BrokerRank
Free broker comparison tool with data-driven ratings
Two weeks ago I posted about building a comparison site with 10K+ pages. Here's what happened since launch.
The numbers
- 33,467 impressions
- 70 clicks
- 50+ countries
- Pages on Google page 1 already
- $0 spent on ads
Growth was flat for the first week, then exploded on day 10 when Google finished crawling the sitemap. Went from 700 to 12K impressions in a single day.
What worked
IndexNow on day 1. I submitted all 10K URLs to Bing, Yandex, Naver and Seznam the moment I deployed. Google started crawling within hours. Most people wait for Google to find them — don't.
Comparison pages rank fastest. "Brand A vs Brand B" queries are long-tail and low competition. These hit page 1 within days while broader keywords are still on page 3-4.
Structured data everywhere. Every page has schema.org markup (Review, FAQ, Dataset, Breadcrumb). Google rewards this with better indexing and eventually rich snippets.
Real data, not templates. Every page uses actual numbers from the database — pricing, features, compliance status. Google can tell the difference between a page that says "competitive pricing" and one that says "$0.8 per unit".
What didn't work
- Blocked /_next/ in robots.txt — Google needs JS to render pages. Cost me a few days of indexing.
- Duplicate structured data — a React component and the page both rendered FAQ schema. Thousands of GSC warnings.
- Didn't check GSC until day 7. Should have monitored from day 1.
What's next
CTR is 0.2% — the main bottleneck now. Already optimized all meta description templates to include specific data and ratings instead of generic text.
Next: backlinks through original datasets and data visualizations, plus guest posts on dev blogs.
The site: https://brokerrank.net/data/average-spreads — a comparison platform with 300+ products and 10K pages, built with Next.js and PostgreSQL.
Happy to answer questions about the SEO approach or tech stack.
I was frustrated with broker comparison sites — most are pay-to-play, rankings
are based on who pays the most, not actual quality.
So I built BrokerRank (brokerrank.net) — a free, data-driven comparison of 345+
trading brokers.
How it works:
- Every broker is scored by an algorithm: regulation (25%), fees (20%), platforms
(15%), trust (15%), UX (15%), markets (10%)
- No paid placements — brokers can't buy higher rankings
- 10,000+ pages generated programmatically (reviews, comparisons, rankings,
guides)
Tech stack:
- Next.js 16 + TypeScript
- PostgreSQL (Neon) + Prisma
- Vercel hosting
- ISR for SEO (all pages pre-rendered)
Monetization: affiliate links (commission when users sign up with a broker
through our links). Revenue: $0 so far — just launched.
Happy to answer any questions about the build, SEO strategy, or programmatic
content generation!
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This makes a lot of sense — choosing the right broker can be overwhelming, especially for beginners.
How are you planning to build trust around the data and rankings early on?
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Great question! A few things we're doing:
1. Open methodology — the scoring algorithm and weights are published on a dedicated "How We Rank" page. Anyone can see exactly how scores are calculated.
2. No paid rankings — affiliate revenue comes through tracked links, but it never influences scores or positions. A broker paying us $0 and one paying us $500 get scored the same way.
3. Real data only — every data point (fees, regulation, platforms) comes from the broker's own website or regulator databases. No made-up numbers.
4. Schema org structured data — we use Review and FAQ schema so search engines can verify our content structure.
Trust takes time, but transparency is the foundation. If people can see how the rankings work, they can decide for themselves whether to trust them.
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Publishing the methodology is a smart move — transparency probably matters a lot in a space where people assume rankings are biased by affiliates.
I wonder if over time trust will come more from the data itself or from brand reputation and content. A lot of comparison sites seem to become trusted not just because of methodology, but because they consistently publish useful content and become a known resource in the space.
Are you focusing more on SEO/content long-term or partnerships/affiliates for growth?
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