How I Built a 500+ Page AI Tools Directory That Makes Money While I Sleep
Two months ago, I started building CreatorDir - a directory of AI tools for content creators. Today it has 517 pages, 820 affiliate links, and is starting to generate passive income.
The Tech Stack (Zero Cost)
- Hosting: Vercel (free tier)
- Frontend: Pure HTML/CSS/JavaScript (no frameworks)
- Source Control: GitHub
- Analytics: Vercel Insights + Google Analytics + Microsoft Clarity
- Monetization: Affiliate marketing
What I Built
- 260+ in-depth comparison articles
- 217 individual tool detail pages
- Full-text search with category filters (16 categories)
- Comparison tables with pricing
- Deal banners powered by affiliate links
Monetization Strategy
The site uses multiple revenue streams:
- Affiliate Links (820 embedded): Hostinger 60% commission, ElevenLabs referrals, and general tool links
- Paid Courses ($24.99/month): via Ko-fi
- Jobs Board: Free listings with paid featured spots
- Sponsored Placements: $49-$299/month for premium positions
Traffic So Far
In the first week:
- 8 visitors from 4 countries (US, UK, Austria, Netherlands)
- Referrals from Bing, Instagram, and Copilot
- 16 total page views with 75% bounce rate
- 491 URLs indexed by Bing
Key Lessons
- Comparison articles ("Tool A vs Tool B") get the best SEO traffic
- Static sites on Vercel are incredibly cheap and fast
- IndexNow gets you indexed in Bing within hours
- Dev.to is great for initial traffic
- ProductHunt launch is pending - expect a traffic spike
Next Steps
- ProductHunt launch (submitted, waiting for review)
- More comparison articles (10+ per week)
- Email newsletter automation
- AI directory submissions for backlinks
Check it out: CreatorDir - AI Tools Directory
Source code: GitHub
Top comments (0)