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Ask HN :Launched a simple web game site, got 0 users - any advice on growing it?

1 points by sagasu007 ↗ HN
Hey HN,

I've recently launched a small web game site, and I'm looking for advice on how to grow it.

The backstory: I heard that building a game site could generate some revenue, and since I'm a fan of web games, I thought I'd give it a try. I spent a decent amount of time learning how to set up the site, find game resources, and optimize the pages. It was quite a rewarding experience seeing the site come to life.

However, after launching, I ran into a pretty significant issue: zero traffic. Not a single user. I'm feeling a bit stuck, but I know I have a lot to learn, especially as a beginner.

So, I'm here to ask for help: how can I attract users to a small game site like mine? Should I focus on SEO, social media promotion, or something else entirely? Are there better ways to validate that the games I provide are what users want?

I'd love to hear any experiences, tips, or advice that could help me get my first few users and start building momentum. Any feedback on the site itself is also more than welcome.

Thanks a lot for your time and any guidance you can offer!

16 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 39.3 ms ] thread
stop50
Dropping the url here as a full post with an description?
sagasu007
Have I made any mistake? Just looking for advice and I can edit if the link needs to be removed.
sagasu007
OK I removed the URL. Really looking for help.
genezeta
I think the comment above meant the opposite of this; that you could post the URL here with a description of the game and that way maybe you could get some visits.

As it is now -no URL, no description of the game- it's really hard to give you any advice on what might be the problem with it.

Other than that, try some game communities and forums. Post on some subreddit, publish it on itch.io, etc.

sagasu007
Thank you very much~ Here is the address: https://freewebgamer.com/ I tried to submit some for inclusion or send them to friends, but the effect was not good. Instead, I received more than 200 marketing emails in my mailbox, saying that if I paid $500, I could get 1,000 users. . It looks like a scam.
genezeta
I'm going to be honest with you. And probably a bit harsh. Note that this is not personal but that your site is very clearly not good.

Basically, you put a bunch of trash games on a page. The effort you made is minimal. And so the result is not something that you can monetize. You cannot reasonably aim to make money for nothing.

The games themselves, as I said, are trash. They are the sort of games spammers use to put out hoping some poor soul will accidentally bite the bait and then distribute malware or whatever. Poor quality games, full of ads, and many of them don't even work. This is the shittier part of the internet.

Given those two points -poor content and very low effort on your part- I can't give you any advice other than tell you that this doesn't even look like a serious effort.

solardev
The sibling reply here is pretty harsh... but I have to agree with the gist of it :( The site looks really spammy, like the worst parts of the Android Play Store or those junk SEO sites.

It also looks like you're just straight-up stealing from other sites like y8.com and Gamepix, not even attributing them...

If I were a search engine, I'd probably penalize your site and delist it on purpose because... really... it's just SEO spam that's taking other people's content and adding noise =( You're not adding any new value for your users, you're taking away value because you're just making it harder for them to find the official sites of the games. Did you ask for any of the game authors' permission? It feels kinda shady, TBH...

stop50
What i meant is: create a post on hackernews with your site and add a nice description on the post. this should get you a few users.
benoau
Since you don't have a mechanism for bringing users to you you should take your game to the marketplaces where users are like itch.io or even Steam.
sagasu007
Thank you very much~ I roughly know what's going on. I'm not a game developer myself. I made a website myself, and I want to integrate some of the games I play on a daily basis here, and then see if there are people who like the same thing who can visit and use it. itch.io is a great website, (I may immerse myself in it for hundreds of hours, I'm hopeless) I just want to know if this is the case, what other suggestions do you have? Thanks again for your advice~
benoau
If you rule out publishing to the marketplaces where gamers are congregating you need to figure out another source of customer acquisition, like advertising or getting media sites to promote your game.
RGamma
> I heard building a game site could generate some revenue

Is that "method" from some get-rich-quick/passive income pundit? Gaming is extremely saturated. But good luck nonetheless, I guess.

sagasu007
Ah, so sad, it seems I was deceived by some "experts".
red-iron-pine
as long as you didn't pay for their course or shell out for expensive devs, you're probably alright.

a learning experience.

sagasu007
Yes, I haven't paid them anything yet, except for the domain purchase fee.
sagasu007
OK, thank you very much for your suggestions. The truth is cruel, but it is still the truth. I decided to delete all these junk games and then collect and integrate some high-quality games myself. Thank you again for your suggestions and opinions. Very useful.