Building an SEO product to $14k MRR in a crowded
market
Rick van Haasteren built a side project that he used when freelancing for SEO clients. Then, during the pandemic, he decided to make a real go of it, and he turned it into a full product: SiteGuru.
Four years later, it's bringing in $14k MRR.
Here's Rick on how he did it. 👇
Going all-in on a side project
For the past eight years or so, I've been working on SiteGuru, an SEO tool that aims to make ranking in Google easier, even if you're not an SEO expert.
My background is a weird combination of marketing and development, which gave me a solid founder-product fit — I needed to have a solid understanding of how websites work while, at the same time, understanding marketing and business goals.
I started building SiteGuru when I was still working as an SEO consultant. I needed a simple audit tool that would help me spot the main issues on a client's website, without having to sift through hundreds of reports, trying to find out what's relevant and what's not. Eventually, I decided to build something myself.
As I used SiteGuru myself on client projects, I learned what worked and what didn't, which helped me fine-tune the tool. Then, during the pandemic, I decided I really wanted to try and make a full-time business out of SiteGuru.
I quit my job and focused fully on making SiteGuru a mature product that would help me pay the bills. It's been four years now, and it's still the best decision I've ever made.
I never hated my job, but I was always looking forward to the weekends. Now, I love what I'm doing and I look forward to Monday mornings, so I can get back to building cool stuff!
From internal tool to side project to standalone product
When I started off, SiteGuru was just an internal tool and a side project. I loved building products, so whenever I got home from work, I would continue working on it. It took a lot of evenings and weekends to turn an audit tool into a full-blown, reliable SEO product that people love.
When I started working on SiteGuru full-time, I was finally able to speed up development. Then, when I hired a developer, things got even more serious.
Now, the product is much more than just an audit tool: We pull in all sorts of data from Google and other data providers to provide insights — way beyond just checking your website. And we're using AI to come up with SEO-consultant-like recommendations, things that I never thought would be possible.
We're running mostly on Laravel Vapor, which makes scaling super easy. That's extra useful because many processes, like fetching data from Google and crawling and auditing websites, run in the background.
We also use a legacy PHP framework for the frontend, which is old, but it works. Everything runs on AWS. Since switching to Vapor, we've spent a lot less time worrying about infrastructure.
Growing an SEO tool with SEO
We've spent a lot of time writing content about SEO.
That was tricky at first, because most other SEO tools were doing the same thing. Looking back, I should have added a lot more influencer-based marketing into the mix. Organic content works, but in a competitive space like ours, it takes too much time.
If we had done more outreach and built an audience before building a product, we probably could have grown faster.
See your users in action
The SEO tool space is a busy space. Initially, it was hard to carve out our own niche. However, we found that most tools are extremely focused on SEO professionals, and not so much on general marketers lacking in-depth SEO skills.
When we started focusing on that audience and spent a lot of time optimizing our user experience, SiteGuru surfaced as one of the easiest-to-use SEO tools.
To do that, we spend a lot of time seeing our users in action. To do that, we set up a session recording tool. Every week, we go through a number of recordings, seeing our users move across the screen. This helps us identify bottlenecks, things that are broken, or features that are unclear. It can be frustrating to see this, but it helps us find issues and build a product that people really love.
It's particularly helpful with launches. Every time we launch a new feature, we watch screen recordings and we always see things that don't work — despite proper testing. Using screen recordings is a sure way to spot issues and UX imperfections quickly.
That's my pro-tip for every founder: Watch some screen recordings of your onboarding and see how your users go through it. You'll feel their pain. You'll see your own product through the eyes of a new user. I guarantee you that there will be some quick fixes that can boost your conversions.
Understand your customers
You need a true understanding of your customers. Every time I chat with one of my customers and they show me how they use our software, I get new ideas on how we can better help them do their work.
The best way to do that is to do the work your clients are doing. In my case, that meant taking on SEO projects, and using SiteGuru to run them.
In other words, you have to eat your own dog food. Not just clicking around, but actually working as your customers would. There's no better way to get a feel for what your customers want than being your own customer.
Consider lifetime deals
We sell SiteGuru as a subscription service, so we're a SaaS. We're also offering a limited version of SiteGuru as a lifetime deal, which has been a great revenue booster for us.
Lifetime deals sound scary to many SaaS founders and I can see why. But for us, it really works. We upsell our pro features as monthly add-ons, and many lifetime deal buyers stack multiple deals, so they basically keep buying. We've been able to keep our costs under control, so it has definitely paid off for us.
What's next?
The SEO space is changing rapidly with the rise of AI. Tools like ChatGPT are replacing Google searches, and Google itself is also changing to use more AI.
At the same time, the core principles of SEO still work: Create a technically sound website, with great content for your users, and build authority.
We want to continue helping our clients do that in the age of AI.
You can follow me on LinkedIn. And check out siteguru.co!
Leave a Comment
Rick turned his freelance SEO tool into SiteGuru, now making $14K MRR — proof that solving your own problems can build real businesses. I’ve been exploring similar growth stories while managing my food site Steak ’n Shake Menu Prices 2025 — inspiration for staying consistent with small wins.
