The hack
Get listed as an alternative to the popular existing solution of one of the popular comparison websites.
Why it works
There are two main websites that get a lot of organic traffic:
- alternativeto.net
- alternative.me
Here are their traffic stats from Ahrefs (July 2024).
People get upset about their current solution and search for alternatives. They find this dedicated website and if you're ranked well enough they will try you out.
The best part about this is that people searching for alternatives are as high-intent as it gets. So capturing even a fraction of them can lead to a lot of new customers.
How to do it
First, write down a shortlist of competing tools that can be listed as alternatives.
Don't worry if you don't have all the features, the more popular tools get more traffic so go after them.
Second, you need to get listed.
The good news is that for those sites, you can simply create a profile and submit your tool.
Once your tool is listed you need to get upvotes and a bunch of them.
This is a little black hat tactic so bear it in mind!
Since those accounts don't require 2FA or similar authentication, you can theoretically create tens of them and upvote your own tool.
While doing this make sure also to upvote other tools and to spread this over a longer period. Otherwise, the admins could notice this weird behavior and ban your tool.
Bonus hack: Do affiliate with them
The best part is that if your product is actually getting paying customers, you can write to the admins and invite them on your affiliate plan.
This way they'll be even more likely to promote your product in the alternatives listing.