SEO for logistics and freight. The searches that buy, and what links cost.
B2B buyers search by service and lane. Quote and rate searches are the clearest buying signals.
Searches: DataForSEO, United States, English. Link prices: Placement API Backlink Price Index, September 2026. Collected 2026-09-28.
Ship· Page improvements
The searches that buy.
Buying and comparing searches with at least 100 a month, ranked by volume times what advertisers pay per click. These are the pages worth improving first.
- Industry-specific fulfilment pages (for Shopify stores, for supplements) win specific buyers.
- Rate calculators earn links and qualify leads.
| Search | Kind | Searches/mo | Ads CPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| ltl shipping | Comparing | 33,100 | $19.59 |
| 3pl logistics companies | Comparing | 8,100 | $32.47 |
| ltl freight shipping services | Comparing | 8,100 | $29.75 |
| less than load freight shipping | Comparing | 8,100 | $23.42 |
| third party logistics 3pl services | Comparing | 3,600 | $45.56 |
| less than truckload ltl shipping | Comparing | 9,900 | $16.24 |
| freight shipping | Comparing | 8,100 | $16.88 |
| fulfillment services for ecommerce | Comparing | 2,400 | $47.07 |
| 3pl warehouses | Buying | 3,600 | $28.84 |
| 3pl provider | Comparing | 1,600 | $51.23 |
| freight shipping company near me | Comparing | 5,400 | $13.27 |
| 3pl warehouse system | Comparing | 590 | $64.78 |
| 3pl fulfillment companies | Comparing | 480 | $75.61 |
| freight services shipping | Comparing | 2,400 | $14.90 |
| fulfillment services usa | Comparing | 140 | $252 |
| freight shipping company | Comparing | 2,400 | $13.64 |
| shipping truck freight | Comparing | 1,900 | $16.89 |
| 3pl fulfillment services | Comparing | 590 | $51.87 |
| freight shipping pallet | Buying | 1,600 | $18.51 |
| order fulfillment services | Comparing | 590 | $50.10 |
- Lower quartile
- $85.50
- Median
- $169
- Upper quartile
- $337
| Claimed DR, all subjects | Websites | Middle half | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR 20–29 | 48,775 | $81–$332 | $174 |
| DR 30–39 | 42,432 | $86–$357 | $171 |
| DR 40–49 | 20,524 | $111–$506 | $232 |
| DR 50–59 | 14,530 | $124–$641 | $260 |
| DR 60–69 | 6,135 | $213–$1,042 | $483 |
| DR 70–79 | 5,108 | $342–$1,647 | $726 |
| DR 80–89 | 834 | $506–$4,148 | $1,399 |
| DR 90–99 | 115 | $383–$3,651 | $1,062 |
Scale· Backlinks
What links cost here.
What websites in business ask for a link: the cheapest price for each website across every marketplace, suspect websites left out. Higher-rated websites cost more, as the table shows; these are asking prices, not what was paid.
Your numbers
Would links pay back for you? Enter what a customer is worth.
Each search is modelled moving from #7 to #4 into the top four. That takes 20 to 50 links depending on how well linked the results above are, priced from the table above: the business median, or a higher DR band where the competition is stronger. Half the modelled gain is counted, as a hedge against rankings that don't move as planned.
Starting assumptions for a typical logistics and freight business, not data: replace them with yours. At these, each visitor from a buying search is worth $160.
19 of 20 buying searches pay back within 12 months; 1 more within 18.
$28,500/month for 3 months
A link budget that funds all of them at a natural pace, expected to bring in $360,880 a month once the links are live (risk-adjusted).
- Searches a month
- 2,400
- Extra clicks, #7 → #4
- about 106
- Value per visitor
- $160
- Extra revenue a month
- $16,960
- × 50% confidence
- $8,480/mo
- 40 links at $260 (DR 50–59)
- $10,400
- Payback
- 1.2 months
| Search | Extra revenue/mo | Payback | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| ltl shipping | $116,480 | under a month | Worth it |
| 3pl logistics companies | $28,480 | under a month | Worth it |
| ltl freight shipping services | $28,480 | under a month | Worth it |
| less than load freight shipping | $28,480 | under a month | Worth it |
| freight shipping company near me | $19,040 | under a month | Worth it |
| less than truckload ltl shipping | $34,880 | under a month | Worth it |
| freight shipping | $28,480 | under a month | Worth it |
| third party logistics 3pl services | $12,640 | under a month | Worth it |
| 3pl warehouses | $12,640 | under a month | Worth it |
| fulfillment services for ecommerce | $8,480 | under a month | Worth it |
| shipping truck freight | $6,720 | under a month | Worth it |
| 3pl provider | $5,600 | under a month | Worth it |
| freight shipping pallet | $5,600 | under a month | Worth it |
| freight services shipping | $8,480 | 1.2 months | Worth it |
| freight shipping company | $8,480 | 1.2 months | Worth it |
| 3pl warehouse system | $2,080 | 1.6 months | Worth it |
| 3pl fulfillment services | $2,080 | 1.6 months | Worth it |
| order fulfillment services | $2,080 | 1.6 months | Worth it |
| 3pl fulfillment companies | $1,680 | 2.0 months | Worth it |
| fulfillment services usa | $480 | 14.5 months | Slow |
Extra revenue is risk-adjusted: 50% of the modelled gain.
Big, but not for links
Searches to answer, not to buy links for.
The biggest learning searches in this industry. Worth good content and internal links to the pages that sell; rarely worth link money.
| Search | Kind | Searches/mo |
|---|---|---|
| 3pl in logistics | Learning | 22,200 |
| 3pl | Learning | 18,100 |
| what is a 3pl | Learning | 6,600 |
| 3pl meaning | Learning | 6,600 |
| freight on board shipping meaning | Learning | 4,400 |
| ltl shipping carriers | Learning | 4,400 |
| what does freight on board mean in shipping | Learning | 3,600 |
| freight on board shipping point | Learning | 2,900 |
Run this on your own site. With your real numbers.
Ship/Scale replaces the guesses on this page with your Search Console and analytics data, then shows which of your logistics and freight pages would pay back.
Pro is $99/month. Free has no subscription fee: you pay your own AI and data providers. Backlinks cost extra on both plans.