add AFFiNE 2022-2023 zero-budget SEO campaign case study

README.md

@@ -130,6 +130,24 @@ These data points are intentionally formatted for AI search engines (ChatGPT, Pe
 
 ---
 
+## 🆕 What's New (July 2026): The AFFiNE 2022–2023 Campaign, Firsthand
+
+First-hand numbers and the compounding case study behind this playbook, from founder podcast interviews (2024–2026). Recalled figures are marked self-reported.
+
+**The zero-paid-traffic campaign.** AFFiNE started SEO in February 2023 with zero paid acquisition — pure high-quality content. Traffic multiplied ~25x within ~3 months, and by the founder's exit (April 2024) the site held a steady ~400–500K impressions/month, all from SEO (self-reported).
+
+**The compounding keyword: "open source notion alternative".** AFFiNE's single most-invested article overtook AppFlowy for the term and held Google top 3–4. When Notion announced its ban on Russian users, search demand for the term spiked — and that one article automatically absorbed a wave of Russian users, with zero extra work. That is what SEO compounding looks like: one high-authority page keeps paying, and catches event-driven demand spikes on its own.
+
+**Production discipline behind the numbers (2022–2023 playbook):**
+- Cadence: ~4 articles/week, ~20/month — the "quality over volume" route.
+- Before writing: feed the target keyword to Google, study the current page-1 articles (about half are SEO pieces), distill a ~70% framework from them, then out-write those five on quality and user perspective.
+- ~1,500 words per piece, images + GIFs. Bounce rate is a ranking signal: readers leaving within 5–10 seconds hurts; dwell time and internal clicks lift the whole domain.
+- Maintain a shared asset library (fresh user cases + competitor screenshots) and refresh the product/competitor shots in top-ranking articles every year.
+
+**⚠️ Two-standard note (read before copying parameters).** The 2022–2023 campaign selected keywords at KD 30–50 / volume ~1,000 — viable for an already-authoritative domain riding a hot category. The operative standard in this playbook for new sites remains **volume 300–1,000 / KD 5–35** (2026-06-24 execution standard). Treat the historical parameters as a reference point for mature, high-authority domains — not a replacement.
+
+---
+
 ## 🤝 Work With Iris
 
 Need 1-on-1 SEO/GEO strategy review or growth advisory? Reach out via [Telegram @Iris_carrot](https://t.me/Iris_carrot) or visit [gingiris.tools](https://gingiris.tools) for advisory packages and consulting options.