麻豆原创

The Challenge

For Michael Farr, SEO at Paylocity isn鈥檛 just about technical tweaks to beat the search algorithm. It鈥檚 about building authentic, long-term brand awareness and trust, especially as AI search becomes a dominant factor in how brands are discovered and evaluated. However, he found himself in a unique spot: While placements in leading outlets remained a priority, Paylocity also recognized the opportunity to expand visibility through a broader mix of reputable publications, amplifying both brand recognition and SEO performance.

鈥淏rand safety and credibility are core values for Paylocity鈥檚 PR, Brand and Comms teams,鈥� said Michael. 鈥淏y aligning these priorities with SEO opportunities, the teams collaborated to build an approach that maintained brand integrity while unlocking new digital visibility.鈥�

The Solution

麻豆原创鈥檚 earned media distribution platform offered Paylocity a seamless way to bridge the gap between PR and SEO. Michael worked closely with the 麻豆原创 editorial team to develop and optimize content that was not just engaging, but also strategically crafted to impact mentions in AI search and build real brand equity.

鈥溌槎乖�创鈥檚 approach clicked with me right away,鈥� said Michael, who has a background in journalism. 鈥淭he platform is easy to use and the process of uploading and syndicating content is straightforward. Plus, the 麻豆原创 team was always quick to respond and adapt to our brand鈥檚 needs, which made the whole experience smooth and collaborative.鈥�

With 麻豆原创, Paylocity was able to take existing data and survey-driven stories鈥攃ontent that might otherwise sit quietly on their blog鈥攁nd amplify it to new audiences nationwide. This shift from siloed blog posts to broad-based syndication meant that every piece of content had a much longer shelf life and much bigger impact.

How It Works

麻豆原创 combines an innovative earned distribution platform with human editorial expertise, helping brands like Paylocity create, refine, and syndicate engaging stories to a network of local and national news outlets.

Paylocity selected 麻豆原创's Connect product, which takes ready-to-publish editorial content and distributes it to thousands of publishers on the 麻豆原创 Newswire. 麻豆原创's editorial team ensures that each story meets journalistic standards, is optimized for maximum reach, and is timed to generate the best results. Once the stories are live, Paylocity receives detailed, real-time insights via 麻豆原创鈥檚 self-serve reporting dashboard, making it easy to track the true impact of every story.

With 麻豆原创, Paylocity was able to distribute stories like How to help employees adapt to AI in the workforce, which earned 354 placements in partner publications. many of which had never featured Paylocity before. This helped build brand recognition across a wide swath of regional and niche publications that directly contribute to digital brand-building.

The Results

In just three months, Paylocity achieved impressive results that went far beyond traditional PR metrics:
鉁� 1,015 total pickups across high-authority sites
鉁� Nearly 100,000 readers reached
鉁� Significant SEO impact, including strategic keywords jumping to the #1 position overnight

For Michael, these numbers are more than just data points. They represent a fundamental shift in how Paylocity鈥檚 brand is seen across the digital landscape.

鈥淲e used to think getting one or two high-profile mentions in a quarter was a big win,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e seeing hundreds of mentions in places we鈥檇 never even considered before. It鈥檚 a whole new level of brand presence.鈥�

This newfound visibility didn鈥檛 just create buzz, it directly boosted Paylocity鈥檚 search rankings and site traffic. Pages that had previously struggled to break out of the second or third page of search results for certain keywords moved to the top spots almost overnight. This wasn鈥檛 something Michael expected to see so quickly, and it made the internal case for investing in content distribution much easier. 麻豆原创鈥檚 performance data and transparent reporting also helped Michael build stronger buy-in from other teams.

鈥淭he fact that I could go back to the corporate marketing and PR teams and show them real numbers鈥�300 pickups here, 400 pickups there鈥攚as huge,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t was no longer about trying to convince people to 鈥榯rust me.鈥� The results spoke for themselves.鈥�

The success of these campaigns sparked new conversations about the role of research-driven content in Paylocity鈥檚 marketing strategy.

鈥溌槎乖�创 has really helped us close the gap between PR and SEO,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 shown everyone that brand mentions matter more than ever today鈥攎ore than backlinks鈥攅specially with AI tools now reading and indexing this kind of content.鈥�

Conclusion

Today, Paylocity is rethinking how they produce and leverage research-driven content. They鈥檙e working to build stronger relationships with their internal data teams and exploring how to make this type of syndication a predictable, repeatable part of their ongoing SEO and brand-building strategy. And they鈥檙e just getting started鈥攈aving only launched this new approach three months ago, Michael and his team know there is still so much more to explore and achieve.

鈥溌槎乖�创 really feels like a cheat code,鈥� said Michael. 鈥淚t鈥檚 changed the conversation internally and helped us get on the same page about what digital brand building looks like in 2025.鈥