Here is how a DSCR lender grew from 3,000 to 36,000 monthly visitors and closed loans for under $900 each before moving their SEO in-house, and destroying one of the top sites in the space.
A national DSCR lender specializing in rental loans partnered with Stellar SEO to improve organic visibility and reduce dependence on paid channels.
Their target audience included real estate investors, portfolio landlords, and borrowers comparing DSCR loan programs. Although demand for rental loans was increasing, the lender’s backlink profile and authority signals were not strong enough to compete in search engines.
When they came to us, the website had roughly 3,000 monthly visitors and only 180 referring domains. The objective was to build the external authority and semantic relevance needed for a financial services brand to rank for competitive DSCR keywords.
Search engines classify lending content as YMYL, which means trust, authority, and external validation drive ranking decisions. DSCR lenders must demonstrate expertise and reliability, and high quality backlinks are among the strongest signals available to financial services brands.
Their link profile lacked authority in real estate investing and financial services.
Competitors owned the semantic territory tied to DSCR loans and rental loans.
Their content was strong but lacked outbound links or external citations to reinforce expertise.
To compete, the site needed stronger backlinks, better alignment with financial services entities, and clearer relevance for investor audiences.
Stellar SEO developed a finance link building strategy designed to strengthen the lender’s authority and help search engines understand the brand’s position within the DSCR lending category.
We analyzed leading DSCR lenders and investor financing brands to identify the semantic clusters and link neighborhoods that define authority for rental loan content.
We focused on publishers that cover real estate investing, landlord education, housing economics, personal finance, and lending topics. Every link added context, reinforcing the lender’s expertise.
Our outreach content was structured to meet lender compliance requirements while still providing the depth needed to earn high quality backlinks in the financial services sector.
We supplemented the national link acquisition campaign with targeted mentions tied to investor-heavy metros. This improved local SEO performance for city-specific DSCR searches.
Over the course of the engagement, Stellar SEO scaled the lender’s authority from 180 referring domains to more than 1,000. The campaign included:
This combination improved both authority and semantic relevance, enabling the lender to rank in high-value DSCR loan SERPs.
The results were clear and measurable. Within the campaign window:
Monthly organic traffic grew from 3,000 to 36,000 visitors
Referring domains increased from 180 to more than 1,000
Traffic value peaked at more than $100,000 per month
Rankings improved for DSCR loan terms, rental property loans, portfolio financing, and investor lending queries
The lender was closing funded loans for under $900 each
That acquisition cost is exceptional in the financial services industry. PPC channels and aggregator leads often cost far more per funded loan in the DSCR sector.
After reaching peak growth, the lender moved SEO operations in-house. Within 12 months, rankings dropped sharply due to:
The authority we built carried the site for a while, but removing the relevance structure and failing to maintain off-page signals caused a reversal in rankings. Even with strong links, a site won’t rank well without the right content.
DSCR loans and rental loans sit inside a competitive financial services category. High quality backlinks influence:
Placement inside financial services knowledge clusters
Eligibility for DSCR and rental loan keywords
Local SEO performance in investor markets
Trust and engagement from the target audience
Long-term ranking stability
Content matters, but links determine authority.
Financial services link building is the process of earning high quality backlinks from authoritative websites in finance, real estate, and personal finance. These links help financial institutions improve trust, authority, and search visibility for terms related to DSCR loans, rental loans, and other lending products.
High quality backlinks act as trust signals that raise a site’s authority. When authoritative sites link to a financial services firm, search rankings, organic traffic, and visibility for competitive finance keywords increase
The most effective strategies include digital PR, guest posts on finance sites, mentions in news outlets, and original research that naturally attracts backlinks. These approaches earn relevant, high authority backlinks while staying compliant with financial regulations.
Yes, provided the strategy avoids aggressive anchor text and high-risk domains. Ethical financial link building focuses on brand mentions and informational citations rather than “money keyword” manipulation. This ensures your campaign remains compliant with strict industry regulations while still driving growth.
If your financial services firm wants to increase organic traffic, earn high quality backlinks, and strengthen your authority in competitive markets, schedule a strategy call with Stellar SEO.
Our team can build a customized finance link building program that supports measurable growth and long-term search visibility.
Finance isn’t the only industry where trust is currency, and compliance is king. See how our YMYL (Your Money Your Life) frameworks perform in other high-liability, high-competition niches:
Dominating the most expensive CPC vertical in search.
Scaling corporate authority in a crowded legal market.
Navigating YMYL and E.E.A.T. for a high-stakes, nationwide lender.
