25/08/2026
"My website traffic dropped 40% this year and my business is doing better than ever."
A client told me that last month. Sounds like a paradox. It's not.
Here's what's happening. Google and AI tools are answering more questions directly, so fewer people click through. But if your business is being cited in those answers, you're still winning. You're just winning differently.
The old metric was website clicks. The new metric is how often you get mentioned, cited, and recommended across the places customers are actually looking.
Which means the question changes. Instead of asking "how much traffic am I getting?", ask:
1. Am I being cited in AI Overviews for my top queries?
2. Am I named when someone asks ChatGPT for the best [my category] in my area?
3. Are my reviews being surfaced when people search my industry?
4. Am I mentioned in the third-party content Google trusts?
If the answer is yes, your traffic drop is a symptom of the shift, not a problem to fix.
If no, that's where the work is now.
💾 Save this for your next planning session.
More clips from Brad Russell's workshop with the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce coming over the next few weeks. Follow so you don't miss them.