Big fan of SiteGuru, I got the lifetime deal early on and still use it regularly. The UX is super clean compared to most SEO tools.
Totally agree on the value of session recordings. Watching users in real time is humbling but so useful. That single practice probably fixes more conversion leaks than any A/B test ever could.
鼓舞人心的故事
amazing
Fantastic story — the “internal tool → product” path rings true. The user session recordings tip is gold. I’m working on a small performance tool myself and this pushed me to schedule some user-watching this week.
What an inspiring journey, Rick! I love how you focused on the real problems of users and iterated. $14K MRR in a crowded market is no small feat; congrats and keep trucking! 🚀
Really inspiring, Rick. I love how you turned a personal SEO need into a polished SaaS that others rely on — that “freelancer → product” journey really resonates with me.
The part about watching user sessions is gold; it’s something I’ve recently started doing for my own MicroSaaS, and the insights are eye-opening. Thanks for sharing this so openly!
Really interesting to see how you watch users in action to improve UX! In my work, I’ve built a Notion portfolio via Superso across 7 sites with 200+ posts, and schema interlinking has helped me spot SEO bottlenecks and content gaps quickly. Seeing users interact with content in context can be super revealing—I’ve found it surfaces issues that aren’t obvious from analytics alone.
Really inspiring journey, Rick! 👏
I think one of the most valuable takeaways here is how you leaned into understanding your users through session recordings and direct conversations. Many founders overlook that, but it’s such a powerful way to identify friction points and create a product that truly fits user needs.
Also, your point about building content early and mixing it with influencer-based marketing really resonates. In crowded markets, organic SEO alone takes time — building an audience early definitely gives that initial push most SaaS founders wish they had.
I’m curious, how did you balance between product improvements and marketing efforts during the early growth stage? It’s always tricky to find that balance without burning out.
I am simply amazed seeing a wonderful platform you are creating, hoping the best for you❤ I am also working on many projects of my clients like Mission, soon feet in SaaS.
This is such an inspiring story, Rick! It's always good to see SaaS founders who prioritize SEO succeeding. The way you transitioned from consulting to product reminds me how important it is to validate pain points before scaling. At Saaslogic, we often see founders follow similar paths, where feedback from early customers shapes the product roadmap.
Thanks for the transparency; this was a refreshing read!
Hi. What you main traffic source?
It’s great to be able to stand out in a competitive market and find your own niche.
Really inspiring journey, Rick! Turning a tool you built for yourself into a $14k MRR SaaS in a competitive SEO market isn’t easy — props for the hard work.
A few things that stood out to me:
Watching users in action (session recordings) is such a powerful insight. I’ve started doing the same for my small tool and I’m seeing friction points I would never have found just from analytics.
The lifetime deals + excluding high-cost features tactic makes a lot of sense — it’s a clever way to balance cash flow and sustainability.
Content + SEO are slow growth channels, but they compound. I’m also investing in content targeting long-tail keywords and seeing small wins that keep stacking up.
Curious though — when you first leaned into SEO as your primary channel, around how many months did it take you before traffic started being “predictably growing” (not just spikes)?
That's awesome! Goes to show that even when the market is crowded, if you can make your product 1% better than the rest you can still find success!
That’s super inspiring, Rick! Your story really highlights how solving your own problem can lead to a successful product. I’ve had a somewhat similar experience — though in a completely different niche.
While exploring SEO growth for creative tools, I noticed a big demand for simple yet powerful video editing apps that people could use without heavy subscriptions or watermarks. That’s how I started working on content around tools like VN Video Editor, focusing on how creators can produce high-quality videos for social media without expensive software
Just like you grew SiteGuru by understanding your users’ pain points, I found that helping users find reliable, ad-free editing solutions drives a lot of organic engagement. SEO + authenticity really works when your product (or content) genuinely solves a need.
Thanks for sharing your journey — it’s motivating to see consistent growth built around user experience and problem-solving.
Wow, that’s really inspiring, Rick! I love how you turned a personal problem into something useful for others. Totally agree ,when you focus on real user needs instead of just numbers, things start to grow naturally. Thanks for sharing your story, it’s super motivating!
Loved the “see users in action” loop and the pragmatic LTD structure (stackable codes + excluding high-cost features) — smart way to boost cash without killing unit economics. Curious: what single activation best predicts conversion today—first full crawl, first issue fixed, or connecting GSC?
Good and very informative .SEO is game that makes a man powerful.
Great read! It’s impressive how Rick turned a personal SEO need into a full product like SiteGuru. I’ve also tested similar ideas on my own site aviator predictor v12 pro 2025 to understand how small SEO tweaks can drive real improvements. Really motivating breakdown of the process!
Just wanted to jump in and say this is a masterclass in handling LTDs. The stackable codes for scaling and excluding high-cost features for sustainability is a really clever and fair approach. Appreciate you sharing the logic behind it!
That's great advice and also a great tool, buying the lifetime deal was one of the best software buying decisions I've ever made! 🙂
You talked about lifetime deal but i don't find in your website.
