I recently watched a fascinating Ahrefs video about a husband and wife team running a software review site called Efficient App. Their story is both inspiring and cautionary – they’ve built an $800,000/year business that’s 70% dependent on Google traffic. As someone who’s been in the digital marketing space since 1995, this immediately raised red flags for me.
The couple, Alex and Andre, have created authentic, high-quality software reviews and achieved impressive growth. But their success story reveals a dangerous vulnerability that many online businesses face today.
The Hidden Risk of Google Dependency
When 70% of your traffic comes from a single source that you don’t control, you’re building on borrowed land. Ahrefs pointed this out clearly by showing examples of major players like G2 and Capterra who saw their traffic decimated by algorithm updates. G2 lost five years of growth in a single update, dropping from 3.8 million monthly organic visits to just 592,000.
No matter how good your content is, you’re never immune to algorithm changes. I’ve seen countless businesses wiped out overnight by Google updates, despite doing everything “right” according to best practices.
What’s particularly interesting about Efficient App’s case is that much of their explosive growth came from a strategic acquisition. They purchased the companies.tools domain for just $3,500, which came with valuable backlinks from sites like Zapier, New York Post, and Webflow. By redirecting those links to their most important pages, they created a powerful authority boost that fueled their growth.
Signs of Trouble Ahead
Looking at Efficient App’s traffic curve, Ahrefs identified a concerning pattern – growth was starting to flatline. Even more worrying, 41% of their organic traffic came from a single page about browsers, and their top six pages accounted for roughly 70% of all organic traffic.
This concentration of traffic makes them extremely vulnerable. If Google decides to change how it ranks just one of those pages, nearly half their business could disappear overnight.
When faced with this reality, Ahrefs gave the advice I would give: consider an exit. But Alex and Andre’s response was telling – they weren’t ready to sell because they genuinely love what they do. They see this as just the beginning of their journey.
Building an Algorithm-Proof Business
For businesses in similar situations, here are the key strategies I recommend for reducing risk:
- Diversify traffic sources beyond Google
- Expand content to cover more topics that are working
- Go where your audience already spends time
- Be extremely cautious with site redesigns and migrations
Ahrefs showed that for software review keywords, Reddit was actually capturing 22% of the traffic – more than any dedicated review site. This presents an opportunity to engage directly on Reddit threads that are already ranking well.
For Efficient App specifically, expanding their “best of” content makes sense since that’s what’s already working for them. Finding untapped categories through keyword research can help spread the risk across more pages.
The Real Value Behind the Numbers
What struck me most about this case study was Alex and Andre’s passion. When Ahrefs suggested their success might be largely attributed to the domain acquisition, you could hear the disappointment in Alex’s voice.
“We actually have worked really hard… I don’t feel like that is the thing that has resulted in us finding success.”
And he’s right. While the backlinks certainly helped fuel their growth, the foundation was built on years of effort, expertise, and genuine care for helping people choose the right software.
The most valuable asset in any business isn’t traffic or even revenue – it’s the authentic connection with your audience. That’s something no algorithm update can take away.
The Path Forward
For anyone building an online business today, the lesson is clear: diversification isn’t just a good idea – it’s essential for survival. Whether you’re getting traffic from Google, YouTube, social media, or any other platform you don’t control, you need to spread your risk.
Since the recording of the Ahrefs video, Efficient App’s Google traffic has reportedly continued to rise. But the fundamental risk remains. The most resilient businesses are those that own their audience relationships across multiple channels.
As we navigate the ever-changing digital landscape, remember that algorithms will come and go, but businesses built on genuine value and diverse traffic sources will stand the test of time.
