Why I Stopped Counting on Google Traffic

Not a hot take. Just a thing I’ve come around to after watching it happen a few times.

The Pattern

Site does okay. Not great, but steady. Then an update hits and traffic drops 40-60% overnight. The site didn’t change. The content didn’t change. Google just decided something else was more relevant.

This has happened to me twice on sites I cared about and multiple times on sites I’d already written off.

The Practical Problem

When your whole acquisition strategy is SEO, you’re running a business on someone else’s infrastructure without a lease. They can repave the road your store is on at any time.

What I Do Differently Now

• SEO is still useful, but it’s not a strategy by itself
• If a site can’t survive a 50% traffic drop, the model is fragile
• Email lists, even tiny ones, are worth building
• Direct traffic from niche communities (forums, subreddits, Discord) is more durable than it looks

The Boring Conclusion

Diversify. Yes, it’s obvious. No, I didn’t do it early enough on a couple of projects. Now I try to.