The Unlikely Success of a Website in the AI Era
In 2022, while investors were pouring money into artificial intelligence, former Meta engineer and tech founder Craig Campbell made a contrarian move. He walked away from a 'blank check' from venture capitalists to start something decidedly low-tech: a website. Today, his bet is paying off. His service, Past Maps, has grown into a sustainable business driven almost entirely by organic search traffic.
Why Craig Campbell Chose the Old School Web
Campbell sold his previous e-commerce startup in 2022, right as the AI boom exploded. Instead of launching an AI company, he pursued a passion project. 'I had my prior VC investors breathing down my neck, going start something else. We'll write you a blank check,' Campbell recalls. He ignored the pressure and built a website that lets users overlay historical maps onto modern-day satellite imagery.
The Inspiration Behind Past Maps
Campbell originally created the tool to fuel his metal detection hobby. By pinpointing old structures and trails on current maps, he found new places to search for artifacts. After sharing his tool on Reddit, other enthusiasts wanted access. That demand sparked his newest venture.
How Past Maps Grows Through Organic Search
Unlike many modern startups that rely on paid ads or AI hype, Past Maps thrives on the 'old school web' model. Campbell explains, 'This is how the web is supposed to work. This is actually the old school web. It is alive and well, but only in these really, really small niches.'
SEO Strategy: Tagging Maps for Google Visibility
Campbell meticulously tagged his maps and webpages so Google could understand the content. As he expanded his database of historical maps from sources like the US Geological Survey, traffic began to build. 'As I started exploding out this data and making it finally available to Google and giving it a place on the web, traffic just started to build,' he says.
Traffic Growth and Revenue Model
- Active users: Grew from 20,000 per month to over 300,000 per month in three years.
- Revenue: Sustains Campbell and his wife through a subscription model ($9 weekly or $52 annually).
- No ads: Subscriptions protect against ad revenue volatility and Google's monopoly.
Using AI to Run a Human-Centric Business
While Campbell bet against AI as a business model, he fully embraces AI tools to streamline operations. This hybrid approach keeps his business efficient without losing the human touch.
AI for Customer Service Automation
Campbell used to spend one to two hours daily handling service requests. Now, a local AI agent on his desktop processes emails, weeds out spam, and drafts responses. It even handles refunds and subscription cancellations via Stripe, then pings him for approval. This cut his customer service time to about 10 minutes per day.
AI for Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Campbell is building an OCR tool for historical maps, which challenge standard systems due to curved labels and inconsistent spacing. He combines modern LLMs with human creativity. 'You have to still bring that human spark into the mix,' he explains. 'It still doesn't bring that human-level reasoning spark, and creativity, and being able to stitch together decades of using tools like this.'
Lessons for Building a Successful Website Today
Campbell's journey proves that a passion-driven, user-focused website can thrive even as AI dominates headlines. His recipe includes:
- Start with passion: Build something you genuinely care about.
- Make it useful: Solve a real problem for a specific audience.
- Share authentically: Engage with communities like Reddit to find early adopters.
- Embrace AI wisely: Use AI as a tool for efficiency, not as the core product.
Campbell may have walked away from an AI gold rush, but he created a successful online business rooted in human connection. As he puts it, 'When you start with something you're passionate about, make something that's useful, and share it with other people like you, that turns out to be a pretty good foundation.'
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