I Grew My Site From 0 → 10K Monthly Visitors With Simple SEO — Here’s Exactly What Worked

Hey Indie Hackers 👋

I’ve been experimenting with SEO over the past few months, and I wanted to share what actually moved the needle for my website — no fancy tools or huge budgets required.

Here’s what actually worked for me:

I stopped chasing high-volume keywords.
Instead of competing for “best AI tools,” I focused on question-based searches like:

“What is the best AI tool for note-taking?”

“How do I automate blog writing with ChatGPT?”
These were easier to rank for and brought in targeted readers.

I used ChatGPT for keyword ideas.
I literally asked, “What questions do people ask about AI tools?” — and it gave me 50+ solid post ideas instantly.

I built backlinks through genuine outreach.
Reached out to other AI bloggers, offered to collaborate or swap insights. One partnership got me featured in a newsletter that drove 500+ new visitors in a day.

I published one post per week — consistently.
It took about 3 months to see traction, but after that, traffic started compounding.

Curious:
What’s your biggest challenge with SEO right now?
Are you focusing more on content, backlinks, or technical optimization?

Would love to share ideas and help where I can.