One month after launching Toolkiya — 97 free browser tools, real GSC numbers, what worked, what didn't

Mayank Rai — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:25:16 +0000

A month ago I launched Toolkiya with 65 free browser tools. It's now at 97 tools — still 100% client-side, still zero server cost.

The launch post did better than I expected: hit ProductHunt, got traction on Hacker News, and pulled in real organic traffic. A month later, I have actual GSC data. Here's what it shows — and what I'd do differently.

The Numbers (Google Search Console, 30 days)

Metric	Value
Total Impressions	3,200+
Total Clicks	180+
Average CTR	~5.6%
Average Position	18.4
Pages getting impressions	34

Not viral. But real, compounding, and growing week over week.

What Worked

1. Long-tail tool pages rank fast

Pages like /tools/json-formatter and /tools/base64-encoder started getting impressions within 2 weeks. Google indexes utility tool pages quickly when the content is focused and the intent is clear.

Lesson: One tool per page with a clear H1 beats a mega-page listing 50 tools.

2. Zero server cost = zero pressure

Everything runs client-side (Next.js static export + Vercel). No API calls, no database, no monthly bill creeping up. This lets me ship and iterate without worrying about cost per user.

3. The DEV.to launch post brought lasting referral traffic

Weeks after posting, it still drives occasional referral clicks. Writing a genuine build post — not just a product announcement — made people actually want to check the tool.

What Didn't Work

1. The homepage ranks for almost nothing

I optimized the homepage for "free browser tools" — too broad, too competitive. It gets impressions but ranks around position 40+. Individual tool pages outrank the homepage for their own queries.

Fix: Stop trying to rank the homepage. Double down on individual tool SEO.

2. Tools with no search demand get no traffic

Some tools I built because they seemed useful. Turns out nobody searches for them. GSC impressions = 0 after a month.

Fix: Do keyword research before building the next tool, not after.

3. No internal linking strategy

I had 97 tools with almost no cross-linking. Wasted PageRank and missed opportunities to keep users exploring.

Fix: Added "Related Tools" sections. Already seeing longer session times.

What I'm Doing in Month 2

Writing individual "how to" blog posts for high-traffic tools
Adding structured data (FAQ schema) to top pages
Targeting 10 new tools based on keyword gap analysis
Building backlinks through genuine community posts (like this one)

The Stack (in case you missed it)

Framework: Next.js (static export)
Hosting: Vercel (free tier)
Cost: $0/month
Tools: 97 and counting

If you're building a tools site or thinking about one — the client-side only approach is genuinely underrated for SEO. Fast pages, no server errors, easy caching.

Happy to answer questions about the architecture, the SEO approach, or anything else. And if you want to try the tools: toolkiya.com

I Built 65+ Free Browser Tools with Next.js — Zero Server Cost

Mayank Rai — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 16:47:24 +0000

Every time I needed to merge a PDF, compress an image, or generate a QR code, I had to:

Sign up for yet another account
Upload my files to some unknown server
Hit a "free limit" after 2 uses
Pay $12/month for basic utilities

So I decided to build my own solution. 65+ tools. Zero server cost. Everything runs in the browser.

## What I Built

Toolkiya — a free online tools platform where every tool runs 100% client-side in your browser. No file uploads, no signups, no limits.

### Tools Available

PDF Tools — Merge, compress, split, edit (with signatures, stamps, annotations)

Image Tools — Compress, resize, crop, convert, AI background removal, watermark

QR Tools — Generate and scan QR codes

Developer Tools — JSON formatter, regex tester, diff checker, hash generator, Base64 encoder, timestamp converter

Document Generators — Invoice, resume builder, rent receipt, salary slip

Calculators — EMI, GST, age calculator, unit converter

Creative Tools — Meme generator, collage maker, WhatsApp sticker maker, festival greeting cards

## The Tech Stack

Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router)
Styling: Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui
Language: TypeScript
PDF: pdf-lib + pdfjs-dist
Images: Canvas API + browser-image-compression
AI: @imgly/background-removal (client-side ONNX)
QR: qrcode + jsqr
Hosting: Vercel (free tier)
Analytics: Vercel Analytics + Google Analytics 4

## Why Client-Side?

The key architectural decision was making everything run in the browser:

1. Privacy — Files never leave the user's device. No server ever sees your data.

2. Zero marginal cost — Whether 1 user or 100,000 users, server cost stays at $0.

3. No rate limits — No server to overload, so users can process unlimited files.

4. Speed — No upload/download time. Processing starts instantly.

## How It Works

For PDF merging, I use pdf-lib to load each PDF, copy all pages into a new document, and save — all in JavaScript. The file never touches a server.

For image compression, browser-image-compression uses Web Workers to process images without blocking the UI thread.

For AI background removal, @imgly/background-removal runs an ONNX model directly in the browser using WebAssembly.

## SEO Strategy

Every tool page has:

Unique metadata (title, description, keywords)
FAQ schema (JSON-LD) for Google rich results
Breadcrumb schema
Canonical URLs
Sitemap with all 110+ routes

## The Numbers

Week 1 stats:

46 visitors, 273 page views
6 pages per visitor (good engagement)
Google already indexing pages
Traffic growing daily

Cost breakdown:

Domain: $10/year
Hosting: $0 (Vercel free tier)
Server: $0 (client-side processing)
Total: $10/year for 65+ tools

## What I Learned

Client-side processing is underrated. Most "online tools" upload your files unnecessarily. Canvas API and pdf-lib can handle 90% of common tasks.
SEO compounds. Every blog post and tool page is a potential entry point from Google. More pages = more traffic over time.
Dark mode matters. Switching to dark mode by default increased time-on-site noticeably.
Users love "no signup." The #1 feedback I get is "thank you for not making me create an account."

## Try It

https://toolkiya.com

65+ tools, all free, all client-side. No signup needed.

DEV Community: Mayank Rai