How do you think Rick balanced building the product and doing client work in the early days? I always struggle to find that balance myself. And also, I’m curious — how do you decide when a side project is ready to go full-time?
That’s an impressive milestone — reaching $14k MRR in such a competitive SEO market takes real strategy and persistence. It shows how understanding your audience and offering genuine value can still break through even in crowded spaces. I follow a similar mindset with my own platform, focusing on user experience and niche engagement to stand out. Consistency and innovation truly make all the difference in sustainable growth!
good article
I'll try it, seems it will help me
Love this story really inspiring how you turned a tool you built for yourself into a sustainable SaaS. The “see your users in action” advice is gold so many founders overlook that step, but it’s one of the fastest ways to improve UX and retention.
Also interesting how you’re using lifetime deals strategically instead of dismissing them outright. That balance between steady MRR and creative monetization is smart. Great work, Rick!
Super impressive — especially reaching $14k MRR in such a saturated space. Shows how much execution and real user focus matters over just finding “blue ocean” niches.
I’m working on something much smaller, more content-focused — an anime fan site where I’m testing organic SEO growth through indexed APK pages and search intent targeting. If anyone’s curious, it’s called crunchyanimeapk .org (still early days).
Really appreciate posts like this — helps set realistic but motivating benchmarks. 🙌
Really liked this, Rick; taking an internal audit tool → SiteGuru and aiming it at general marketers (not just SEOs) is a sharp way to stand out in a crowded space. Watching session recordings to fix friction and doubling down on UX makes sense; it shows in how you talk about launches and onboarding.
The hybrid model was interesting, too; SaaS first, with a limited lifetime deal that upsells pro add-ons and excludes high-cost features. Clean way to boost cash without wrecking unit economics.
If you were to push one lever next quarter, I’d test: a “first win in 5 minutes” checklist on the dashboard and 2–3 job-to-be-done templates (in-house marketer, agency, founder) so no one starts from a blank state. Curious: what single activation best predicts a paying user today; first full crawl, first issues fixed, or connecting GSC?
P.S. I’m with Buzz; we build conversion-focused Webflow sites and pragmatic SEO for product launches. Happy to share a tight 10-point GTM checklist if useful.
Love this Rick ... side-project to $14k MRR is the dream..
Looking good so far - those are some seriously well thought through details on the product and UX. The flow is simple and straightforward, something you don’t often experience in SEO tools.
I really like how the dashboard gives an immediate sense of what matters most without clutter. great execution 👏
Really inspiring journey love how you managed to find traction in such a saturated SEO space. It’s a great reminder that differentiation isn’t always about invention, but execution and clarity on who you’re serving. Congrats on hitting $14K MRR!
Thanks Abby!
Great insight on dogfooding! Watching users struggle through your own product is humbling but invaluable.
Question: How do you balance the lifetime deal customers with regular subscribers? I've always worried LTD buyers would create support debt without recurring revenue to match.
Also, congrats on making Mondays exciting again - that's the real metric of success! 🎉
Hey Freddy, that's a good question. We found the right balance by offering a great LTD deal, for which many users stack multiple codes. That way, as their business grows, they buy more codes and everybody wins.
For some features, we incur ongoing costs (like purchasing backlink data). Those featured are not pat of the LTD. Not because we don't want to give it to our LTD customers, but because it would not be a sustainable business model. Most LTD clients understand that.
Cool …! That makes total sense. I really appreciate the transparency about the costs and sustainability - it's refreshing to see a company that's upfront about it. The stackable codes approach is smart too. Thanks for explaining! 👍
This is super inspiring. I'm also in the middle of building a tool in the eCommerce space, and your journey really hits home. I love how you leaned into actual user behavior with screen recordings. We’ve started doing something similar for our upsell tool, and honestly, it’s been eye-opening.
I totally agree with the part about content taking time. We’re also relying heavily on SEO and it feels like planting trees, it takes patience, but it’s worth it.
Curious though, when you first started focusing on SEO as your main growth channel, how long did it take before you saw consistent traffic?
I'd say at least 6 months. But in that period we tried some other things too, like a ProductHunt launch and posting on IH. It's the combination of all those things that helped us gain traction.
I am also into dropshipping business i just started few months ago and it has really been good and i have been earning six figures in my store in just three month
If you are also interested in getting started you can dm me now!!!
Especially appreciate
ove this story, Rick. Really inspiring how SiteGuru evolved from a personal tool into a $14k MRR business. The transition from freelancing to full-time founder during the pandemic shows real conviction — and it clearly paid off.
Especially appreciate how you leaned on your unique marketing + dev background to build something both functional and marketable. That’s true founder-product fit in action.
Thanks!
Really inspiring story, Rick 👏. The point about using screen recordings to watch users in action hit me — I’ve noticed the same thing when helping small businesses with SEO/website work. What feels simple to us can be totally confusing to real users, and those recordings reveal so much.
Also, your take on lifetime deals is interesting. I’ve always wondered if offering a limited version instead of full access is the key to making it sustainable. Great insight, thanks for sharing!
Thanks Shemith!
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