ClearLedger Payments is a B2B fintech startup based in Surry Hills, Sydney. Their platform helps small and medium businesses reconcile invoices, automate payment reminders, and integrate with Xero and MYOB. Product-market fit was strong. They had raised a seed round, signed forty-seven paying accounts, and converted trial users at a healthy rate. What they could not do was rank for anything beyond their brand name.
Finance is a Your Money Your Life (YMYL) category. Google demands trust signals before it rewards newer domains with visibility on queries like “invoice automation software” or “best payment reminder tools Australia.” ClearLedger’s domain rating was 18. Their backlink profile was almost entirely startup directory listings, a Product Hunt launch page, and a few guest posts on general tech blogs with no finance relevance.
The founders understood that paid search would become expensive as they moved upmarket. They needed organic visibility to support a sales-led growth motion without burning through runway on Google Ads.
The Brief
ClearLedger asked us to build credible off-page authority within ten months. Success meant ranking on page one for three comparison keywords, increasing organic demo requests by 100%, and earning links from finance and business publications that a compliance-conscious buyer would recognise.
We agreed on a phased approach: establish trust foundations first, then pursue higher-difficulty keyword targets once domain metrics improved.
Strategy
Our competitive analysis mapped twelve fintech and accounting software competitors. The gap was stark. Established players had links from accounting bodies, small business news sites, and software review platforms. ClearLedger had none of those.
We designed a strategy around four pillars:
- Thought leadership in small business finance, pitching the CEO and head of product to business journalists
- Original research on late payment trends among Australian SMEs, designed for citation by news outlets
- Integration partner co-marketing, earning links from complementary SaaS tools in the accounting ecosystem
- Unlinked brand mention reclamation from podcast appearances and conference speaker bios
On-page, we recommended structured data for software applications and clearer author bios on blog content, but we kept the engagement focused on off-page trust building.
Execution Timeline
Month 1 to 3: Trust Foundations
We published the Late Payments in Australian SMEs report using anonymised platform data and a supplementary survey of 412 business owners. The report earned citations from two national business news sites and a state chamber of commerce blog. We also secured the company’s first link from an accounting industry association resource page after contributing an expert guide on cash flow hygiene.
Month 4 to 6: Comparison and Category Content Support
Outreach targeted “best of” and comparison listicles in the business software space. We did not pay for placement. Instead, we offered product trials, data quotes, and founder interviews. This phase produced seven editorial links, including two software review sites with strong domain authority.
Month 7 to 10: Scaling Authority
We expanded into podcast outreach, HARO-style journalist requests, and guest articles on cash flow management for mid-tier finance blogs. A second research asset on payment terms by industry generated another wave of pickup. By month ten, ClearLedger had a referring domain profile that looked like a legitimate finance company rather than a startup living on directories alone.
Results
Demo requests from organic search grew from an average of eleven per month to twenty-seven per month. Sales reported that prospects increasingly mentioned finding them through Google rather than paid channels.
Traffic and Conversions
| Metric | Before (Baseline) | After (Month 10) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly organic sessions | 1,940 | 5,680 | +193% |
| Organic demo requests | 11 | 27 | +145% |
| Branded vs non-branded traffic split | 82% / 18% | 54% / 46% | Shifted |
| Blog assisted conversions | 3 per month | 12 per month | +300% |
Rankings
| Keyword | Starting Position | Final Position | Monthly Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| invoice automation software | 56 | 9 | 1,300 |
| payment reminder software Australia | 48 | 5 | 480 |
| Xero payment integration | 31 | 7 | 720 |
| small business cash flow tools | 44 | 11 | 2,100 |
| accounts receivable automation | 62 | 14 | 890 |
Backlink Profile
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referring domains | 53 | 168 | +217% |
| Domain Rating (Ahrefs) | 18 | 41 | +23 |
| Finance-relevant referring domains | 4 | 39 | +875% |
| Average referring domain DR | 28 | 52 | +86% |
What Made the Difference
YMYL categories punish shortcuts. ClearLedger’s leadership team invested time in interviews and data reviews, which slowed outreach initially but paid off when journalists treated them as a credible source. The original research assets were particularly effective because business reporters need fresh statistics every quarter.
The shift in branded versus non-branded traffic was the metric the founders cared about most. By month ten, nearly half of organic visits came from discovery queries. That changed the economics of their marketing mix and gave the sales team warmer inbound conversations.
ClearLedger has since hired an in-house content lead and continues the outreach programme with our quarterly playbook. Their next target is page-one visibility for broader accounting automation terms as they prepare for a Series A raise.