A Simple DNS Lookup & ISP checker tool is making $4000/mo

NS Lookup runs a free online DNS lookup tool for developers and IT pros. The site makes money through ads and exclusive sponsorships, giving brands access to a large tech audience.

Users get a fast, privacy-friendly way to check DNS records from anywhere - no logins or installations needed, making troubleshooting and domain management reliable and straightforward.

Business Model:

A simple tool built by Ruurtjan Pul, to help developers check out the DNS records of the domains. Ruurtjan also runs & manages What is my ISP, which multiples his earnings.

If you want to learn how to play the long game, especially the game of ranking for some of the most competitive keywords, this issue is for you.

SEO Lessons To Learn From NSLookup:

#1 On-Page SEO:

NS Lookup is getting 316.8k visitors from Google alone every single month and is ranking for 17.5k keywords.

Naturally, the most visited page is the homepage. If you look at the NS Lookup homepage, it is perfectly optimized for the #1 position.

The homepage covers all the questions the developers might have before using the tool.

Topics like supported DNS record types are the reason why most developers might continue using or move away from the tool.

I’ve been building WordPress websites since 2011 (I’m not a developer), and from the list present on the homepage, I can vouch for NS Lookup that almost all record types are covered.

This is called “optimizing a page for the end user and not search engines”. Each record type further links to a dedicated page, where the step-by-step instructions to implement the record search locally on Windows, macOS & Linux.

Furthermore, each dedicated page is further linked to the other remaining record types. Making this a dense network of internal links.

#2 Off-Page SEO:

NS Lookup has 2.6k referring domains and individual backlinks count to over 204k. This accounts for a solid off-page SEO and a domain authority of 52.

It’s too good for a single-use case tool for web developers.

User-generated content is getting backlinks from DA99 domains like Cloudflare.

#3 Technical SEO:

NSLookup uses the SearchAction schema to help search engines understand that nslookup.io offers a search feature for DNS records.

By adding this schema, nslookup.io can let Google show a search box directly in the search results, making it easier for users to search DNS records from Google without visiting the site first.

This boosts visibility and provides users with a faster way to obtain DNS information.

Areas Of Improvement:

Not all visitors who come to NSLookup are developers. Many visitors could be bloggers setting up their own blogs. They might need good web hosting.

Targeting those who are looking to switch their web hosting (especially those whose renewal dates are nearing), the number of people who would fall under this category would be low, but the conversions would be very high.

Recommending a web hosting service to visitors would mean a lot to those who are looking for a switch.

I’d list the most common reasons a blogger might consider switching web hosting, then write functional copy addressing the pain points of the target audience.

Furthermore, I’d recommend using the SoftwareApplication schema for NSLookup. This tells search engines who the right audience is for NSLookup.

Business Lessons:

NSLookup is a gold mine of business lessons. Here are a few I found useful for you.

#1 Diversify your earnings

NSlookup makes money via:

1. Course

2. API access

3. Display ads &

4. Sponsorships

This is because none of these four should be taken for granted. The income on average would pay the bills for years to come.

#2 Competition means a validated idea

I found a Reddit thread where the founder dropped this value-bomb 💣

Check out the whole thread, the founder has shared a lot of insights that you wouldn’t find elsewhere. This is coming from someone who has walked the talk and not just talked the walk.

#3 Don’t rely only on display ads

The founder mentioned in a comment on Reddit that display ads on such tools are not as lucrative as on other pages, like product comparison pages. However, this can be solved by creating volumes of traffic.

#4 Sustainable growth takes time

The founder was asked how long it took to get the traffic volumes it had at that time, The founder mentioned it took way longer than expected.

I anticipate that the exact match domain name helped in the growth, and the tough competition for the keyword took way longer than expected, as mentioned by the founder.

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