Building BowlingAlleys.io — How I’m Outranking Big Brands (One Alley at a Time)
A few weeks ago, I started building BowlingAlleys.io — a nationwide directory that helps people find the best bowling alleys near them.
Not just a list of names and phone numbers — real, useful info: prices, hours, accessibility, and experiences like cosmic bowling and duckpin.
It started as a fun SEO experiment.
Now it’s turning into a data-backed business.
📊 The Progress So Far
I’ve been tracking everything through Google Search Console and GA4, and the results are wild for such a young site:
- 17,400 impressions in the last 28 days
- 278 clicks (CTR: 1.6%)
- Average position: 17.6
- 1.2K users and 16K events in GA4
- Average session duration: 5 minutes 42 seconds
That’s real traction — especially in a niche where most sites are outdated and generic.
People aren’t just visiting; they’re staying.
🧠 What I’m Learning About SEO in 2025
The biggest thing I’ve learned: Google rewards depth and structure.
You can’t just make a “Top Bowling Alleys” list and expect to rank.
You have to show the ecosystem:
-
/venues→ individual bowling alleys -
/city-hubs→ all the alleys in one area -
/experiences→ things like Cosmic Bowling, Duckpin, or now, Wheelchair Accessible Bowling
Each one of those pages reinforces the others — like building backlinks inside your own site.
♿ Accessibility Matters (and Nobody’s Doing It)
This week, I started working on a new section: Wheelchair Accessible Bowling Alleys.
It’s crazy that no one else in this space has indexed this yet.
People deserve to know if a venue has ramps, accessible restrooms, or wide lanes — and it’s wild how hard that info is to find online.
So BowlingAlleys.io will be the first directory to include it.
No gimmicks. Just useful data.
🧩 The Vision
I’m giving this project six months before I start reaching out to bowling alleys.
By then, my goal is to:
- Have 5K+ indexed pages
- Hit 10K+ monthly visitors
- Build out all 50 state hubs
- Create a dashboard for alleys to manage their listings
Once I can prove that traffic = bookings, I’ll start offering featured listings and local SEO setup for alleys that want more visibility.
That’s how this turns from an experiment into a million-dollar niche business.
🎳 Why It Works
Because this site isn’t about keyword stuffing — it’s about real intent.
People search for “bowling alleys near me,” but what they actually want to know is:
- What does it cost?
- Do they serve food or drinks?
- Can I take my kids?
- Is it wheelchair-friendly?
That’s what I’m building — an experience that actually answers questions and respects people’s time.
🚀 Follow the Journey
You can check it out here → BowlingAlleys.io
Every week, I’ll post an update breaking down the SEO data, new features, and which pages are climbing fastest.
If you’re into SEO, niche site building, or local business tech, you’ll probably enjoy watching this evolve.
