I Built A SEO Tool That's Completely Free For Users [From Lebanon]
Hello! Who are you, and what business did you start?
Hello, My name is Hasan, the founder of H-educate, H-supertools, and some other websites and services. I began working on H-supertools 2 years ago and launched it four months afterward.
H-supertools is simply a set of Free SEO & Digital Marketing Tools that allows anyone working online, especially beginners and freelancers; interested in growing their business online.
You might be questioning the factor of how one could be making money with a free service such as this.
Simple answer, Today, This Website Generates around 2K$ / Per Month in Profit with the aid of Google Adsense, Affiliate Marketing, Selling Ad Spaces, And Email.
This is how it works today; my next step with H-supertools 2.0 is to launch a Membership option while keeping the free tools accessible. Favorably, with a premium membership, users can get an Ad-free Version with the benefit of a few extra features and tools.
Today, we have more than 80K Registered Users on the platform and more than 300K Visits each month, which, in a sense, is a high achievement for a new platform that took less than two years to build.
What's your backstory, and how did you come up with the idea?
Six years ago, I quit my 9-5 job as an IT/Network Administrator and started working online.
Why did I quit?
I think everyone loves to be free and loves to be his boss. If not everyone, at least I am sure I do. I just wanted to have more time with my family, more time to do some research. I love research, and I dream of building something that helps people worldwide and doing something before I rest in peace.
I know for many of us, quitting a Stable Job and going out of our comfort zone is difficult sometimes, but believe me. When you think about how your life will change, you will forget about the difficulties.
And, of course, you don't have to quit. You can start your business by working an extra 2-3 hours a day from home. I used to work 3 hours between 11:00 and 2:00 AM for more than one year. It's hard, but it's worth it!
In the beginning, I struggled to build a solid online business, so I researched growth hacking, social media marketing and management, email marketing, getting traffic, and much more.
The passion I have for programming, alongside the education I hold in Computer Science, helped me achieve the skills I have for automating and facilitating operations, whether it be simple or complex. This also led to developing various tools that I created, such as Facebook auto-posting, email validation tools, email senders, and other small tools that helped me manage and grow my business online.
When I began teaching online three years ago on Udemy and YouTube, I found that the best way to build an audience is to create evergreen content and then optimize this content to rank higher on Google and YouTube.
In this way, I can get more awareness with free organic results through search engines.
And since I didn't have the necessary budget to invest in paid tools, I decided to develop my tools and I planned for these tools:
- The Keyword Research Tool: to help in Google SEO-related searches.
- The YouTube Keyword Tool: to help me rank higher on YouTube.
And this is what happened- both tools I created, despite their simplicity, were considerably accomplished. It simply worked!
Then a question clicked to me; I thought to myself, why not use those tools to build and grow my audience? So I decided to provide the tools I created for free and build on my email list, using it as a lead magnet. Again, It worked!
A problem popped up! Since those tools were developed as desktop apps, they worked only on Windows OS, so Mac users contacted me and asked if I could create a Mac version (which I didn't have). However, investing in my time learning how to program languages that work with Mac was not an option for me at the time being.
So I thought, why not turn these tools into a website - a web application available for everyone to use and that works anywhere.
This is where the H-supertools website was born!
Another benefit I gained from the website was Googles' Acceptance of my app in the Adsense program in just one month! So I got a new passive income stream!
Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.
As I already mentioned, the idea started with different tools that work only on Windows OS. Then I decided to combine them all under one platform.
However, the main challenge I faced while developing this project was the struggle in finding data or accessing it for free. Because these tools are based on data, projects like this are not easy to create, unlike other types.
For example, Google doesn't provide YouTube data related to search metrics (search volume and difficulty), so it required me to do much research here to learn how to estimate these metrics.
So I ended up watching a load of videos and tutorials on YouTube from Channels Like VidIQ and MorningFame and watched more than 20 courses on Udemy.
Also, I read tons of articles from different websites like Backlinko, Social Media Examiner, and other sites that I don't remember right now.
I even tried to reverse engineer and analyze similar tools like Tubebuddy,VidIQ, MorningFA, and others; I compared and tried to learn how to get these metrics, and I finally did it!
Content is the primary key to success in the online world, being consistent in creating valuable content. This is how you can build an audience.
The same thing goes for other tools on the platform, Like Email Validation, Questions Explorer, Instagram Hashtag Generator tool, and other tools.
Let's reveal a secret here!
After much research, I found a website called "RapidAPI," which allows you to develop numerous tools through paid or free APIs. I showed this in action in the following video.
It took me around 3-4 months to create and publish the site online and from there the journey began.
For the startup costs, it was mainly a matter of time! Whereas technical material like web hosting, programming libraries, and tools cost me somewhere around 500-1000$. That's all!
For web hosting, I am using Contabo, and I bought some .NET Libraries to complete some tasks faster. I also Bought a Theme from Themeforest to make things easier while developing the frontend of the website.
Describe the process of launching the business.
After I published the website online, it took around 8-9 months to establish a stable passive income (about 1K/month) and approximately 30K registered Users.
What's nice is that I didn't run any paid ads to grow the site. What helped me mainly were three factors:
- The free website service
- The buildup of content (blog articles, videos, courses, and social posts)
- The distribution of the Free Windows Tools before launching it
As I already mentioned, the costs were somewhat low (between $500 and $1000), ranging from web hosting, some APIs, and some other programming libraries that I bought. That's all.
To me, it wasn't a great deal in terms of costs, as I had several profitable incomes that came from the online courses I delivered, my YouTube channel, affiliate marketing services, as well as freelancing services I provided.
Instead of wasting hours watching Netflix series, or scrolling on social media, Just Take Action, and Do something! Unfortunately, 90% of people fail because they just don't take action!
