The showcase · built in public

Ranking a new gaming site from zero, in public

This is the open experiment behind SeeIndie. I'm building a gaming site, critpick.me, from nothing, trying to rank it in a saturated niche, and writing down every decision and result as it happens. The idea SeeIndie keeps arguing is that a well-built site can get found without a budget or a big head start. This is where I test it, in public, with real numbers.

What this project is

SeeIndie argues that a discoverable website and solid technical SEO are underused in indie marketing. Claims are easy, so instead of just saying it, I'm proving it on a second site built for exactly that: critpick.me, a gaming blog started from scratch and documented here step by step.

The premise
  • Built from zero. New domain, no audience, no backlinks. The same cold start most indie devs face.
  • Real data only. Every number here is measured and sourced. A worked example is labelled as one, never a promise.
  • Revenue-clean. Self-bought games, no affiliates, no ads, no sponsors, no review keys. The results aren't bought.
  • Slow by design. Rankings take months, so early on the value is the method in the open, not the traffic.
Worked example, not a promise: this is one site, one niche, watched over time. What works here is evidence, not a guarantee it lands the same way for you.

The build log

Every decision and every result, in order. Sort by date to read forward from the first post, or catch the latest first.

Sort by date