I've now published nearly 100 articles on dev.to as part of a content marketing strategy for BabyNamePick.com, a baby name generator I built. Here's what I've learned.
Why Dev.to?
Dev.to has high domain authority (DA 60+), which means backlinks from dev.to carry real SEO weight. For a new site trying to build authority, this matters enormously.
But there's a catch: the content needs to be genuinely useful, not just link spam. Dev.to's community will downvote or ignore low-effort posts.
The Strategy
My approach was to write articles that:
- Teach something real — linguistics, cultural history, naming traditions
- Naturally include links — to relevant pages on my site
- Target different audiences — developers (tech stack posts), parents (name guides), culture enthusiasts (origin deep-dives)
What Worked
Cultural deep-dives performed best. Articles about Basque names, Georgian names, and Tibetan names got more engagement than generic "top 10 names" posts. People are curious about cultures they don't know.
Technical posts got developer attention. Writing about building the site with Next.js, SEO strategy, and static generation attracted a different audience — potential collaborators and fellow indie hackers.
Consistency mattered more than virality. No single article went viral. But 100 articles, each with 2-3 backlinks, created a steady foundation of referring domains.
The Numbers
- 98 articles published over ~2 weeks
- ~200 backlinks to babynamepick.com
- Site stats: 1900+ names, 117 blog posts, 46 cultural origins
- Tech stack: Next.js + Tailwind + Vercel (static export)
What I'd Do Differently
- Space articles out more — Publishing in bursts looks less natural than steady daily posts
- Engage more with comments — Community interaction boosts visibility
- Cross-post to Medium and Hashnode — Diversify the backlink profile
The Takeaway
Content marketing for a side project isn't about going viral. It's about building a web of relevant, quality content that search engines can follow back to your site. 100 articles is a lot, but each one is a small bet that compounds over time.
Check out the project: BabyNamePick.com — free AI baby name generator with 1900+ names from 46 cultures.
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