Many startups see SEO as an attractive traffic channel - it's a powerful way to get free traffic that grows and scales over time. However, there's a catch: many founders give up on SEO when they don't see quick results.
In this article, I'll share how we launched AI Video Summarizer Noiz.io and reached 42,500 monthly visitors from scratch in just 3 months - and we're still growing.
Our main traffic sources are Google, Bing, ChatGPT, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo, with additional traffic from social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
The US accounts for our largest traffic share (16%), with Tier 1 countries making up about 46% of total traffic.
Domain Strategy
For quick SEO results, choosing the right domain is crucial. New domains typically rank poorly for 6-12 months, and accelerating this process is both expensive and labor-intensive. Even aged but unused domains perform poorly - a 10-year-old empty domain won't perform much better than a new one.
We developed specific criteria for domain selection, focusing on domains with active project history, memorable names, related niche experience (mobile apps, extensions, or AI tools), strong backlink profiles, and good Domain Rating scores. The key was finding domains that weren't actively for sale but might be available from entrepreneurs with inactive projects.
Our innovative approach involved analyzing Product Hunt projects from the last decade, identifying inactive sites, and reaching out to their owners. This strategy proved highly effective, allowing us to acquire suitable domains at reasonable prices.
SEO Strategy
Our competitor research revealed three key types of pages generating organic traffic:
- Product Pages (landing pages)
- Content Pages (blogs, articles, tutorials)
- Free AI Tools (our most successful category)
After studying Google's recent updates, we noticed a clear trend: Google now prioritizes sites that directly solve user problems rather than just providing information. Instead of pushing users to sign up or buy, successful pages offer immediate value.
Our strategy was straightforward - make all features free, unlimited, and registration-free for the first few months. This approach helped Google recognize our value proposition and promote our content effectively.
Content Development
While many startups rely on AI-generated content, we chose a different path. Our experiments showed that while AI content might produce short-term results, it could lead to penalties from Google. Instead, we focused on creating high-quality human-written content, carefully selecting topics based on:
- Competition level
- Traffic relevance
- Global potential
- Keyword difficulty
AI Tools Creation
We created 19 original tools across marketing/content creation and education/productivity categories. Interestingly, most of these tools were developed without deep programming knowledge, using modern no-code and low-code platforms. We focused on solving real user problems while keeping everything free and accessible.
Our approach to tool creation was user-centric: we studied competitor offerings and made premium features freely available, maximizing value for users.
Traffic Generation
We implemented a multi-channel approach to traffic generation:
- Traditional SEO optimization
- Strategic link building through industry catalogs and media outlets
- Innovative social media strategy using in-house micro-influencers
Our influencer strategy proved particularly effective, generating nearly a million views across platforms in just two months.
Results and Monetization
Initially focusing purely on growth, we delayed monetization until reaching 30,000 monthly organic users. This patient approach paid off - when we finally implemented our conversion funnel, we saw impressive engagement metrics and conversion rates.
We're seeing strong user adoption rates and encouraging conversion metrics, with users actively engaging with our premium features and subscription options.
Key Takeaways
- Patient, strategic domain acquisition can significantly accelerate SEO results
- Focus on solving user problems rather than immediate monetization
- Quality human-written content outperforms AI-generated content in the long run
- Free tools can be a powerful traffic magnet
- Strategic social media presence can significantly boost organic growth
Our experience shows that with the right strategy, it's possible to achieve significant organic growth in a relatively short time, even in competitive niches. The key is focusing on user value first and monetization second
