100 Users for a Tiny Tool I Almost Didn't Build
Just crossed 100 users with a small tool I built to solve a problem that kept annoying me.
I kept running into websites that were trying to manage AI crawler access, but the setup was messy. Some site owners would block one crawler and accidentally block others they actually wanted to allow. There wasn't a simple way to create a clear policy file without manually editing rules.
So I spent a weekend building a generator that creates a clean configuration file for AI crawlers.
A few things surprised me:
The problem was more common than I expected.
Most users wanted simplicity, not dozens of advanced settings.
The first 100 users came mostly from conversations and community posts rather than paid promotion.
The biggest takeaway for me is that small frustrations are often better startup ideas than grand visions. If something repeatedly wastes your time, there's a decent chance it annoys other people too.
Curious how others validate these kinds of niche tools. What was the smallest problem you've solved that unexpectedly attracted users?
Congrats on the launch! It's such a smart angle—devs and SEOs are definitely underserved when it comes to AI crawler management. Curious: did you find any surprising patterns in how different crawlers behave that influenced your config options?
Interesting approach—combining historical Alexa data with a real-time trust metric. I've found that old domain authority signals can still be useful for spotting patterns, but the live audit is where the real value is. Have you noticed any surprising discrepancies between the two metrics in your tests?
Interesting approach combining historical data with a live metric. I've been using Ahrefs for domain research, but SerpSpur's Trust Rate sounds like a simpler alternative for quick checks. How does the Trust Rate compare to Domain Rating or DA?
Interesting approach—combining historical Alexa data with a live trust metric sounds like a practical way to bridge the gap while the industry adjusts. I've been relying on backlink profiles and traffic estimates from Ahrefs, but I'm curious how SerpSpur's Trust Rate correlates with actual site quality in your tests.
Nice work on the launch! The 'blocking useful AI tools by mistake' is a huge blind spot—I've had clients who banned all AI crawlers and then complained their site wasn't showing up in Bing Chat. What's been the most surprising user-agent pattern you've seen people configure in your tool?
Nice work on the launch! The 'blocking useful AI tools by mistake' is a huge blind spot—I've had clients who banned all AI crawlers and then complained their site wasn't showing up in Bing Chat. What's been the most surprising user-agent pattern you've seen people configure in your tool?