This was a Talking Web newsletter on 4 August 2026 - join the newsletter here.

Hi,

Hope you’re having a wonderful summer – can you believe we’re in August already?! I was fine with July – but August really feels like we’re hurtling towards the tail end of 2026 already doesn’t it?! How is that even possible?

Last week I asked you to think about changing how you report on your website traffic – if you need to think about engagement rates more than unique visitors, or how many enquiries you get rather than sessions (visits).

This week I’m asking you to think about if there’s anything you can do to make your website less dependent on Google, full stop.

Are there any tools or services your website itself can offer?

For a publisher client we’ve recently enhanced their alerts so that people subscribe (leave their email address) to hear about updates on their content (they’re very niche in a fast changing world). These alerts keep them coming back to the site without Google.

Is there more you could do to push your mailing list? Such as adding a tick box to any forms people use to contact you, or can you have a better system to adding people when they’ve bought from you?

And then can you make your email content the type people would forward to a friend? (I don’t mean a funny chain letters – I mean interesting, useful, or with incentives?)

And on that note – please do feel free to forward this on if you like these emails! Any friend you send it to can join the “One thing to do on your website this week” list here.​
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The point is, in an increasingly zero click world, what can you do to rely on Google less?

Go and put the kettle on, and whilst it boils and then whilst you sip, consider:

1) What you could do

2) What the first step would be to do it – who would you need to contact, who would you need a quote from? Or – the best option – how can you do it yourself with your existing website backend system?

3) And then, if you can, fire off an email or make a new button to start making it happen!

Please do let me know what you decide to do!

Speak soon,

Lisa

Lisa Freeman

​18a web development​

​https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisafreemanweb