SEO ROI Dwindles: Time to Shift Investment
My organic Google traffic is down 90% over 2-3 years. Friends who out-disciplined me on content publishing are seeing the same thing. I've been hit by overnight 80% Google penalties before and rebuilt. This is different. It's systemic. When SEO agencies are rebranding away from the term, you know it's bad. And yet ~60% of us are still investing in SEO. A few numbers on effectiveness: **Meta** is the #1 traffic source for ~1/2 of people who use it. 50% effective. **Google** is the #1 traffic source for 1/6 of people investing in SEO. 16% effective. (Stats from eComFuel Trends Report, can access via link in bio) And no, SEO traffic isn't free. It takes a boatload of time and money to put out great content. So what to do? Unless you're seeing meaningful results, it's time to move on. Plenty of places to reinvest: YouTube, product quality, optimizing for the LLMs. Organic traffic isn't gone. But the long-term ROI just isn't there. Whiteboard Fridays, PBNs, page rank sculpting — a golden era that gave me so much. But I've moved on. If you're still hanging on and no seeing results, you probably should too.
Tariffs Cut Sales—Raise Prices, You’ll Likely Benefit
60% of stores saw their income decrease because of tariffs. Which means there's a great chance your prices are/were too low. Price hikes are scary. It's almost always worth it. And if not? Easy to roll back. #chartoftheweek https://t.co/V2QeFlqS3e
After 15 Years, I Abandoned SEO as Growth Lever
The @ecomfuelco podcast today about how I've given up on SEO after 15+ years as my primarily growth lever. Good, nuanced counter take from @Travis_Jamison who knows the SEO world significantly better than I do. Super curious to hear how...
From Missed Flight to Nostalgic Reminder of Humble Beginnings
I was a hot, sweaty mess sprinting through the SLC airport. Trying to make my connection to Palm Springs to host eCom Camp — @ecomfuelco’s 8 and 9-figure store owner event. I missed it by 60 seconds. Stuck overnight in Salt Lake, I...
Essential Resource for $15M+ Businesses
Knowing @RomanEcom I know this will be worthwhile. If you're at $15M+ check this out👇
More Sellers, Yet Amazon Revenue Shares Hit 2017 Lows
It's Day 2 at Amazon. More owners than ever, 63%, are selling on AMZ. Yet AMZ market share of U.S. store revenue has declined to 2017-era levels. High fees. Brutal competition. Lack of customer ownership. More brands selling + lower revenue than...
Owning Your Warehouse Cuts Growth by 90%
Can owning your warehouse slow growth 90%?! Shockingly, yes. Here's the details + 2 more crazy findings from my deep dive on 300 stores. Starting with the warehouse one because it floored me. If you owned your warehouse, your avg rev growth...
Amazon Shifts to Optional Channel; DTC Remains Most Profitable
AMZ is moving from mandatory -> ancillary. 17% like selling on AMZ. 93% like selling on their own site. And DTC is more lucrative. Even after accounting for the increased CAC spend, DTC-first brands are making more money per our recent...
10‑20% Growth Unlocks Cash Extraction After $1M
Extracting capital from a fast growing eCom business is nearly impossible. But there's a sweet spot where it does make sense. I surveyed 200+ store owners to figure out where. Here's what I found: The magic growth range is 10-20% annual revenue growth. Half of...
Financial Fluency Doubles Owners' Cash Extraction From Revenue
If you don't have financial fluency, your chances of turning business revenue -> personal cash plummet. I have the data to prove it. I surveyed 200+ store owners as part of the 2026 eComFuel Trends Report (full report coming soon). One of the...
Build a Personal Cash Cushion, Not Just Business Equity
How much of your net worth is your business? Knot in your stomach? Keep reading. Roman Khan (@RomanEcom) spoke at one of our eComFuel events a few years ago. If you ever get the chance to meet Roman in person, do...
Raise Prices Now: Stop Giving Customers a Hidden Tax
Are you paying a 50% tax you didn't vote for? You're just gifting it to your customers instead of the government. Here's how: Say you're a store doing $3M at 10% margins makes $300K in profit. You finally raise prices 15%, something that's LONG...
Lean Teams and Outsourcing Drive Higher Profits
One store owner in @ecomfuel had 35 people on payroll. He made some hard calls. Hired a 3PL. Replaced most full-timers with freelancers. Today he has one employee and eight contractors. His profits have never been higher. And his management stress is...
Liquidity Beats Private Deal Hassles, Even for Savvy Investors
I know a guy who bought Tesla in the early 2010s, close to the IPO. Made a killing. And he'd made a lot of other really savvy bets over the years. So I was excited to have him in the syndicate I was...
Personal Guarantees Threaten Your Assets—Test Before Signing
One of the most terrifying moments for @billda happened in a deal we did together. He was sitting in his car in a parking lot, hands shaking, staring at a letter. Our main supplier—80% of the SKUs—was terminating us. And he was...