Built a free llms.txt generator to drive traffic to my docs SaaS
Hey everyone!
I'm building Dokly — a documentation platform (think Mintlify/GitBook alternative but indie-priced at $19/mo instead of $150+/mo).
Like many of you, getting initial traffic has been brutal. SEO takes forever, paid ads are expensive, and cold outreach feels gross.
The Idea: Free Tools for SEO
I noticed that "llms.txt" is a growing search term. It's a new standard for helping AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor) understand your documentation — kind of like robots.txt but for AI.
The keyword has:
- Low competition (it's new)
- High intent (developers actively searching for solutions)
- Direct relevance to my product (documentation)
So I built a free llms.txt generator: https://dokly.co/tools/llms-txt-generator
What It Does
- Enter your site name and description
- Import pages from your sitemap (or add manually)
- Generates properly formatted llms.txt
- Copy or download
No signup. No email capture. Completely free.
The Strategy
- Rank for "llms.txt generator" — low competition, direct intent
- Provide genuine value — not a crappy lead gen trap
- Soft CTA — "Want docs that generate llms.txt automatically? Try Dokly"
- Build trust — free tools → trust → eventual conversion
Why I'm Sharing
Would love feedback on:
-
Is this a good traffic strategy? Building free tools around adjacent keywords?
-
Should I gate it? Currently no email required. Should I add optional email capture for "save your progress" or keep it friction-free?
-
What other tools could work? Thinking about:
- Documentation site analyzer
- MDX playground
- API docs generator
- README to docs converter
-
Is the tool itself useful? If you have docs, would you use this?
Learnings So Far
- Free tools are a great way to build backlinks naturally
- Adjacent keywords with commercial intent > exact match keywords with no intent
- Not gating actually builds more trust (counterintuitive but seems true)
The Numbers (so far)
Too early for real data, but I'll update this thread as I see results.
Link: https://dokly.co/tools/llms-txt-generator
Main product: https://dokly.co
Happy to answer any questions about the build or strategy!
Smart SEO play - llms.txt is becoming the new robots.txt for AI crawlers.
Before you double down: have you validated that docs SaaS founders actually struggle with traffic, or is acquisition the bigger pain? I've seen too many devtools solve the wrong problem.
I built FounderOS to check this exact thing - validates market demand before you build features. Happy to run your docs SaaS concept through it if you want to check product-market fit?
Takes 3 mins, might save you months of building the wrong thing.