Welcome to Nitro’s September edition of our monthly Publisher Showcase! Each month, we dive into the stories and insights of the brilliant minds behind some of the most dynamic websites on our platform.

This month, we spoke with Matthew Luckow, the talented creator behind PvPoke, the ultimate open-source Pokémon Go tool for GO Battle League and PvP battles. In the interview below, Matthew reveals how his deep passion for Pokémon, combined with his web development and digital marketing skills, allowed him to create a centerpiece in the Pokémon Go community in just 4 weeks, building a broad audience purely organically.

Read on to discover the journey and insights of this Pokémon Go mastermind 👇

First up, can you tell us a bit about your career/life background that led you to start PvPoke?

Absolutely! I grew up loving Pokemon and graduated in 2013 with a degree in web & digital media development, so it was inevitable that someday the two would go hand in hand.

When Pokémon GO released in 2016, I was captivated and wanted to build something to contribute to the community, but that opportunity didn’t come about until a few years later.

What drove you to create PvPoke? Did you see a specific gap in the market? Was there a particular insight that motivated you to launch it?

In December 2018, Pokémon GO launched a new game mode called Trainer Battles which allowed players to battle their Pokémon against each other, player versus player (“PvP”). 

This mode featured entirely new gameplay, so no guides or resources existed for it yet. It was a new frontier! I moved quickly and began figuring out how to visualize these battles and develop tools around them.

How long have you been running your website and how long did it take from development until it was live?

I’ve been running PvPoke for 5 years now! It came together extremely quickly: I completed my MVP for it in 2-3 weeks. The launch was also quite a ride. I had shared a placeholder link with some local players, and one of them sent it to a content creator who liked it so much, he blasted it out on socials! 

That day, I scrambled to purchase a domain, set up hosting, and create social media accounts for a very unexpected launch! I definitely have to thank them for lighting that fire beneath me. All in all, it was about 4 weeks from starting development to launch.

How did you decide on the specific features and tools available on PvPoke?

Scope creep is so hard to avoid, especially in passion projects, so I drew a clear outline for myself. At the heart of everything is a battle simulator which determines who wins in a fight between two Pokémon. 

That foundation came first! From there, it was easy to build my key pages—a battle tool to analyze a fight between two Pokémon, rankings to compare how each Pokémon performs against all other Pokémon, and a Team Builder to identify the weaknesses of your own Pokémon.

After the website launched, I couldn’t hold back and rapidly expanded its tools and features! It all comes back to having that foundation, really an engine driving all the crazy parts of the machine.

How were you able to build a strong online presence for your Pokémon Go tools website? (e.g. SEO, forums, PPC, influencers etc)

Around the time I built PvPoke, I was also working as a digital marketer, primarily in website analytics. I needed to make sure PvPoke had robust SEO and event tracking, too! Page URL’s was another big focus—the website deals with a lot of numbers, but I did my best to keep them simple and easily readable. Of all things, I think the “PvPoke” name also helped the website stick! It’s short, it’s silly, and for Pokémon GO players, it immediately identifies what it’s about.

I’m in a unique position where I can say that PvPoke’s growth has been almost 100% organic. When I launched the website, I didn’t promote it on any forums or Subreddits, I didn’t take out any ad spend, and I didn’t seek any influencer promotions. I focused on building a good product, and if the product was good enough, people would share it.

That’s exactly what happened! PvPoke’s growth over the first few years was entirely word of mouth. Redditors shared links because it gave them more material to discuss, content creators made videos talking over the website because it was a helpful visual reference, and little by little, PvPoke became a centerpiece in the Pokémon GO space.

What have been some of the most effective tactics to drive traffic to your website so far?

Since my approach is mostly organic, I’m not so much driving traffic as I am keeping the roads paved. Pokémon GO is an event-driven game, so traffic occurs in waves throughout the year as the developers drop new announcements and cycle through different competition formats. 

Staying on top of these changes has been a big part of PvPoke’s success. It was important for me to develop a cadence so users know when to return for updates. Be proactive, be one with your analytics, and have your content ready before people look for it!

What are you most proud of in regard to the success of PvPoke so far? Any major highlights?

I’m proud of all the Pokémon trainers who have stepped into the arena! I never get tired of hearing feedback from players who just achieved their best rank or won a tournament. Beyond the website itself, I’m thankful for everyone in the Pokémon GO community for supporting me along the way.

Getting to see them at in-person tournaments and events is always the biggest highlight! There are so many amazing people I wouldn’t have met if I didn’t start a small website way back when.

The project is open-source as well! For as messy as I think it is, I’m proud that my code could help other projects or inspire them.

What advice do you have for new and existing website owners that you wish you knew before you started?

I truly cobbled PvPoke together from duct tape and string, so I wish I had kept up my developer skills more to build it on a modern framework. Well-supported libraries and modules exist for a reason! 

My biggest advice is to put the user experience first. Impressions are only as good as your ability to impress them, so if you’re going to drive traffic, make sure that ride is smooth, scenic, and goes somewhere the user wants to be.

Also, I wish I had started running ads with Nitro sooner!

What do you like best about being a part of Nitro’s network of premium gaming/entertainment websites?

I’ve really enjoyed how personal working with Nitro has felt. My ad partners are always in touch, make helpful recommendations, and respect the user experience I’m looking to maintain.

I didn’t have a business bone in my body when I started PvPoke, so getting to work with Nitro has helped me balance hobby and business in a way that can also benefit the community at large.

What’s next for PvPoke?

The Play! Pokémon competitive circuit is just kicking off an exciting new season, so I’ll be right there following the action and updating PvPoke! It took me a while to find the right balance of work and hobby, so I’m grateful to keep doing what I’m doing for the community. My focus is on sustainability, so I’m always looking for ways to make my updates more efficient and ensure I can stay involved into the future!

A big thank you to Matthew from PvPoke. Keep your eyes peeled for more insightful interviews like this in next month's edition of our Publisher Showcase, where we’ll continue to spotlight one of the 500+ stand out websites on Nitro, diving deep into their unique success!

Nitro is dedicated to reinventing website monetization for the gaming industry. Our ad tech platform combines uncompromised user experience and nitro-speed revenue and service with Net 7 Payouts, same-day support and the industry’s fastest ad loading.