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Why did we build version 3.1?

Updated: January 23, 2024 Published: June 17, 2022

CEO Karsten Madsen

Karsten Madsen

Founder & CEO @ Morningscore.io

This is the honest story behind Morningscore version 3.1 – if you are curious on how software products are built, it might interest you.

Yes, we removed it

Most products have a backlog of plans that they put into releases and ship live.

We don’t.

In fact, we no longer have a “backlog” (fancy word for endless list of tasks). We removed it late 2021.

We now plan a release to solve the biggest problem we can find instead. And we do it only a few months ahead of time.

Why? Because things move fast, and we always have to be willing to shift gears and question what is most important for our customers.

My job is finding the biggest problems to solve. Together with the team.

Probably the hardest job I ever had. But I love it!

What is Morningscore’s biggest problem?

In 2022 we started talking to our users a lot more. For example, we asked people to test the tool and talk out load on video (userbrain is great for that btw)

We also gathered more data. The picture was soon clear:

People got stuck in the onboarding of our tool. Only around 10% completed it.

Even our power users did not find all of the tools we had in store for them.

So we knew what we had to do in version 3.1: Fix the user experience.

What did we do exactly?

We built 216 small and big fixes that we found by observing people. The main fix is around how you navigate the tool.

For our customers, and those interested, here is a walkthrough of what we changed:

We tested these things on users already.

We managed to roughly double the amount of trial users who complete our onboarding because of it!! 🥳🥳

This is the beginning of a smarter way for us to build the product going forward.

YES, I AM EXCITED!! 👨‍🚀

What about cool new features?

Fixing things is nice, but what about new features?

Here is the list of new features. Iff you are curious, watch the video above, where I go through it 🙂

🧭 Fresh user experience and navigation
🔗 More link data – see lost links now!
🐞 216 improvements and bug fixes
☄️ Faster tool overall – lot of improvements
🎯 Keyword research finds more and better keywords
📁 Organize Keyword research with folders
👩‍🚀 Better Missions

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20 keywords

3 websites

2 users

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Why do we promote 3.1 with a (space) tractor?

Version 3.1 is named “Space Farm” and has this official description:

“The grand Morningscore version 3 has launched and landed. Now it’s time to set up a smooth operation and grow. The captain expects to stay on v3 for a long time. So now it’s time to make our new base shine and set up a space farm to help us grow this new settlement.”

We see the Morningscore brand and tool like space colonization. And to grow your colony you need farming.

So we went all in, and bought a tractor for our HQ in Denmark and painted it in company colors to honor version 3.1 and our brand. Once we get big enough, we might shoot it into space just like Elon Musk shot his car into space.

That is the truth.

Or maybe my co-founder Mads and I kinda promised the team to buy a tractor if we reached a big revenue milestone, and then kinda had to do it.

You figure it out 😉

In any case, here is the wonderful and very official version 3.1 release video – and of course the brilliant actors are my colleagues:

Hope you enjoy version 3.1 – and remember we are always here for your feedback.

Take care, captain!

Morningwood - our forest in the making

Hall of Fame

“Morningscore provides a simple overview of competitors, and most importantly, makes working with SEO fun! The "Mission" tool is a favorite, but the "Health" section is also a useful feature that easily explains what adjustments and corrections need to be made on my website.”

“Morningscore is the easiest SEO tool I've ever seen and used – and I've tested so many of them. The charts and data may be comparable to those of competitors, but the fun part comes in when you make use of the many ways to play 'catch me if you can' with a competitor.”

“A truly usable and effective SEO tool without many disruptive elements. This means that I can actually use the tool for something specific that gives our business value.”

“Morningscore gives me that vital view of our rankings on search engines, and I can see up-to-date information on how we're performing against our competitors and whether we're gaining or losing traction. I also find the tool very easy to use. It just works.”

“I’ve used Morningscore since the beginning of my company. I tried many tools, but my heart fell for Morningscore because it’s so easy to use - and because I work with many small businesses who MUST have the tool for me to help them.”

“I use Morningscore because SEO is not my specialty, and I don’t want to spend time on it. I have an internal team who takes care of SEO, but I need to know the outcome of their work. With this tool, I can log in and see our performance from day to day.”

“I was looking for a tool to help my customers see exactly what we’re working on and what value it gives them. I’ve found that with Morningscore. I recommend the platform to anyone who needs to manage and improve their SEO.”

“Three years ago I chose Morningscore because I was new to SEO and it was the easiest SEO tool to use. I'm still using Morningscore because it is regularly updated and becomes more powerful with every release. It's fun to use. Morningscore is such an integral part of my day. I check it before I check my email.”