My Keyword Research Tool Had Paying Customers Within 24 Hours Of Launch

Yossi Segev

•

Published: February 17th, 2024

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About
Business

Yossi Segev

Founder, SEO Stuff

$780

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

SEO Stuff

seo-stuff.com

from Tel Aviv, Israel

started December 2023

$780

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

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Hi there! My name is Yossi Segev, and I am the founder of SEO Stuff, an excellent keyword research tool with a unique pricing model.

Instead of paying the traditional fixed monthly subscription, SEO Stuff customers buy credits as a one-time payment. Those credits are then used to generate keyword reports.

People who previously were restricted to limited, free keyword research tools due to the extreme SEO industry pricing can now pay only for what they use and enjoy a high-tier keyword research tool.

Many of my customers are pre-revenue entrepreneurs or solo founders who don't practice SEO work on a daily basis, so a fixed subscription doesn't make any sense for them.

I launched SEO Stuff on the 4th of December, 2023, and have made $1,823 from 116 unique customers so far. But the number that excites me is my returning customer's rate.

This rate measures how many customers bought a credit pack, loved the product, and returned to buy at least another pack, and it stands at 53%. It tells me I'm on the right path.

What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

I've been building "things" since I learned how to code HTML in middle school. When you have that itch, it's not something you can easily let go of.

Unsurprisingly, I grew up to be a developer, and I've been coding mobile and web apps for the past 16 years. In 2022, I discovered the #buildinpublic community on X, and I was hooked! I've been building as an indie hacker ever since.

As someone who ran many products before, I always hated how pricy SEO tools are. I thought it's funny that the people who need good SEO tools the most are the ones who usually can't afford them. Myself included.

Eventually, I started hacking my own SEO tool for personal use to cut down costs. When you run your own SEO solution, you pay only for what you use. My "aha" moment was the realization that other builders out there probably share my frustration with SEO tools pricing.

I shared my general idea on X and invited people to a free beta. Many people asked to join, and I got to work on the MVP.

I used to think that to start a business, I needed to quit my day job and knock on VC's doors. Not anymore. Now I know all you require is a passion and an idea to start.

Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.

The last thing I wanted to do was to spend months building a product no one cared about, so when I started to work on the MVP, I set myself ground rules to ensure my MVP would be ready for testers ASAP.

I will use only off-the-shelf UI components.
I will not waste time on the landing page, color scheme, marketing copy, favicon, logo, or meta tags—bare bones product.
I will not waste time on analytics or bug reporting — I have a test group for that.
The app functionality will be completely open and 100% free for the test group members.
I will block access to anyone who is not a tester.
I will not waste time on payment infrastructure, as at this point, I don't know if I'll ever need it.

And with that, I started building.

Here's the "landing page" screenshot from a demo video I've recorded for my testers. An input box and a search button:

Keeping the UI bare-boned allowed me to spend most of my time working on the keyword search algorithm.

At this point, the app wasn't pretty (to say the least), but it found great keywords and was easy to use. It was all I cared about at that point.

The initial building process took two weeks, followed by another two weeks of working with my testers to improve the app and fix bugs.

My total expenses were about $80, including domain registration, hosting, and API usage fees.

Describe the process of launching the business.

Since day one, I saw the app launch as a three-step process, with each step dependent on the success of the step before it.

Step one: Release an MVP to a closed group of testers, charge zero dollars, and let them use the app as they see fit without restrictions.

Meanwhile, creating small buzz around the app by constantly sharing the building process on Twitter (AKA building in public)

It sounds like I'm bleeding money at this point, but as I saw it since time equals money, I'm saving money by not spending months on a product no one will ever use.

This step allowed me to collect valuable feedback from the testers, and they shared a lot with me. When some of them asked to pay ahead of time, I knew I could move to the next step.

Step two: Soft-launch on my Twitter feed.

I have a few thousand followers on Twitter. Most are indie developers, just like me.

If they don't find SEO Stuff valuable - no one will.

I implemented the payment infrastructure, brushed the landing page, added a video recording showcasing the app, and finally shared the app link with my Twitter feed with a nice launch discount.

At this point, the app is no longer free.

