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How I Built a Nationwide Bowling Directory with Replit, Next.js, and AI

🧱 How I Built a Nationwide Bowling Directory with Replit, Next.js, and AI

Most people build startups around new ideas.
I built mine around an old one — bowling 🎳.

BowlingAlleys.io is a national directory for every bowling alley in the U.S. — reviews, pricing, leagues, cosmic bowling nights, and more. What started as a small SEO test on Replit turned into a full-blown automated system that publishes new, optimized pages every single day.


🧠 The Problem

If you’ve ever tried to find a bowling alley online, you’ve probably noticed how outdated most of them are.
Broken sites. No prices. Out-of-date reviews.

There wasn’t a single modern directory that actually showed what people care about — local pricing, party options, food, cosmic nights, and real reviews.

So I decided to build it myself.


⚙️ The Stack

I kept it lightweight and scalable:

  • Frontend: Next.js + Tailwind CSS
  • Backend: Firebase for hosting + database
  • Automation: Replit for deploying and iterating daily
  • AI: Generates structured copy for venues, cities, and experiences (cosmic bowling, birthday parties, leagues, etc.)
  • Tracking: GA4 + Search Console + custom event analytics

Everything runs dynamically — new venues, hubs, and experience pages are created automatically and linked sitewide.


🧩 The System

Every day I:

  • Add 10 new bowling alleys
  • Add or update 1 new city hub
  • Publish 1 daily blog post (tips, pricing, party ideas)
  • Refresh 1 experience category (like bowling restaurants or leagues)

The result:
Over 5,000 Google Search impressions in under 30 days, all from organic traffic.

No ads. No backlinks (at first). Just structure, speed, and consistency.


🚀 Why It Works

Most local directories fail because they stop at “listing data.”
I went deeper:

  • Every page is interlinked (state → city → venue).
  • Every venue has FAQ schema.
  • Every experience (like “Cosmic Bowling”) connects to real locations.
  • Every page updates automatically as Google crawls.

Google doesn’t just see a site — it sees a network of connected data. That’s what builds trust and rankings fast.


📈 Early Results

In the first month:

  • 490 unique users
  • 3,800+ pageviews
  • 829 venue views
  • 70+ form starts
  • 5K+ search impressions

These aren’t bots. These are real humans scrolling, reading, and clicking “Book a lane.”

That’s how you know you’ve built something valuable.


🧭 What’s Next

  • Hit 1,000 monthly users by November
  • Launch on Product Hunt
  • Add features for alleys to claim their listing
  • Keep indexing new venues until I’ve mapped the entire bowling world

💡 The Takeaway

You don’t need a team to build something meaningful.
You just need discipline, automation, and a niche nobody’s paying attention to.

If you can systematize effort, you can outwork entire industries.


Check it out → BowlingAlleys.io
Built on Replit. Deployed daily.
One man, one mission: make bowling searchable again. 🎳

Top comments (2)

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jess profile image
Jess Lee

nice work!

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gbae420 profile image
gbae420

thank you. it's been awesomet to build with replit.