There were two mistakes I made during the launching period:
- First, I didn't set up my website for email marketing purposes and missed the chance to build up an email list. Even though email marketing was one of my main fields of research, and although I knew its significance, I still missed the chance of working upon it. I merely postponed it for the sake of not launching it earlier. I believe it was a mistake!
- I didn't look up SEO very often even though my site is 30% dependent on SEO, but this was not planned initially. I must take care of SEO and should be aware of optimizing my pages from the beginning.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
If I want to summarize The Best Growth Hacking Strategy in one word, I would say: "Content."
It is the primary key to success in the online world, being consistent in creating valuable content. This is how you can build an audience. Then it will be easy to promote anything!
The other approach (with content) is paid ads. Again, if you have the budget, go for it. If not, I believe creating valuable content will help you attract many people and promote your business as I did.
So I created YouTube Videos on my Channel mentioning my new website, and since I provided the information for free, it was easy to attract people, at least to test my new platform. Again, It Worked :)
Even if your software is paid, you must always think about creating a free version or trial.
It will help you attract more people to test your platform or service and increase your customer base and audience, especially if you consider building your email lists.
In the last six months, I started running paid Ads - especially on Google and Quora.
On Google, I used both search and display Ads and in short, it is working. I am still using it today to grow even more.
Quora is also a great place to run paid Ads simply because it targets people searching for answers to their questions.
Just imagine someone asking about the best YouTube Keyword tool, and they see your answer (paid or free) about the tool. Then, they will be happy to click on the keyword and test it out.
Try Quora. It is excellent!
What further helped me out is the fact that running paid Ads meant more traffic, signifying an increase in AdSense Revenue, which decreased my Ad costs.
Of course, all this goes in line with social media presence and free traffic methods like:
- Building Email lists
- Push Notifications
- Automate Sharing on social media
- Telegram Channel
- Repurpose Content on different platforms
- SEO
How are you doing today, and what does the future look like?
In short, the platform is working perfectly as expected, and I believe it's one of the best passive income models someone can start with.
At the moment, I am planning to develop some more tools and add a premium membership to turn into a real SAAS.
“I believe the number one mistake that other people make is over-expecting results.
You must be patient, consistent, and your time will come. Working 3-4 hours a day on a side project for one year can change your life”
I aim for 1M Registered user by the end of 2023 and around 50K Premium memberships.
Now I'm in the last phase of developing the new version, and I have a list of more than 50 amazing new tools to be added to the platform. Here is a sneak peek:
Also, I am planning to integrate machine learning algorithms to empower some tools and build a unique user experience.
I'm also partnering with some other services and companies to reach a wider audience and give more credibility and authenticity to the platform.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
If you take me two years back, I will do some more research before launching the product. I also might think of changing the technologies (programming languages and database structure) used to build the site that I am now changing after two years.
Maybe if I had taken a different path at that time, I would have saved some time now. However, I am more than satisfied with the present outcome.
As I mentioned before, the primary key to success in such a business is promoting valuable content. So in case you want to start a business like this, you need to prepare yourself to give valuable content consistently!
In short, Don't forget email marketing, building audience, free trials and tiers, customer support, and creating valuable content.
And of course, don't forget your health! Nothing could ever be more vital than your well-being. Make sure to dedicate some time to your body.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
For Hosting, I use Contabo. It has been an excellent service till now, a cheap and powerful one.
For Email marketing, I use ConvertKit. It's simple, easy to use, with high deliverability rates.
I use Content Studio as My Social Management and automation tool, I got it with a lifetime deal once, and it does the job perfectly.
I also use Onesignal for push notifications, such as Email. Building your push notification list is essential to get traffic to stay in contact with your audience. Today I have more than 30K push notification subscriptions.
For Team management and productivity, I use Notion, which is Simply The Best Tool To Manage and Organize Your Life With! Thanks, Notion.
Of course, I also use Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google Workspacefor my business emails. I think this is obvious!
I use Canva also for designing everything online, like social media posts and stories, icons, logos...simply everything!
In Terms of Outsourcing some tasks, I use Fiverr & Upwork.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
- Jim kwik videos and podcasts
The Key Message in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is that if you want to become more effective, you have to develop strong habits based on guiding principles. And the author mentioned seven rules that I think you will notice a significant change in your life if you follow. The rules are:
- Take proactive control of your response to the world.
- Begin every task with the desired outcome.
- Prioritize things.
- Look for a win-win scenario.
- Build strong relations by trying honestly to understand others.
- Create powerful synergy by fostering the open exchange of ideas.
- Make Sure you have time for yourself.
The Second Book “The 4 Hour Work Week” is about the “New Rich” concept, which means work less, liberate yourself from the office, and be more effective by working at home. And I think this is exactly what everyone seeks. So this book may be life-changing.
And by the way, last year, I started a new project to help and motivate people to read such great books, so I created a free website called InQuickSticks, where you can read books in minutes in the form of short summaries. So check it, I think you will love it.
And for Jim Kwik, In short, I love what this man does. His advice, everything about him inspired me to move forward and change some bad habits in my life.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Four tips to always keep in mind when starting a new business:
- Patience.
- Learning technical skills
- Creating content consistently
- Building your audience (Email Lists)
- Documenting everything you do
I believe the number one mistake that other people make is over-expecting results.
You must be patient, consistent, and your time will come. Working 3-4 hours a day on a side project for one year can change your life...Really!
Instead of wasting hours watching Netflix series, or scrolling on social media, Just Take Action, and Do something! Unfortunately, 90% of people fail because they just don't take action!
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Next year, I will need to hire and expand my team in different fields, but we are doing great for now.
Where can we go to learn more?
I will be happy to hear from you.
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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