I Don't Want to Build 100 Random Tools for SEO

There is a tempting strategy for utility websites:

Build a lot of tools.

Then build more.

Then keep going until the sitemap is enormous.

You can easily imagine the backlog:

PNG converter
JPG converter
QR generator
word counter
percentage calculator
JSON formatter
random picker
password generator
...

Some of those pages may attract search traffic.

But I do not think "more tools" automatically means "better product."

Traffic and product value are different

A page can rank.

A page can get clicks.

A page can even generate ad revenue.

None of that guarantees the user has a reason to return.

A collection of unrelated utilities often creates isolated sessions:

Google search
   ↓
Use tiny tool
   ↓
Leave

That can be a valid business.

It is just not the product I want to build.

The question I now ask

Instead of:

"What other tool has search volume?"

I prefer:

"What does the user need immediately before or after the current task?"

That changes the roadmap.

Imagine the user is preparing product images.

Their workflow may be:

Receive supplier photos
        ↓
Resize
        ↓
Convert format
        ↓
Compress
        ↓
Prepare marketplace variants
        ↓
Generate product barcodes

Those tools belong near each other.

They share a user.

They share context.

They may eventually share data and automation.

That is a product.

Marketing has the same pattern

A marketer may do:

Create campaign image
        ↓
Resize for channels
        ↓
Create landing URL
        ↓
Add tracking
        ↓
Shorten link
        ↓
Generate QR

Again, the tools are connected.

A social resizer and a QR-code generator may look unrelated from a technical perspective.

From the user's campaign workflow, they can be part of the same job.

Connected workflows create stronger expansion

If tools are connected, you can eventually build experiences like:

Upload one campaign asset
   ↓
Generate 8 platform versions
   ↓
Create tracked destination
   ↓
Generate QR
   ↓
Export campaign package

Now the product is not a directory.

It is a workflow engine.

That is much more interesting to me.

SEO should support the product

I still care about search.

Utility products can benefit enormously from search intent because users often describe the exact job they need done.

Examples:

• webp to jpg
• bulk image converter
• social media image resizer
• barcode generator
• qr code generator

Those are useful entry points.

But the content should lead into a coherent product experience.

The goal is:

Search intent
   ↓
Useful free tool
   ↓
Related workflow
   ↓
Return usage

not:

Search intent
   ↓
Random tool
   ↓
Ad
   ↓
Goodbye

This is the direction behind BatchSet

I am building BatchSet around image, e-commerce, and marketing workflows.

The current toolkit includes areas such as:

• image conversion
• bulk conversion
• resizing
• social-media preparation
• QR generation
• URL shortening
• barcode generation

You can browse the current tool collection here:

👉 BatchSet Tools

The goal is not to add every utility that exists on the internet.

The goal is to make the workflows around these users increasingly connected.

A simple roadmap filter

Before building a new tool, I now like asking:

1. Does the existing audience need it?

If the current users are e-commerce sellers, marketers, developers, or content teams, does the new tool serve them?

2. Does it connect to an existing workflow?

Can the output of one tool become the input of another?

3. Can it share infrastructure?

Can the tool reuse:

• file pipeline
• account system
• analytics
• export logic
• presets
• batch processing

4. Does it improve retention?

Will existing users have another reason to return?

5. Is search demand a bonus or the only reason?

If the only argument is "keyword volume," I become more cautious.

The compounding effect

Connected tools can compound.

A user who arrives for conversion may discover bulk processing.

A user who arrives for social resizing may need QR codes.

A seller who arrives for image optimization may need barcodes.

The platform becomes more valuable because the tools reinforce one another.

That is different from simply increasing page count.

The risk

There is also a danger in "all-in-one."

Products can become bloated.

Navigation becomes confusing.

Features become shallow.

The answer is not to connect everything.

The answer is to connect workflows that genuinely belong together while keeping individual tools fast and understandable.

That balance is hard.

But it is a better problem than maintaining 500 unrelated utilities nobody remembers.

Final thought

SEO can tell you what people search for.

It should not be the only thing deciding what your product becomes.

For me, the stronger question is:

Can this new tool make an existing user's workflow meaningfully better?

If the answer is yes, search traffic can become an acquisition channel for a real product.

If the answer is no, I am probably just adding another page to the internet.