It was time to see if people would open their wallets to use it - and they did! I had eleven paying customers after 24 hours. The idea was validated, and I began preparations for step three.

Step three: Product Hunt launch. I was ready to go all in. I've asked for testimonials from the testers who liked the product and spent more time working on the landing page. It was about time to make it more attractive:

The Product Hunt launch was a success. SEO Stuff won the product of the day and many new happy customers.

This is me during launch day. Tired and happy:

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

My primary source of site visitors is organic Google search; SEO Stuff is pretty optimized, although much more needs to be done on that front. SEO is a long process, and I'm competing against giants.

Another notable user source is Twitter. As I build in public, I share a lot about my product and the building process. The important part here is not just promoting your product but genuinely letting my followers into my building process and sharing failures and lessons learned.

It grabs the attention of other indie developers, and SEO Stuff fits them like a glove.

I'm also experimenting with Facebook ads. Although I got a few sales, they did not cover the initial expense. I'm still learning.

I'm keeping my customer support top-notch. I make a lot of effort to respond quickly to customer issues and questions, which helps a lot to retain them. Also, I like interacting with customers, and I learn about their needs in our conversations.

What will make a difference is what you do when things go sideways. Will you give up, or will you be willing to learn, lick your wounds, and get up from the floor a bit smarter? Learn and adjust.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

SEO Stuff is a very "young" product and is already profitable with 110 paying customers.

Since launching on December 2023, it made $1,823. New orders come in almost every day.

These days, I'm working on an SEO video course, which will create a new revenue stream for SEO Stuff. After the course launches, I have a long list of product features I can't wait to implement!

I continue to experiment with paid ads. I'm focusing on Facebook ads for now, but I might also give Google ads a go.

SEO is constantly improving, and I plan to launch free SEO-related tools to start ranking on other relevant keywords.

It will be a busy year, and I can't wait to see where the future takes me!

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

My three-step launch was my most significant learning.

Previously, I would spend months building and perfecting products that eventually made zero revenue, and I had to shut them down.

Shutting down something you've poured a lot of love and energy into is painful. I knew I needed to do things differently, but I needed to figure out what and how. With the SEO Stuff launch, I found the formula that works for me, and if (when) I ever launch a new product, I'll repeat the same launch process.

Another thing I've learned is that when a product "works," it just clicks. Previously, I would tell myself, "Maybe if I add this feature, everything will change." It won't. If your product runs for months without paying customers, get back to the drawing board. Pivot or start from a new idea. That is what I will do from now on.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

Notion is my most used tool; I use it to write down thoughts and random ideas about the business. I like to get them out of my head quickly so I can focus on my current task without worrying I might forget. I also write my to-do list there.

I have two to-do lists: one for the product features, bugs, etc. The other is for marketing tasks.

For analytics, I use Metabase, which connects directly to my databases, and is Plausible for a simple, GDPR-friendly Google analytics alternative.

I use Logsnag to get notifications about new users' sign ups and successful payments. The constant "ding'' on my phone makes me happy and gives me the feeling that my product is alive.

I use Crisp for customer support and general questions. The Crisp chat box is always present on my product pages. I think it gives my customers the feeling that live help is only a click away. And they are right!

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

Twitter, built in the public community, was by far my most influential resource.

The fact that "ordinary" people like me build and grow businesses without funding was mind-bending for me.

I used to think that to start a business, I needed to quit my day job and knock on VC's doors. Not anymore. Now I know all you require is a passion and an idea to start.

Twitter quickly became my most used app; the constant inspiration is overwhelming.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

This is for the 99% of you who read this: Your journey is not going to be easy.

Your product will not be an overnight success story. Your TikTok videos won't go viral. You will make mistakes and often ask yourself why you even started. Some of you will even have to scrap your business and start all over again (I did that more times than I can count).

Entrepreneurship is a humbling experience.

What will make a difference is what you do when things go sideways. Will you give up, or will you be willing to learn, lick your wounds, and get up from the floor a bit smarter? Learn and adjust.

Miles Davis once said: "If you hit the wrong note, it's the next note you play that determines if it's good or bad".

I think this quote fits perfectly with entrepreneurship.

Where can we go to learn more?

If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!