We grew to more than 10 mil impression on google. Pure SEO play, it brought us 500k USD revenue
These are all the steps we did, some even too late.
1. backlinks matter when nothing else is there. Make a profile on all socials, use the list below for more.
98 —
@LinkedIn
96 —
@github
95 — X (Twitter)
93 —
@sourceforge
92 — Reddit
91 — Product Hunt
90 — aboutdotme,
@crunchbase , Y Combinator (HN), G2
88 — Capterra
86 — Devpost, GetApp
82 — StackShare, F6S
80 — AlternativeTo, IndieHackers,
Read.cv
75 — Crozdesk
74 — SoftwareWorld
73 — BetaList, SaaSworthy
72 —
Alternative.me
71 — SaaSHub
69 — Tekpon
67 —
Dang.ai, StartupStash, Uneed
64 — AI Directories
62 — FutureTools
58 — DevHunt
56 — SaaS AI Tools
54 — FiveTaco
53 — Ben’s Bites
52 — StartupBase, MicroLaunch
45 — Insidr AI Tools, Workspaces
44 — Mars AI Directory, Tiny Startups
42 — The NoCode List
36 — OpenAlternative
35 — Toolfolio AI
27 — 10Words, IndieHackerStacks, Startup Inspire,
Startups.fyi
2. Make sure your you rank for all queries that your potential users might be looking for. example if you are making startup directory:
"startup directory"
"increase DR"
"Free backlinks"
Try to have targeted pages for all queries with metadata and H1 tags.
3. Speed at which your website loads really matter, There is a reason why everyone is shifting to
@vercel
check it using Chrome DevTools → Lighthouse
Focus on:
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) → target < 2.5s
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) → < 0.1
INP / TTI → interaction responsiveness
4. Lastly patience is everything, SEO compound slow but becomes a force at large scale.
Wishing you all the best.