My step-by-step guide to product ideas with customers on auto-pilot

This guide is inspired by Danny Postma his strategy on building SEO-optimized products.

I created an actionable step-by-step guide to build a product that will bring you customers on auto-pilot. You don't need a big audience or waste too much time on marketing...

Hope it helps you! Always happy to chat on Twitter

“If there’s no viable search demand for an idea I have, I ditch it.” —Danny Postma

Step 1: Find the keyword

When looking for a solution, everyone goes through Google. So if you only pick product ideas that have a lot of search and low competition, you will never have to waste too much time on marketing because you will rank high in Google and get people to your website.

If no one searches in it for Google, it means you have to create the market and that are products you want to stay away from as an indiehacker.

Type in keywords until you find one that ticks all the boxes:

• Keyword difficulty < 20 This means that you need less then 10 backlinks to rank in the top 10 of Google Search results. Backlinks are other websites mentioning your website, this signals trust to Google. Getting 10 backlinks is feasible for anyone.
• Volume is higher then 500 This means that there are enough people searching for this on a monthly basis. They google this so they are looking for a solution.
• Daughter keywords > 100 You want to rank for more keywords then just the main keyword because this can bring in much more traffic.

🧰 Tool recommendation

You can do this with the free ahrefs tool.But it doesn’t give you all the data (recommended values + number of child keywords + list of child keywords).

Build The Keyword is a tool we made to make this first step of finding a keyword easier. It checks in one step if the keyword ticks all the boxes and shows the list of child keywords.

Step 2: Buy a domain name

Find a simple and clear domain name that signals to both Google and your potential customers that your website is a relevant solution to what they are looking for.

Let your main keyword return in the domain name. It doesn’t effect ranking but descriptive URLs help people understand what the page is about when they see “naked” links to your content, which helps boost clicks.

🔥 Examples from Danny Postma

• HeadshotPRO.com: people searching for “professional headshots”
• Figcomponents.com: people searching for “figma components”

🧰 Tool recommendation

• Find available domain names
• Find oneword domains
• Find expired domains

Step 3: Build your product

The product that you create should focus on one thing: providing immediately what the visitor is looking for.

The best way to do is to:

• Give them value Show what the visitor is looking for immediately on the homepage. This will make the visitor spent time on your website and Google likes that.
• Make sure that your product is of high-quality. This will make people share it and Google likes that.
• Don’t hide everything behind a signup page or a paywall. This brings friction for the user and it is likely they will just leave (bounce) and Google dislikes that. Free products keep users on the site, which boosts the Google ranking of your product.

🔥 Example from Danny Postma:

If you land on Figcomponents.com you can browse and check loads of figma components right on the homepage. No signup, no paywall.

🧰 Tool recommendation

You can’t code or want to go FAST?

Check out these tools for non technical makers with a low learning curve:

• For directories: Softr
• For web apps: Glide
• For content website: Bettermode
• For newsletter: Beehiiv
• For job board: Niceboard
• For market place: Sharetribe

Step 4: Implement main keyword

Optimize your website for your main keyword. Make it come back everywhere.

1. In your H1 title:

This is the main title on your page

• Only have 1 H1 title
• Match it with the meta title

2. In your meta title:

Title tags are often the main piece of information used to decide which result to click on. This is why you need to make them compelling.

• Keep them short: Under 70 characters is best to avoid truncation.
• Match search intent: Tell searchers you have what they want.
• Be descriptive: Don’t be vague or generic.
• Don’t clickbait: Make sure they align with your content.
• Include the keyword: Use a close variation if it makes more sense.
• Include the year: For topics that demand freshness.

3. In your meta description

Meta descriptions aren’t a Google ranking factor but can bring more clicks and traffic. This is because Google often uses them for the descriptive snippet in the search results.

• Keep them short: Under 160 characters is best to avoid truncation.
• Expand on the title tag: Include USPs that you couldn’t fit there.
• Match search intent: Double down on what searchers want.
• Use an active voice: Address the searcher directly.
• Include your keyword: Google often bolds this in the results.

