Online Term Plan”, and “Life Insurance Policy” requires significant domain authority and trust signals.

3. Challenges & Goals

Challenges

• Extremely competitive insurance keyword landscape dominated by established national brands
• All 12 target keywords starting below Page 4 (positions 30–90) with no Page 1 visibility
• High-intent financial keywords requiring strong domain authority and editorial trust signals
• Keywords spanning multiple product categories: ULIP, term insurance, savings, tax planning
• Insurance sector subject to Google’s YMYL (Your Money Your Life) quality guidelines — requiring highly credible backlink sources
• Short project window of 9 months to achieve measurable Page 1 results

Goals

• Move all 12 target keywords from pages 4–9 to Page 1 within 9 months
• Build a high-authority link profile exclusively using DR 80+ publication placements
• Improve competitive positioning for high-commercial-intent keywords: ULIP Plans, Online Term Plan, Life Insurance Policy
• Establish trust signals aligned with Google YMYL guidelines through premium editorial coverage
• Achieve top 5 positions for priority keywords by campaign end

4. Strategy — Digital PR Link Building

The entire campaign was built on a single, disciplined strategy: Digital PR link acquisition from publications with a Domain Rating of 80 or above. This was a deliberate, focused approach — no on-page changes, no technical SEO overhaul, no content campaigns. Pure authority building through premium editorial placements.

4.1  Why DR 80+ Only?

In the YMYL (Your Money Your Life) category — which includes life insurance, investment products, and financial planning — Google places extraordinary weight on the authority and credibility of linking domains.

A single link from a DR 80+ publication (think major national newspapers, leading financial portals, top business magazines) delivers more ranking power than dozens of links from lower-authority sources.

For Canara HSBC Life Insurance, this meant identifying and securing placements only in Tier 1 media: national business publications, leading finance and insurance portals, and authoritative news sites — all with DR scores of 80 or higher.

4.2  Campaign Execution

• Identified target publications with DR 80+ and high topical relevance to insurance, finance, and investment
• Developed compelling editorial angles around life insurance, ULIP investments, term plans, and tax-saving instruments
• Pitched and placed original, expert-authored content and commentary across Tier 1 financial media
• Ensured all placements included contextually relevant anchor text targeting priority keywords
• Monitored ranking movements monthly and prioritised link acquisition for underperforming keywords
• Maintained strict DR 80+ threshold — no exceptions for lower-authority placements

4.3  Why This Approach Works for Insurance Keywords

Insurance keywords carry some of the highest commercial intent in Indian search — users searching “online term plan” or “ULIP investments” are actively in a buying decision.

Google correspondingly applies its highest quality standards to these results, favouring brands with strong editorial authority signals.

By exclusively building links from DR 80+ sources, the campaign sent precisely the trust signals Google requires for YMYL content to rank prominently — resulting in the consistent, month-on-month ranking improvements seen across all 12 keywords.

5. Results — Keyword Ranking Performance

5.1  Summary: Start vs. End Rankings

The table below compares the October 2023 starting position against the June 2024 final position for all 12 tracked keywords, along with the percentage improvement in ranking position achieved.

5.2  Month-by-Month Ranking Progression

The full monthly tracking data below shows the consistent downward movement (improvement) in rankings across all keywords. Green-highlighted cells indicate Page 1 rankings (positions 1–10).

Colour guide: Green = Page 1 (positions 1–10)  |  Amber = Positions 11–30  |  Black = Positions 31+

5.3  Page 1 Achievement Timeline

The table below highlights when each keyword first broke onto Page 1 and its trajectory through to the end of the campaign in June 2024. The majority of keywords achieved Page 1 status by April 2024 — just six months into the campaign.

Page 1 Achievement Summary

12 out of 12 keywords reached Page 1 by June 2024
1 keyword hit Page 1 as early as January 2024 (Group Term Insurance)
9 keywords achieved Page 1 by April 2024 (Month 6)
Best performers: Online Term Plans & Monthly Saving Schemes reached Position 2
All keywords maintained Page 1 presence through the end of the campaign

6. Notable Keyword Highlights

Online Term Plans — Position 60 to Position 2

One of the most competitive keywords in the Indian insurance space, “Online Term Plans” started at position 60 — buried on page 6.

Through consistent DR 80+ link acquisition, it climbed steadily through pages 3, 2, and 1, ultimately reaching position 2 by June 2024.

This puts Canara HSBC Life Insurance directly alongside the largest insurance brands in India for one of the highest-intent buying terms in the category.

Monthly Saving Schemes — Position 70 to Position 2

“Monthly Saving Schemes” started at position 70 and reached position 2 by June 2024 — an improvement of 68 ranking positions.

This keyword targets users actively seeking savings and investment products, representing significant commercial value for the brand.

ULIP Plans — Position 90 to Position 5

Starting at position 90 — effectively invisible — “ULIP Plans” was one of the furthest back keywords at project launch. The 85-position improvement to reach position 5 by June 2024 represents one of the campaign’s most dramatic turnarounds, moving from page 9 to the top of page 1 in nine months.

Group Term Insurance — First to Page 1 (January 2024)

“Group Term Insurance” was the first keyword to break onto Page 1, achieving position 9 in January 2024 — just three months into the campaign.

This early win validated the DR 80+ strategy and demonstrated the impact of high-authority links on competitive insurance keywords.

5 Crore Term Insurance & What is Term Insurance Plan

Both of these keywords moved from the 60s to positions 4–5 by the end of the campaign. “5 Crore Term Insurance” is a high-commercial-intent keyword targeting users actively shopping for high-value cover, while “What is Term Insurance Plan” captures users in the research and consideration phase — together representing both ends of the insurance purchase funnel now visible on Page 1.

7. Conclusion

The Canara HSBC Life Insurance case study is a compelling proof of concept for the power of targeted Digital PR in a YMYL vertical.

By maintaining strict discipline — only DR 80+ placements, no dilution with lower-authority links — the campaign achieved 100% Page 1 conversion across all 12 tracked keywords in just nine months.

In India’s intensely competitive insurance keyword landscape, this outcome is exceptional. Moving keywords like “ULIP Plans” from position 90 to 5, “Online Term Plans” from 60 to 2, and “Monthly Saving Schemes” from 70 to 2 demonstrates that premium editorial authority, when applied consistently, can rival the organic presence of even the largest incumbent insurance brands.

The results also validate a focused, quality-over-quantity approach to link building: fewer, higher-authority links from the right publications deliver greater ranking impact than volume-based strategies — particularly for financial services content governed by Google’s YMYL guidelines.

Final Results at a Glance (Oct 2023 → Jun 2024)

Keywords on Page 1: 12 / 12 (100%)
Best final ranking: Position 2 (Online Term Plans & Monthly Saving Schemes)
Average position improvement: From ~58 to ~4
Fastest to Page 1: Group Term Insurance (3 months)
Biggest mover: ULIP Plans — Position 90 → 5 (85 positions)
Strategy: Digital PR — DR 80+ editorial placements only
Duration: 9 months

canarahsbclife.com  |  Digital PR SEO Case Study  |  Oct 2023 – Jun 2024  |  ravi-gupta.com