This directory for gas prices makes $10M+ per year
written by Frey Chu
This directory for gas prices makes $10M+ per year
I've always avoided directories that relied on crowdsourced data.
But I discovered gasbuddy.com and went down a rabbit hole, using Wayback Machine to see how this directory got it's start.
In short, it's opened my eyes to new possibilities and old-school tricks that just work.
What is gasbuddy.com? Gas Buddy helps Americans find gas prices near them. Each month, 1.1M visit gasbuddy.com and they reportedly do $13M-22M in revenue a year. It's also built entirely on crowdsourced data.
Here's 5 things I took away that could help small directory builders like you & me:
1. They started small
Everyone (with a gas vehicle) needs gas. Everyone wants to save money. Despite this, Gas Buddy started small, with exact-match domains down the city level.
2002 snapshot of gasbuddy.com and how they targeted California-based gas price transparency.
This is smart from an SEO-perspective and easy to remember. As long as you live in one of these cities, the immediate reaction is "this is exactly what I was looking for."
2. Everyone loves leaderboards & giveaways
We often forget how deep our desire for social status is.
You might not be Usain Bolt, but you can be the best in the world at reporting and updating gas prices.
Here's how they incentivized users to report their local gas prices in 2005:
Submit or update gas prices for 150 points (750 points maximum per day)
Cash in every 1000 points to enter a giveaway for a chance to win a prize
The giveaway prize? E-bikes (Oooh ahhh)
Look at the engagement that they had in 2005.
Today, they still have a dedicated leaderboard and the top contributor has been doing this for 24 years and 226 days.
3. Sneaky smart and layered monetization
Today, Gas Buddy is a monster and monetizes in a bunch of different ways.
They run Google Adsense to 1.1M monthly visitors, sell featured/claim listings to gas stations who want to update their listings, and they even partnered with gas station companies to create their own gas savings card for $9.99/mo or $99/year that offers exclusive discounts.
But in 2005, they monetized through affiliate marketing for a Chase credit card that offer 6% rebates on gas.
This might not seem like a big deal, but even in the early internet days, affiliate marketing in the finance niche was a competitive space to be in.
While most internet marketers were fighting for the top 10 spots on Google's search results by writing blogs like "Top 10 Best Credits Cards in 2005", Gas Buddy approached it from a sneakily smart angle by creating their own distribution and leveraging adjacent search intent.
Side note, it's cool to see such alignment of their website traffic and monetization - something we don't see all the time with directories!
4. It proves the most important directory (and business) principle
Every massively successful directory accomplishes one, or more, of these three things: It helps people save time, save money or make money.
Since digging into Gas Buddy, I've been extra conscious of my own motivations behind my daily spending habits.
Personally, I'd say 90% of every spending decision I make is driven by these same three reasons.
Which brings me to a simple thought - at the core, Gas Buddy managed to save people's time and money through price transparency.
Look around. In 2026, are there not industries where price transparency is still a problem?
What's stopping us from building a directory where we deliver price transparency to other niches?
Just an idea to chew on.
5. Vertical growth & diversified distribution
If you're like me, you're already thinking of different niches where there's a lack of price transparency.
It's easy to rush into a new directory niche, but before you do, ask yourself how far you're willing to take this idea.
Gas Buddy is coasting off organic SEO alone, but they didn't stop there.
They maintain an active blog and podcast about GAS PRICES.
Name one person you know who wakes up feeling passionate about gas prices (I'll wait).
But seriously, I genuinely think immersing yourself in the niche beyond SEO is how you turn a small problem into a massive business.
They have 4,662 total blogs (2 blogs written per week) and over 115 podcast episodes that average 25-30 minutes long.
Maybe you're not trying to create a $10M+ per year directory, but it's still worth asking yourself if you're willing to explore every corner of the industry and niche you're trying to create a solution for.
If you enjoyed this breakdown, I'll be making a video on Gas Buddy this week and looking deeper at the SEO strategy behind it.
Also, if you want to see more breakdowns like this and know of any interesting directories, please send them to me!
