Why Google Is Not the Best Source of Blog Traffic

  August 26, 2026 blogging tips 🕑 5 minutes read
Koh Samui Thailand

Koh Samui Thailand

 

Two words: blog traffic.

 

Think it through. Use pure logic.

 

Google is the best source of Google traffic.

 

Blogs are the ONLY source of blog traffic.

 

Blogs are not so much the best source because how can the source of blog traffic be anything else? Really!

 

Yet most bloggers believe Google to be the best or only source of blog traffic. I know this based on how most bloggers teach blogging. Or at the very least, I know this based on the words bloggers use to stress how Google is the best or flat out only blog traffic source.

 

What is the inference?

 

Without Google traffic, your blog is dead in the water. Sans Google traffic, your blog is dead and buried.

 

But these beliefs are completely untrue.

 

Why?

 

Blog traffic originates from blogs not Google.

 

I’ll prove this truth to you.

 

Imagine if Google banned your blog. Or picture if you prevented Google from finding your blog.

 

After publishing a few highly-detailed, targeted blog posts you generate some blog traffic through various channels not named “Google”.

 

If Google were the alleged source of blog traffic and Google could not find your blog then your blog would generate zero traffic.

 

Every blogger who’s ever lived knows this is not the case.

 

Traffic trickles to your blog from multiple channels before Google finds the blog.

 

What About Google Being the Best Traffic Source?

 

OK; this is an equally untrue statement because blog traffic originates from blogs not Google.

 

Come on guys. Think carefully with me to develop unshakable confidence in your blog.

 

Google is one of the many traffic channels available to bloggers but channels are not the source.

 

Do you mistake tree branches for the roots or trunk? Roots anchor the trunk. Branches grow from the trunk.

 

Buying your domain and hosting grows deep roots. Publishing a heavy volume of detailed, targeted blog posts builds a trunk wider than the Sequoia trees I saw in person last month during my trip to Three Rivers California. Google is one of the many branches along with:

 

  • X
  • Facebook (Pages and Groups as well)
  • email marketing
  • LinkedIn (Groups as well)
  • Quora
  • Reddit
  • Blue Sky
  • Mastodon
  • Threads
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • guest blogging
  • genuine blog commenting
  • Flipboard
  • Mixx
  • Scoop It

 

Is Google the best traffic channel?

 

No.

 

Email marketing is the best channel. Email marketing is highly stable. Google is not highly stable. Unless you do something utterly insane, your email list is yours. Nobody takes that away from you. However, the people who own Google can drastically reduce your blog traffic overnight. How? The people who own the site decide to position AI-generated results at #1 on page 1. That ain’t good for your blog traffic, is it? Humans no longer see your blog at position one anymore. Google owners also prominently position sponsored content to diminish blog traffic.

 

I could go on to prove my point but anyone willing to look easily sees that Google is not the best traffic channel.

 

Google is a solid traffic channel not the best channel and it certainly is not the source of blogging traffic.

 

How Can You Make Your Blog/Source Work for You?

 

Practical Ideas

 

  • publish long form blog posts consistently
  • update old content consistently
  • promote new and old blog posts aggressively over twenty plus channels to point a dizzying volume of links to your blog among a heady number of channels
  • interlink to your relevant blog posts
  • point outbound links sparingly and only to the highest quality content in your niche (if you link out)

 

Treat Your Blog Like a Spouse and Google Like a Casual Acquaintance

 

Do you build most of your life around the desires of a casual acquaintance?

 

No you do not.

 

Based on this logic, never update an old blog post for Google. Do it for your blog. Do it for your current blog readers who bookmark your blog, visit it daily and follow your dozens of marketing channels. Build a tribe of loyal readers who build your business apart from Google.

 

In the offline world, all of us married folks know that we predominantly build our lives based on joining decisions with our spouses. We pose questions. We both check in. We agree or disagree. But we eventually move forward making one collective decision.

 

This is because our spouse is typically the most important person in our lives (IF we make a wise choice).

 

Perceive your blog like your online spouse. Spend most time on your blog. Spend most of your day creating new content, updating old content, promoting new and old posts through a heavy volume of marketing channels and publishing text-based content to these streams. Text-based content points people to your profiles. Profiles point people to your blog link.

 

Old blog posts are not dead without Google traffic; Google is the casual acquaintance, not the spouse, remember, guys?

 

People find blogs through Google or 20 plus common channels that billions use consistently.

 

One of my detailed, practical blog comments sent 250 highly targeted, blogging tips hungry readers from an authority blog to Blogging From Paradise Dot Com daily. Anytime I update and republish an old post – the right way to do it – dozens spied the updated post. Is that terribly ineffective compared to driving Google traffic to updated content? I don’t think so.

 

Optimize blog posts for Google. Never rely on Google. Rely on your blog. Send traffic to your blog through Google and 20 plus other channels.

 

In terms of raw reader power, genuine blog commenting and guest blogging win because both sets of readers come in hot. Guest blog readers and blog comment readers enjoyed, trusted and valued your guest post or blog comment and clicked through because they HAD TO get more of your content.

 

Do you really think that Google users perceive you in a similar light? Most of them had no clue in hell who you were before finding your page 1 post. Not so with guest post readers and blog comment readers, who not only know you but already trust you.

 

When it comes to blog traffic, expand to a 360 degree view not the pinhole of Google.

 

Diversify to win.

 

But think like an owner.

 

Spend most time improving the source of blog traffic; your blog.

Related posts:

Grecia, Costa RicaIs Google the Source of Targeted Traffic and Blogging Income? East Sandwich Massachusetts USAWhy Would You Overlook Facebook and LinkedIn as Google Traffic Sources? Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam6 Tips to Google Proof Your Blog London, UKDo You Need an Email List to Drive Blog Traffic and Profits? Grecia, Costa Rica2 Clever Ways to Successfully Drive Page 1 Google Traffic Blogging From Paradise: Do You Need Google? Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamHow to Rank on Page 1 of Google When You Rarely Optimize Posts and Care Not About Search Traffic Las Vegas Nevada USAWhy Do Most Bloggers Suffer from Google Induced Anxiety?
  1. Fort says:
    at 9:33 pm

    I think, but I’m likely wrong, that the belief that Google is the source of blog traffic came about from the push of mini sites. The idea that you could just publish a dozen posts about a niche area, throw up Adsense on it, maybe put in an affiliate offer or two, and maybe even do paid posts and you’d make regular income doing very little to nothing.

    To a certain extent that was true 20 years ago. I put up a few of them using WordPress and made enough to make it worthwhile. I think at one point I was making $1500 a month working about 3 hours a day when I was in the Philippines.

    And yes, Google changed things, a lot every year or two. First the paid posts went away and then the mini site.

    I like how you preach the fundamentals. That inspires me to get back to the fundamentals.

    • Ryan Biddulph says:
      at 9:52 pm

      I recall those days too. Google became oddly easy to game in a way. But this was a long time ago before an incredible volume of bloggers attempted to game the system.

      Google wised up steadily. Now the algorithm changes frequently to shake out anyone not heavily reliant on working the blogging fundamentals.

      As for now, good thing that the basics of creating and connecting are still the way to go. Google leveled the playing field for solo bloggers like you and I. Create. Connect. Optimize. No individual blogger gets away with skipping those steps.

      As for the massive brands masquerading as content mills, the big boys play by a different set of rules. I put them out of my mind. I cannot compete with the titans nor would I want their massive, highly-polarized, unstable readership. Some loyal fans but a boatload of critics too. No thanks. I will keep my loyal tribe and referral traffic.

      Happy Blogging. 🙂