How Kitcast raised its domain rating from 49 to 55 in four months
Software as a service- +6Domain rating49 → 55
- +22%Referring domains784 → 957
- 16High-authority linksEach matched to an industry page
- Company
- Kitcast
- Industry
- Software as a service
- Location
- Mountain View, California, United States
- Market
- Global
- Employees
- 51 to 200
A link building campaign that matched each link to an industry page of a digital signage software company.
Results snapshot
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain rating | 49 | 55 | +6 points |
| Referring domains | 784 | 957 | +22% referring domain growth |
Links secured: 16 high-authority links. Natural (editorial placements), contextual (links inside the article text) and relevant (websites in the same field).
About Kitcast
Kitcast is digital signage software, known for working with Apple TV. The digital signage market is crowded, with several strong competitors.
Kitcast’s challenge was not just ranking for “digital signage”. It needed to rank for the specific uses that bring in business customers. A hospital, a shop and an office all search differently. To win each of them, Kitcast needed to show Google it was an expert in workplace communication, retail and hospitality.
Goals
The campaign focused on building authority around Kitcast’s industry pages.
- Link to industry pages: send links directly to industry pages, such as the gym and workplace communication pages, not the homepage.
- Raise domain rating: move the site past a domain rating of 50 to compete with larger competitors.
- Match the link to the page: secure links from websites in the same field as each target page, such as human resources websites linking to the workplace communication page.
Strategy
Sentosa matched the source of each link to the industry page it pointed to.
- Workplace communication. We secured links from human resources and recruitment websites to Kitcast’s workplace communication page, using anchor text such as “workplace communication”.
- Retail and sales. A link from an online store software website pointed to the retail digital signage page with the anchor text “intuitive signage in a store”. Links from sales software websites presented Kitcast as a way to promote products with visual content.
- Smaller industries. A link from a software testing website pointed to the gym digital signage page, and a link from a survey software website pointed “guest experience” to the hospitality page.
Results
Kitcast’s authority grew steadily, and its industry pages now have links of their own.
- 4955Domain rating
- 784957Referring domains
- Domain rating up 6 points, from 49 to 55. Passing 50 puts Kitcast in a range where it can compete for broad searches.
- Referring domains up 22%, from 784 to 957. Nearly 175 more websites linked to Kitcast in four months.
- Links to industry pages. Kitcast now has authority pointing directly at its gym, retail, workplace and hospitality pages.
Measured from 1 December 2024 to 1 April 2025. Source: Ahrefs. Figures are Ahrefs’ weekly figures for 2 December 2024 and 31 March 2025.
Conclusion
Software with many uses needs links that are just as specific. By matching each link’s source to the right industry page, Sentosa helped Kitcast build relevance with each type of customer.
Summary
Match the source of a link to the page it points to.
- Key lesson: link from websites in the same field as the page you want to rank.
- Impact: domain rating from 49 to 55 and referring domains up 22% in four months.
