{
  "_about": "rank.fast guest post pilot: public per-placement log. Placements are anonymized (P01, P02...) so results are auditable without identifying host sites or suppliers. Protocol: https://rank.fast/blog/pilot-protocol/ Anchor texts are not published (they would identify hosts); each link's anchor is recorded privately at delivery and tested for change at the checkpoints.",
  "_fields": {
    "id": "P01, P02, ... in order-time order",
    "ordered": "ISO timestamp of purchase",
    "dr_band": "DR 40-49 | DR 50-59 | DR 60+ (as listed at order time)",
    "quality_grade": "our published 1-5 grade of the host site",
    "niche": "host site niche",
    "target_page": "the rank.fast page the link points at",
    "list_price_usd": "what this placement normally costs a client at our published rates",
    "baseline_28d": "target page's trailing-28d Search Console numbers at order time: impressions, clicks, avg_position",
    "host_indexed_before": "was the host page already indexed at order time (guest posts: false, page is new)",
    "delivered": "ISO timestamp the placement went live as ordered, or null",
    "indexed": "ISO timestamp the host page was confirmed in Google's index, or null",
    "check_30d": "pending until run, then an object: {checked_at, live, link_present, dofollow, anchor_intact, host_indexed, all_pass}; a false value is a failed test, never removed",
    "check_90d": "same shape as check_30d",
    "outcome_notes": "plain-language note incl. any failure detail",
    "arm": "treatment (host page submitted through our indexing route on delivery) | control (no submission) | direct (supplier-direct test outside the pre-registered arms)",
    "treatment_submitted": "ISO timestamp of the indexing submission for treatment placements; absent for control"
  },
  "placements": [
    {
      "id": "P01",
      "ordered": "2026-08-31T13:02:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 70-79",
      "quality_grade": "3/5",
      "niche": "personal development",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/",
      "list_price_usd": 429,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 7,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": 45.1
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-09-01T09:00:00Z",
      "indexed": "2026-09-01T18:20:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "first-choice publisher never responded to the order or messages (revoked unaccepted after a 4-day window incl. weekend; the pilot's second absentee owner); substituted with a higher-DR site from the vetted shelf; substitute delivered the next morning (day 1, after a bank holiday); link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact; delivery time recorded to the hour from the buyer-side notification; ATTRIBUTION CAVEAT: host page was observed in Google about one minute after the treatment submission, roughly nine hours after delivery, so it was almost certainly indexed on the publisher's own gravity before the submission could act; counted as indexed but NOT as evidence for the treatment route",
      "treatment_submitted": "2026-09-01T18:19:01Z",
      "arm": "treatment"
    },
    {
      "id": "P02",
      "ordered": "2026-08-28T07:57:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 50-59",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "construction trade media",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/how-it-works/",
      "list_price_usd": 329,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 0,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": null
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-28T14:45:00Z",
      "indexed": "2026-08-28T21:26:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "12-month placement guarantee purchased from the publisher at order time; delivered same day as ordered; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact",
      "treatment_submitted": "2026-08-28T14:45:30Z",
      "arm": "treatment"
    },
    {
      "id": "P03",
      "ordered": "2026-08-29T07:47:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 40-49",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "local news and entertainment",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/blog/marketplace-study/",
      "list_price_usd": 199,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 4,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": 86.8
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-29T12:44:53Z",
      "indexed": "2026-08-29T18:45:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "first-choice order revoked unaccepted (owner inactive on the marketplace ~3 months); substituted with an equivalent-grade news listing whose editor accepted same day, confirmed publication for the following morning, and localized the article's spelling to Canadian English (an editorial-care signal worth recording); delivered next morning as promised, headline localized to Canadian English as the editor said; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact",
      "treatment_submitted": "2026-08-29T12:44:53Z",
      "arm": "treatment"
    },
    {
      "id": "P04",
      "ordered": "2026-08-28T07:57:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 40-49",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "education",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/blog/the-race/",
      "list_price_usd": 199,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 1,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": 85.0
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-31T07:02:00Z",
      "indexed": "2026-08-31T12:45:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "delivered on day 3 after a weekend, following a buyer nudge; link verified live, dofollow; anchor placed one word short of spec (the trailing word sits just outside the link), noted as a minor deviation, link fully functional and contextual",
      "arm": "control"
    },
    {
      "id": "P05",
      "ordered": "2026-08-28T07:19:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 40-49",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "fashion industry media",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/",
      "list_price_usd": 99,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 7,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": 45.1
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-29T07:45:00Z",
      "indexed": "2026-09-18T18:45:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": false,
        "all_pass": false,
        "note": "Host page was observed indexed on 2026-09-18 (day 20). At this check it was not found in Google on two separate site: queries. Link still live, dofollow, anchor intact. Either it dropped out of the index or the query missed it; recorded as not indexed, re-checked at day 90.",
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "delivered same day as ordered; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact",
      "arm": "control"
    },
    {
      "id": "P06",
