Launched: AI tools directory with 8,600 SEO pages (2 months in)
https://saas.pet
I launched saas.pet as a side project in April. It's an AI tools directory that ranks 644+ tools across 35 categories.
Current state (2 months in):
- 644 tools, 266 reviews, 727 comparison pages
- 8,600 SEO pages ranking on Google
- 41 DAU (mostly organic from LinkedIn + a few Show HN attempts)
- AdSense approved today (live)
- /find: free AI tool search engine (live since last week)
What worked:
- SEO-first from day 1: 8,600 pages with proper internal linking, JSON-LD structured data, real author identity (E-E-A-T). This is the foundation.
- Long-form content on multiple platforms: I write 1,500-2,000 word articles on saas.pet, then publish to Dev.to, Medium, Substack, Blogger. Each platform gives a dofollow backlink. Now have 11 articles across 5 platforms.
- Real author identity: Replaced abstract "A" avatar with my real photo + LinkedIn URL on every page. Massive E-E-A-T boost. Google took the content seriously after this.
- Free tools > paid tools for traffic: /find (free AI tool search engine) gets shared on LinkedIn because it solves a real problem without gating value.
What didn't work: - Auto-generated content: Got flagged by Google. Now every review has a real "What sets X apart" section I wrote myself.
- Affiliate-only focus before traffic: 0 conversions. Now with AdSense first, traffic compounds.
- Reddit: Locked my account for low karma. Twitter/X has reach issues.
Tech stack:
- Static site on Vercel (Hobby plan, $0/month)
- Pure HTML/CSS/JS, no framework
- Node.js scripts generate pages from JSON
- Sitemap auto-generated
- Cron runs daily at 5 AM UTC
AdSense just approved today. Revenue: $0 before today. Now live.
Curious: What channels are working for other indie hackers in 2026? Currently trying LinkedIn + IndieHackers + SEO since Reddit is locked for me.
Try /find: https://saas.pet/find (free, no signup)
Main site: https://saas.pet
The interesting number here isn't 8,600 pages.
It's 41 DAU.
Those two metrics can tell very different stories.
I'd be curious which one you're treating as the stronger signal right now.
Update: Got excited and wrote "AdSense approved" but actually it's still under review. Apologies for the confusion. The 0 → review process is what I wanted to share, not the approval itself.
Either way, the SEO + E-E-A-T work is real. AdSense is just the final layer.
Will report back when it's actually live.
The biggest lesson from this: don't optimize for revenue before you have traffic. I tried affiliate first, got 0 conversions because there was no audience. Now with AdSense live, every pageview is revenue.
If you're starting from 0, build for SEO + E-E-A-T first, monetize later.