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.
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-in-public posts
Every entry in the Crit Pick case study, newest first.
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
Common questions
What is Crit Pick?
A gaming site being built from nothing and ranked in public. It exists so the advice on SeeIndie has to survive contact with reality — every claim gets tested on a real site with real numbers.
Why build a separate site instead of just ranking SeeIndie?
Because a site that's already established proves nothing about starting from zero, which is the position every indie dev is actually in. Crit Pick starts with no age, no links and no track record — the hard case, on purpose.
Is the data real, or are you only publishing the good months?
Real, and that includes the flat months. A case study that only reports the wins is marketing, not evidence. The build log records what was done, what it cost, and what actually happened — in order.
When do the build-log posts start?
From 12 July 2026, and they'll be listed on this page as they land. You can read them forward from the first post to follow the build, or start with the latest to see where it stands now.
