I’ve been systematically studying GeFei’s beginner course, and this is my consolidated note of key ideas, methods, and SOPs you can execute immediately. The core message is:
The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago. The second best time is now.
Building websites is a long-term game. Don’t wait until you’re “fully ready”—start now and iterate as you go.
1) Future of Overseas Tool Sites: Short-Term Practice First, Long-Term Build Later
Most beginners get stuck because they want a big project too early, while skills/resources/patience haven’t caught up yet. GeFei’s path is clear:
1. Start with short-term, for-fun micro needs
The goal is not immediate money. The goal is to quickly run through the full loop:
- How to discover demand (keywords, scenarios, pain points)
- How to do SEO (site structure, TDK, content)
- How to acquire traffic (mainly search)
- How to promote (social/community/backlinks)
- How to monetize (AdSense/affiliate/subscription/inquiries)
Once you’ve completed this loop once, each next cycle becomes faster.
2. Then build long-term tool sites tied to real work/life needs
Long-term projects should be continuously updatable and expandable:
- Learn from competitors
- Beat them on specific dimensions: better UX / better design / faster / broader / more focused
- Evolve into a stronger combination of tools + content (hub-and-spoke structure)
2) How to Find Demand: Site Analysis → Keyword Breakdown → Difficulty Validation
This method turns intuition into data.
1. Similarweb: decide if a site is worth studying
Use it to quickly check:
- Traffic volume and trend
- Top traffic countries
- Channel mix (search/social/direct/referral)
- Similar sites for expanding ideas
2. Semrush: break down keywords and discover opportunities
Semrush helps you decompose:
- Organic traffic, paid traffic, backlinks
- Keyword distribution and contribution
- Keyword difficulty (KD), geo distribution
Key insight:
If a site’s traffic mainly comes from a specific tool keyword with weak competition, you can infer:
A more exact-match domain + all-in focus on that keyword can improve your chance to rank on page one.
3. Google Trends: check trend direction, avoid declining topics
Simple but critical:
- Is demand rising, stable, or declining?
- Compare relative heat among candidate keywords
4. Ahrefs: final KD validation
Use https://ahrefs.com/keyword-difficulty for final confirmation:
- Very low KD (e.g., 9) + low backlink requirement can be page-one opportunities
- Great for new sites seeking fast positive feedback
Recommended flow: find opportunities via Similarweb/Semrush, then validate with Ahrefs.
3) Practical Tip: A Fast Way to Judge “Can I Take Page One?”
GeFei shared a very useful heuristic:
For the same keyword competition: domain > subdomain > subdirectory > inner page
So when top Google results are mostly inner pages, it often means:
- Competition may not be too strong
- A dedicated domain + homepage/core page can have an edge
Then confirm with Ahrefs KD and backlink requirements before deciding.
Another detail:
- Domains containing AI can be easier to communicate and distribute
- Example:
ai-coloring-pages.comnaturally aligns keyword intent + AI trend
4) Building a Tool Site: AI + Templates, but Data Prep Is the Key
This is the most copyable SOP in my view.
1. Data prep first: don’t let AI guess keywords
GeFei emphasizes: don’t ask GPT/Claude to invent Title/Description from scratch.
Correct sequence:
- Use Similarweb/Semrush keyword tools
- Input your seed term and get real search queries
- Export “phrase match” + “related keywords”
- Merge, deduplicate, sort by volume
- Keep top 100 keywords (one per line)
2. Then ask AI to generate SEO-friendly Title/Description
Feed AI with: site positioning + brand name + core keyword + 100 keywords. Ask it to:
- Create homepage title covering brand + core keyword with proper length
- Write natural-value descriptions, not keyword stuffing
This alone improves homepage TDK quality beyond most beginner sites.
3. On-page SEO + speed + monetization layout
Execution direction is clear:
- Refactor frontend/backend for speed
- Solid on-site SEO
- AdSense layout: recommend up to 3 ad slots
5) Core SEO Rule: Don’t Change Existing URLs
This is critical:
Do not change URLs that already exist.
Why:
- They may already be indexed
- They may already have backlinks
- URL changes can reset accumulated value (and trigger 404s)
Given this, SEO optimization should focus on two tracks:
1. Discover demand and add new pages
New pages can be:
- Tool pages
- Content pages (tutorials/explainers/lists/comparisons/FAQ)
Goal: cover user needs as broadly as possible.
2. Diagnose and optimize old pages
On-site SEO checklist:
- TDK compliance (length + clarity)
- Internal links (ideally <= 4 clicks from homepage)
- sitemap.xml presence
- Canonical tags
- H1/H2/H3 hierarchy (ideally one H1 per page)
- Image alt text
- nofollow for outbound links when needed
- robots meta correctness (avoid accidental noindex)
6) Tool Stack: Ahrefs Free Toolkit (Enough for Beginners for a Long Time)
Keyword tools
- Free Keyword Generator
- Keyword Difficulty Checker
- SERP Checker
- Keyword Rank Checker
Traffic & authority
- Website Traffic Checker
- Website Authority Checker
Backlinks & broken links
- Backlink Checker
- Broken Link Checker
Platform keyword tools
- Amazon Keyword Tool
- Bing Keyword Tool
- YouTube Keyword Tool
Supporting tools
- Ahrefs SEO Toolbar (highly recommended)
- AI Writing Tools
- WordPress SEO Plugin
7) Content Strategy: Broad Traffic Is Hard to Monetize, Precise Traffic Wins
My key takeaway:
- Broad entertainment traffic is often difficult to monetize
- Precise intent traffic (especially B2B) is much more valuable
Traditional businesses still rely on search. Content can become a stable conversion entry point.
AI writing works, but only when:
- It’s not random fluff
- It’s grounded in real products/services
- It targets terms real prospects search for
- It solves actual pain points and builds trust
8) Ranking Factors: Freshness, Trust, Backlinks, Engagement, Expertise
Useful practical takeaways:
- Freshness matters more → tool sites should update and publish consistently
- Trust is critical → low-quality/imagined AI content reduces trust
- Backlinks still work → but avoid low-quality bulk backlink packages
- Engagement matters → satisfy intent and improve dwell time
- Expertise matters (hub-and-spoke) → hubs at homepage/category level, spokes at long-tail pages
9) My Action Plan (Execution Rhythm)
- Review 3 sites daily with Similarweb/Semrush/Ahrefs to keep market sensitivity
- Pick one low-KD keyword weekly (stable/rising trend) and ship a minimum viable tool page
- Add a blog to each tool site and publish 2-3 posts/week (tutorial/FAQ/comparison/list)
- Run on-site SEO audits (TDK, headings, alt, canonical, sitemap, internal depth)
- Avoid changing old URLs; focus on adding and optimizing
- Prioritize new keywords emerging within the last year for faster positive feedback