4. In your images

Google says that filenames and the alt text of an image give it clues about the image’s subject matter. Here are a few naming tips:

• Be descriptive
• Be succinct
• Don’t stuff keywords
• Don’t say it’s an image
• Use dashes between words (for file names only)
• Example: best-true-crime-podcasts.jpg, not IMG\_123456.jpg

🔥 Example from Danny Postma

• H1: Free Figma Component Library
• Meta title: Free Figma Component Library | Figcomponents
• Meta description: We've curated the best Figma components in one place. Discover, copy and paste UI components in Figma with the most efficient way to build designs.

🧰 Tool recommendation

Try this tool to test your meta description and title

Step 5: Create subpages

Next to your main landing page, you need to create loads of other pages focussing on other relevant child keywords. If you rank for those too, it will bring you even more traffic

Do the same as your main keyword:

• Provide immediately what the visitor is looking for
• Implement the child keyword in your h1 title
• Implement the child keyword in your meta title and description
• Implement the child keyword in your images
• Implement the child keyword in your URL

Link to the most important subpages on the home page and all of them on a special category page. This way Google knows they exist.

For URL’s it is important to use words that are relevant to your content and:

• Use your target keyword in the slug part of the URL
• Keep URL’s short yet informative
• Use hyphens, not underscores, to separate words
• Avoid using dates in slugs
• Make them lowercase

🔥 Example from Danny Postma

• Child keyword: figma website components
• URL: www.figcomponents.com/components/website
• Category page URL: www.figcomponents.com/category

🧰 Tool recommendation

In Build The Keyword you can see the child keywords.

Step 6: Monetization

Most of your website content is free to rank high in Google and enhance share-ability. Too make money set-up a PRO version of your product that offers more value. This typically includes a range of enhancements and advanced features compared to its standard or free counterparts.

A pro version can vary widely depending on the product category but some ideas:

1. Advanced Features: More functionalities that are not available in the standard versions. This could include more customization options, higher precision or more capabilities in software,…
2. Increased Limits: Higher limits on usage, such as more storage space, higher data caps, more project slots, etc.
3. Improved Performance: Better performance metrics like faster processing speeds, enhanced efficiency, higher quality outputs, etc.
4. Priority Support: Priority when it comes to customer support, including faster response times, access to more knowledgeable support personnel, or dedicated support channels.
5. No Advertisements: The removal of ads from the application interface, which is a common feature in free versions to generate revenue.
6. More Integration Options: More options to integrate with other tools, platforms, or services, enhancing the product's flexibility and utility in diverse workflows.
7. Exclusive Access: Access to beta features, more content or data, exclusive tools, or early releases not available to other users.
8. More Resources: Access to a greater number of templates, assets, libraries, or resources that can help in getting more out of the product.
9. Training and Educational Materials: Some Pro versions include in-depth tutorials, webinars, and other educational materials to help users maximize their use of the product.
10. More Visibility: Let companies pay for more visibility. This can be by getting ‘featured’ at the top of a page or in a newsletter and social media.

For the best conversion rate it is recommended to:

• price it as a one-time fee
• add some urgency
• add social proof

🔥 Danny Postma example

On figcomponents you can upgrade for $49 to view the full library and get access to premium components, monthly updates and unimited downloads.

🧰 Tool recommendation

To add social proof you can use Senja.

To accept payments you can use Lemonsqueezy or Gumroad

Step 7: Get backlinks

Backlinks (aka inbound links, incoming links) are links from a page on one website to another. Search engines like Google use backlinks as votes of confidence that proof your product isn’t shitty.

Not all backlinks are created equal. Authority (from a website that has a high domain rating) and relevance (from a website that is similar to your niche) play a big role.

How to get backlinks?

• Launch on Product Hunt
• List in directories: overview
• Ask to write a guest post on websites relevant to your niche and make sure they mention your website
• Try to get interviewed by websites relevant to your niche and make sure they mention your website in the interview
• Share URL in communities relevant to your niche: overview

🧰 Tool recommendation

Use this (paying) tool to get listed on 100 directories in 1 click

Step 8: Wait for traffic to flow in

And then there is nothing left to keep improving your product and wait for your traffic to flow in. It takes on average three months for Google to start sending your proper traffic.

Make sure that:

You set up up Google Analytics:

Read here how

You set up Google Search Console:

Read here how

🧰 Tool recommendation

Use this (paying) tool to get indexed by Google faster

Hope it helps you! Always happy to chat on Twitter.