I Stopped Reading About SEO and Built a Password Generator Instead

薛元煌 — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 12:15:39 +0000

For a while, I spent more time reading about SEO than actually doing SEO.

Keyword research, domain authority, backlinks, technical SEO, search intent—there was always another guide to read and another tool to try.

Eventually, I decided to stop preparing and build a small website from beginning to end.

The result is Get Password Generator, a free password generator that creates passwords entirely inside the browser.

This is what I have learned so far.

Step 1: Finding a keyword with Google Trends

I started with Google Trends.

Google Trends does not provide exact search volume, but it is useful for comparing keywords and checking whether people’s interest is stable, growing, or disappearing.

Instead of looking for the “perfect” keyword, I wanted to find something that:

solves a clear problem;
can become a focused single-purpose tool;
has relatively stable demand;
does not require a large backend;
can be shipped quickly.

A password generator matched those requirements.

People already understand what the tool should do, and there is no complicated onboarding process. They open the page, choose their settings, generate a password, and copy it.

Step 2: Checking the actual Google results

After looking at trends, I searched the keyword directly on Google and examined the first page.

This step was more useful than looking at a single difficulty score.

I checked:

what kinds of pages were ranking;
whether the results were tools, articles, or product pages;
how quickly users could access the generator;
whether the pages worked well on mobile;
how clearly they explained privacy and security;
whether there was room for a simpler experience.

I was not trying to prove that the keyword was “easy.” Search results can change, and established websites are difficult to compete with.

I only wanted to answer a practical question:

Is there enough room here to build something useful and learn from the process?

For me, the answer was yes.

Step 3: Buying the domain

I purchased:

https://getpasswordgenerator.com/

The domain explains the purpose of the website immediately.

An exact-match domain is not a shortcut to ranking, and it cannot replace a good product. However, it can make a small tool easier to understand and remember.

I connected the domain through Cloudflare and deployed the project from GitHub so that future updates could be published automatically.

Step 4: Building the smallest useful version

The first version only needed a few features:

adjustable password length;
uppercase and lowercase letters;
numbers and symbols;
ambiguous-character exclusion;
password strength and entropy information;
one-click copying;
mobile support.

The most important technical decision was to generate passwords locally.

The site uses the browser’s Web Crypto API. Generated passwords are not sent to a server, stored in a database, or recorded by the website.

That privacy promise is also visible on the page because security claims should be understandable—not hidden in a privacy policy nobody reads.

Step 5: Doing the basic SEO work

Once the tool worked, I added the technical SEO foundations.

These included:

a descriptive title and meta description;
a canonical URL;
mobile-responsive layouts;
semantic headings and readable page content;
internal navigation;
FAQ and usage instructions;
JSON-LD structured data;
a branded favicon;
robots.txt;
sitemap.xml.

I also made sure the page included useful information beyond the generator itself, such as password-length recommendations, password-manager advice, and an explanation of how local generation works.

SEO should not mean adding paragraphs just to increase the word count. The content still needs to help the person using the tool.

Step 6: Connecting Google Search Console

After publishing the website, I added the domain to Google Search Console.

I completed domain verification through a DNS TXT record, tested the live URL, requested indexing, and submitted the sitemap.

Seeing “URL is on Google” was a small milestone.

It does not mean the website will rank immediately. It only means Google can access and index the page. Ranking still depends on relevance, quality, competition, links, user satisfaction, and time.

But completing the entire process made SEO feel much more concrete.

Step 7: Starting to build links

The next stage is earning some external links and, more importantly, finding real users.

I am starting with places that make sense for the project:

a public GitHub repository with clear documentation;
the repository’s Website field;
technical build-in-public articles;
relevant communities where people can actually test the tool;
Hacker News only when there is a sufficiently interesting technical story.

I do not want to post the URL everywhere just to increase the number of backlinks.

A link is more valuable when someone follows it, uses the product, gives feedback, or shares it because it helped them.

What I learned

The biggest lesson was not about a particular SEO technique.

It was this:

Sometimes building one complete website teaches more than reading another twenty SEO articles.

By working through the process, I encountered real questions:

Which keyword should I target?
What does the first search results page actually look like?
What should the first version include?
How does domain verification work?
What is structured data?
Why is Google still showing the old favicon?
Where can I share the project without spamming people?

These questions became much easier to understand once they were connected to a real website.

The project is still very new, and I do not know how it will perform yet. That is part of the experiment.

If you are also learning SEO or building small tools, I would love to exchange ideas and hear about what you are working on.

You can try the project here:

👉 Get Password Generator

Feedback—especially critical feedback—is welcome.

DEV Community: 薛元煌