How I revived a dead product from $0 and gave it life ($400 MRR) in 1 month and how you can too!

I am the creator of indexguru.io. IndexGuru is just a very simple, "set and forget" SEO companion that ensures your content automatically gets indexed by search engines really fast.

Like many of you, I built a lot of sites over the years. SEO was always my primary traffic engine. I would build a site, write a lot of posts, and then wait.

It was just annoying because it would take so long for G to even acknowledge those new pages existed, because I had no search authority.

So I started researching options. First thing I found was RankMath. It looks AMAZING! But it only works on Wordpress. I don’t do Wordpress!

So, looked for more options. Found the Google Indexing API. It’s free! Anyone can use it. You can use it yourself without paying for our service or anybody else’s.

The thing is, it’s an API so you need some technical chops to get it working. I got a prototype working for myself to auto index pages using it, and, as any good business minded person would, decided to productize it and sell it as a service.

Thus, IndexGuru was born.

The Failed Launch

Sounds great, right?

Not so much. We launched in January on HN. There were a few sign ups, but after a few weeks, MRR dropped to nil, as did traffic.

I essentially gave up on the product, letting it sit idle for 8 months.

The Spark

In August, I came across a Twitter thread, and stumbled upon a product that was strangely similar to mine. Similar theming, marketing, UI, functionality — everything!

They also were openly posting their MRR and other statistics related to that.

I came to learn that this product was launched a month after mine, and that they were generating several thousand dollars each month MRR.

Now — we all deal with this. In business, copying is just a thing. It's not illegal to open a Starbucks across the street from a Dunkin' for example. No offense taken, totally understand - you see opportunity, you should take it!

However — this lit a fire in me. I realized that my product that was built, ready, and idle, was actually solving a problem that A LOT of people have, and are willing to pay for.

So — what do I do?

The Marketing Blitz

I go on an absolute marketing blitz. If somebody is making money doing the same thing I am, it's clearly just an issue of marketing.

1. I launch to product hunt.

2. I comment on reddit posts, in a way that isn't spammy. If somebody asks why they can't get their page indexed on Google, I give them genuine answers. For example, I tell them the content needs updating, the page speed is slow, the sitemaps need to be submitted. As an aside, after you do all of that, you should check out IndexGuru.

3. I start trying hard on Twitter. I get verified I start following everybody in my niche. Responding to stuff, making myself known, making myself useful. I don't just say "check out my product pls" - no! I just comment useful relevant stuff. And if they click my profile, curious who this guy is, they'll see IndexGuru. Think about it - if 200 people see my comment, 10 click my profile, 3 click my site, 1 converts, it's the easiest marketing strategy of all time! A 10 second comment results in a paid user.

4. I leverage existing project traffic to help convert. I run another site, crfyi. It's a free tool for consultants and freelancers. On every single page, I have a small native ad for IndexGuru.

All in all, in 1 month, it's resulted in 32 paid users and $400 MRR. If this pace continues, I don't see why I wouldn't be up to several thousand MRR in a few months.

What You Can Learn From This

• Products that are basically simple API wrappers can and do succeed.
• Copycats/competition are validation. There are now at least 8 different products in this niche that all do the exact same thing.
• Marketing doesn't need to be expensive
• Put your project in your Twitter profile. Respond to relevant posts, without egregiously pumping your site. People will be curious about who you are, and it's free traffic if they click the link in your profile.
• Use reddit. Don't pump your site every post. Redditors notoriously hate this and you will get banned. Provide value - occasionally link your site, only if it's super relevant.
• If you have any existing platform, at all, use it. My free tool for freelancers get 5000 visitors each month. I have free advertising on that platform, because I own it.