      "ordered": "2026-08-28T12:20:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 40-49",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "entertainment media",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/tools/google-index-checker/",
      "list_price_usd": 199,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 0,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": null
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-28T21:16:00Z",
      "indexed": null,
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "note": "Host page first observed indexed at this check (day 34). Exact indexing date unknown; it was still absent at the 2026-09-24 check.",
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "delivered same day as ordered; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact; note: published at a non-standard URL structure, and the publisher states they submitted it via their own Search Console (the control arm includes natural publisher behavior; both noted for the writeup)",
      "arm": "control",
      "indexed_observed": "2026-10-01"
    },
    {
      "id": "P07",
      "ordered": "2026-08-28T12:20:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 40-49",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "education technology",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/blog/crawled-not-indexed/",
      "list_price_usd": 99,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 0,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": null
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-28T14:45:00Z",
      "indexed": "2026-09-08T18:45:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "delivered same day as ordered; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact",
      "arm": "control"
    },
    {
      "id": "P08",
      "ordered": "2026-08-28T15:05:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 50-59",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "local news and community",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/",
      "list_price_usd": 329,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 7,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": 45.1
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-28T15:11:30Z",
      "indexed": "2026-08-28T21:26:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "first-choice site rejected the order same day (owner not accepting guest posts despite an active listing; recorded as an outcome per protocol); an equivalent-grade substitute accepted within the hour and delivered about 3 hours later; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact",
      "treatment_submitted": "2026-08-28T15:11:30Z",
      "arm": "treatment"
    },
    {
      "id": "P10",
      "ordered": "2026-08-31T13:02:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 70-79",
      "quality_grade": "3/5",
      "niche": "psychology and general interest",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/blog/crawled-not-indexed/",
      "list_price_usd": 429,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 0,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": null
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-31T14:25:00Z",
      "indexed": null,
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": false,
        "dofollow": false,
        "anchor_intact": false,
        "host_indexed": false,
        "all_pass": false,
        "verified": false,
        "note": "Host served a 'Bot Verification' challenge page (1,975 bytes) to our checker, so link presence and index status could not be tested. This is NOT evidence the link was removed. Re-test by hand.",
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "delivered same day as ordered; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact",
      "arm": "control"
    },
    {
      "id": "P11",
      "ordered": "2026-08-31T13:02:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 60-69",
      "quality_grade": "4/5",
      "niche": "developer tools and technology",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/stats/google-indexing-speed/",
      "list_price_usd": 429,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 0,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": null
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-08-31T15:42:05Z",
      "indexed": "2026-08-31T18:45:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "delivered same day as ordered; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact",
      "treatment_submitted": "2026-08-31T15:42:05Z",
      "arm": "treatment"
    },
    {
      "id": "D01",
      "ordered": "2026-09-04T09:50:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 80+",
      "quality_grade": "3/5",
      "niche": "fintech and technology news",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/",
      "list_price_usd": 429,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 25,
        "clicks": 1,
        "avg_position": null
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-09-04T13:36:33Z",
      "indexed": "2026-09-04T15:22:00Z",
      "check_30d": {
        "checked_at": "2026-10-01T14:53:00Z",
        "live": true,
        "link_present": true,
        "dofollow": true,
        "anchor_intact": true,
        "host_indexed": true,
        "all_pass": true,
        "checked_late": "due from 2026-09-27; run 2026-10-01, overdue by up to four days"
      },
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "supplier-direct test, outside the pre-registered arms: bought from a reseller met on Reddit rather than a marketplace, advance payment, no escrow; article supplied by us; delivered about 4 hours after payment; link verified live, dofollow, anchor intact; seller withdrew the word permanent before publication (live duration stated as subject to the publication's policies); no submission (left to the publisher's own gravity)",
      "arm": "direct"
    },
    {
      "id": "D02",
      "arm": "direct",
      "ordered": "2026-09-16T00:00:00Z",
      "dr_band": "DR 60-69",
      "quality_grade": "3/5",
      "niche": "local news",
      "target_page": "https://rank.fast/tools/seo-audit/",
      "list_price_usd": null,
      "baseline_28d": {
        "impressions": 413,
        "clicks": 0,
        "avg_position": 69
      },
      "host_indexed_before": false,
      "delivered": "2026-09-16T11:30:55Z",
      "indexed": "2026-09-17T06:45:00Z",
      "check_30d": "pending",
      "check_90d": "pending",
      "outcome_notes": "supplier-direct, same reseller as D01, outside the pre-registered arms. Article and image supplied by us; publisher used their own image. Link verified on the live page the same day: dofollow (no rel attribute), anchor 'free SEO audit report PDF' -> /tools/seo-audit/, exactly as specified. Host page submitted 2026-09-16T23:13:54Z through the priority route with Bing submission added (4 credits), so this is NOT a control-style placement like D01."
    }
  ],
  "_totals": {
    "placements": 11,
    "campaign_value_at_our_rates_usd": 3169,
    "note": "what this campaign normally costs a client at our published rates (draft rates; final rates publish post-pilot)"
  }
}