Show HN: I got 50% of my traffic from ChatGPT instead of Google

Posted by ulinycoin 1 day ago

Comments

Comment by unsungNovelty 21 hours ago

This is precisely the problem as well no?

LLMs will have limited seats for external urls. So they will eventually go for paid urls OR even organically, it logically makes sense for them to prioritise StackOverflow, Reddit, Quora kind of sites instead of independent websites. It will wield more advertising power to do this. Following money makes sense?

This is just waiting for the dust to settle in I guess.

Comment by ulinycoin 17 hours ago

That's a very valid concern, especially for content-heavy sites (blogs, wikis). If an LLM can summarize the answer, the user has no reason to click.

However, I suspect there's a distinction between Information and Utilities.

An LLM can summarize a StackOverflow discussion on "how to compress a PDF," but it cannot (yet) reliably perform the heavy client-side processing to actually do it securely in the browser without uploading data.

For tools and utilities, the "click" is still necessary to perform the action. My bet is that AI will act more as a dispatcher for specific tasks ("Go here to fix X") rather than just a summarizer.

But you're right — once LLMs get native, sandboxed execution environments, even tools might get absorbed.

Comment by unsungNovelty 14 hours ago

Cool. But where does your indie product/website page come into this though?

Comment by ulinycoin 12 hours ago

I think indie products win on specific constraints.

If a user prompts generic stuff like "best pdf editor", the AI will likely route them to Adobe or the paid giants.

But users often prompt with constraints: "compress pdf locally", "convert pdf without uploading", or "pdf tools no signup".

That's where the indie product fits in. The big incumbents usually require uploads (for data harvesting) or logins (for growth). By strictly adhering to "privacy-first / local-only", my site satisfies a constraint that the big players structurally cannot.

The AI seems to recognize that distinction.

Comment by ulinycoin 1 day ago

Hi HN! I'm the creator of LocalPDF (https://localpdf.online) — a privacy-first PDF toolkit that works entirely in your browser.

I wanted to share something fascinating: ChatGPT has become my biggest traffic source, accounting for ~50% of visitors, compared to ~45% from Google. This happened organically — I didn't optimize specifically for AI assistants.

Key Stats: - ChatGPT: ~50% of traffic - Google Search: ~45% - Direct/Other: ~5% - Conversion rate from ChatGPT: 2x higher than Google - ChatGPT users stay 40% longer on average

What I think is happening:

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) vs SEO Traditional SEO focuses on keywords, backlinks, and content clusters. But AI assistants work differently: - They parse semantic HTML structure - They value clear, descriptive content over keyword density - They prefer sites that solve problems directly

The ironic part? My site was built with basic semantic HTML and clear descriptions — not because I was targeting AI, but because it's good web development practice.

Technical Details: - Stack: Astro + TypeScript, client-side PDF.js - No tracking, no uploads — everything processes locally - Semantic HTML: proper headings, landmarks, meta descriptions - Clear tool descriptions with use cases

Why ChatGPT users convert better: 1. Intent clarity: They ask specific questions ("how to compress PDF without losing quality") 2. Contextual recommendations: ChatGPT explains why LocalPDF fits their needs 3. Trust transfer: AI assistant endorsement acts as social proof

Limitations: - Can't track which specific ChatGPT prompts drive traffic - No direct way to optimize for AI recommendations - ChatGPT's recommendations can change unpredictably

Questions for HN: 1. Are you seeing similar traffic patterns from AI assistants? 2. How do you measure/optimize for GEO vs traditional SEO? 3. What happens when every AI assistant has different ranking criteria?

This feels like early Google days — there's a level playing field where good products with clear value propositions can get discovered organically, without massive SEO budgets.

Happy to answer questions about the technical implementation, traffic patterns, or anything else!

Comment by unsungNovelty 1 day ago

Petition to start using AIO instead of GEO and not butcher geospatial/geographic/maps industries like we did with crypto for crypto currency and cryptography _/\_

Comment by ulinycoin 1 day ago

Ha! AIO makes sense. Though knowing tech, we'll probably end up with 5 competing acronyms

Comment by arealaccount 1 day ago

I thought people were already using AEO (answer engine optimization)...

Comment by michaelyin 21 hours ago

[dead]

Comment by super_ar 1 day ago

This is interesting. Just wondering about your traffic volume and how long you have been running lcoalpdf?

For us, it is more like 5% of the traffic from GEO, but we have been running the company for 2 years and have created a lot of handwritten content for devs.

Comment by ulinycoin 1 day ago

Volume is modest (~180 visitors/month), but the 50/50 split is what's interesting.

Been in production since August 2025, so ~4 months.

The strategy was intentional from the start: there's no point competing with Adobe, Smallpdf, ILovePDF for Google rankings. They have 10+ years of backlinks, massive marketing budgets, and domain authority I'll never match as a solo dev.

So I made a bet on GEO from day one: - Semantic HTML that LLMs can parse - Clear technical docs (GitHub README as primary content) - Honest about limitations - Privacy-first architecture (client-side processing)

Your 5% GEO makes sense for a 2-year-old company optimizing for traditional SEO. The difference: I skipped the SEO game entirely. When you're competing in an established niche, GEO-first might be the only viable strategy for bootstrapped products.

Curious: what type of dev content are you creating? And have you tested how LLMs cite it vs your traditional marketing content?

Comment by more_corn 1 day ago

Note to self. Pick a product name that an LLM could hallucinate.

Comment by ulinycoin 1 day ago

Adversarial branding is going to be a real niche in 2026.