Defending competitive rankings for a UK CBD brand

The problem

An established UK CBD brand had to hold its top-3 positions on highly competitive commercial terms — the terms carrying roughly 75% of its traffic — while a second site in a new market built authority from zero. In a restricted niche, that means growing without a single placement that could put the domain at risk.

What I did

Relevance first, volume second. Editorial and niche placements chosen for topical fit, supported by directory listings and HARO-style contributions, all vetted to a DR 20+ floor.

Defending a position is quieter work than chasing one. It is judged on what does not slip, which makes the ranking-keyword trend the honest chart to show: not a spike, but a recovery that holds.

The result

The flagship held top 3 on its head commercial terms throughout, with organic traffic up about 20% over the engagement. Ranking-keyword counts recovered from their pre-engagement decline and rose across the window.