HTML Table Exporter

Hey IH 👋

6 weeks ago I launched a Chrome extension called HTML Table Exporter. Today I have 71 weekly active users and $15 in revenue. Zero ad spend, no existing audience, no Twitter following.

I want to share exactly what happened: the wins, the failures, and what I'd do differently.

The product

Data analysts and consultants export tables from websites constantly: financial data, competitor research, CRM exports. The existing tools frustrated me: Table Capture has a 250-row limit on free tier, others charge for Excel export, most track user data.

So I built the tool I wished existed: unlimited rows free, one-click export to Excel/CSV/JSON, zero tracking.

The numbers after 6 weeks

- Weekly active users: 71

- Total installs: 156

- Uninstalls: 58 (63% retention)

- Revenue: $15 (one PRO subscription at $14.99/mo)

- Countries: 25+ (USA 39%, Germany 16%)

- SEO impressions: 3,500

- SEO clicks: 30

- Average position: 12

What actually worked

1. Comparison blog posts: Articles like "HTML Table Exporter vs Table Capture" rank surprisingly fast. I'm position 6-7 for several "alternative to X" keywords. These posts attract people actively looking to switch.

2. Directory submissions: SaaSHub (got nominated for weekly top 15), AlternativeTo, Product Hunt. The traffic is minimal but backlinks compound over time.

3. Scheduled content pipeline: I wrote 40+ articles for Dev.to and Hashnode, scheduled through June. Two posts per week. The SEO value won't hit for 3-6 months, but I front-loaded the work.

4. Solving a specific pain point: "Row limits" is a real frustration. When people search for workarounds, they find me.

What completely flopped

1. Product Hunt launch: Ranked #195 with 2 upvotes. Without an existing audience, PH is basically useless. I spent hours preparing assets for nothing.

2. Cold outreach to bloggers: Sent 8 personalized emails to Excel/data bloggers offering free PRO licenses. Zero responses. Not even rejections.

3. Expecting faster SEO results: My blog has 3,500 impressions but only 30 clicks (0.8% CTR). I optimized titles last week, waiting to see impact.

Biggest surprise

Germany is my second largest market (16% of installs). I didn't expect that. Makes me wonder if I should translate content.

Current challenge

The funnel from SEO impressions to clicks is broken. I'm ranking but people aren't clicking. Working on more compelling titles and meta descriptions.

What I'd do differently

Start the blog 2 months before launch. SEO takes time to compound and I'm feeling that lag now.

---

For those who've grown a Chrome extension or dev tool organically: what channel ended up working that you didn't expect? And how long before SEO started generating real traffic?

Would love to hear your experiences.