What Actually Grows a Software Business in 2026

In 2026, building a software business feels very different from even a few years ago. Search behavior is fragmenting across AI assistants, answer engines, and classic search; Gartner now predicts traditional search volumes will drop about 25% as more questions get routed through conversational AI instead of ten blue links. At the same time, AI copilots and “vibe‑coding” tools let anyone ship an app or plugin in a weekend, so the real bottleneck is no longer writing code – it is getting that code in front of the right people.

I see this daily in my own corner of the world: I run a small studio that builds Squarespace plugins and I am layering a recurring, SaaS‑style control panel on top. But the patterns I’m about to describe don’t just apply to Squarespace; they apply to almost any modern software product, whether you call it SaaS, a plugin, or something in between.

What Doesn’t Grow a Software Business Like It Once Did

SEO that assumes search still behaves like 2015

When I first started, I chased SEO tools that were still recommending things like light keyword‑stuffing and formulaic “10 best X” listicles – playbooks that made sense in 2015 but feel completely out of step with today’s search reality. I eventually stopped using them, partly because endless Google core updates made rankings whiplash‑y, and partly because the search results page itself has changed: nearly 60% of Google searches now end without a click to another site, and AI summaries like Google’s AI Overviews show up on a growing share of queries.

That doesn’t mean SEO is dead; it still contributes to my sales. But the kind of content that works has changed. Instead of chasing generic keywords, I focus on answering the exact, long, messy questions people actually ask – often pulled straight from my chat logs or what I see coming up repeatedly in the Squarespace community. In a world where zero‑click searches and AI answers keep more users on the results page, “answer‑engine‑optimized” content that directly solves real questions is one of the most resilient approaches to SEO that still makes sense.

Infinite social posting

I’m naturally introverted, so the classic advice to “just post endlessly on X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube…” never really fit me. Even putting personality aside, the numbers don’t justify treating social as the main growth engine for most software. Studies comparing channels in 2025 consistently show social media is excellent for brand discovery and visibility, but it delivers much lower direct ROI and conversion than owned channels like email.

For example, recent ROI comparisons put email around 36× return for every 1 spent, versus roughly 2.8× for social media. Social is great for getting on people’s radar and occasionally showing progress, but for my products the people who actually buy usually come from: a recommendation, a newsletter click, seeing the plugin live on a site, or reading a focused blog post – not from me shouting into the algorithm every day.

Directories and “launch events”

There was a time when getting listed on product directories or having a big launch day on sites like Product Hunt felt like a growth strategy. In 2026, most generic directories are ghost towns used more for backlinks than real discovery; very few serious buyers browse them as their primary way to find tools anymore. Even founders who have done strong Product Hunt launches report that the vast majority of traffic arrives within 24 hours, with a steep drop‑off after that – a spike, not a sustainable acquisition channel.

For a niche software product, that kind of one‑day event is fine as a bonus, but not as a core strategy. In my case, the effort it would take to orchestrate a perfect launch day is better spent improving the product, deepening integrations inside my ecosystem, or writing evergreen content that keeps working long after any “launch” is over.

Paid ads before everything else

Paid ads absolutely have their place, and the scalability is real – but they’re also the last channel most small software businesses should touch. Ads layer an entirely separate optimization game on top of product and messaging, and there’s no guarantee that an offer that converts well via referrals or email will convert profitably through cold paid traffic.

Industry benchmarks and practitioner reports show that as auction competition rises, customer‑acquisition costs on major ad platforms keep climbing, which is dangerous if your pricing model is still closer to “one‑off plugin” than high‑LTV SaaS. My rule for myself is simple: until there is strong product market fit, repeat word‑of‑mouth, and several organic channels already working, paying for each marginal click is just lighting budget on fire.

What I Focus on to Grow in 2026

Positive word‑of‑mouth and referrals

Across B2B and software, word‑of‑mouth consistently shows up as the most influential factor in buying decisions: multiple studies report that 86–91% of B2B buyers say peer recommendations shape which vendors they seriously consider. That matches my own experience almost perfectly. Over and over, I hear some version of: “I’m using this plugin because another developer or designer swore by it.”

Because of that, I’ve become intentionally “review‑thirsty.” I actively ask happy customers for reviews and have now collected 200+ reviews across Trustpilot and other platforms, which both signals trust to new buyers and reinforces that sense of word‑of‑mouth momentum. I can’t force anyone to talk about my products, but I can control how fast I respond to support tickets, how generous I am with fixes, and whether customers feel they are getting more value than they paid for – and those are the moments that turn into reviews and referrals.

I also wrote about the invisible part of this process in an earlier post, “How long it takes for a stranger to buy”: most people don’t convert on first touch. They circle, compare, lurk, ask friends, and only then buy. Word‑of‑mouth and reviews are the assets that keep working during all of that quiet, unseen evaluation.

Partnerships with existing distribution channels

If you’re small and unknown, there’s no bigger growth lever than borrowing someone else’s audience. Last year, I collaborated with Omari from SQSThemes as part of his mentorship program, which gave me access to his newsletter and the chance to cross‑post my plugins on sqspthemes.com. That kind of partnership is the plugin‑world version of a SaaS integrating with a major platform or running a co‑marketing campaign: you plug into an audience that already trusts the host.

This matches how a lot of B2B and SaaS growth works more broadly. Industry data on partnerships and affiliate programs shows that many software companies are happy to share 20–30% of revenue with partners because a warm, referred customer is dramatically cheaper and more valuable than one acquired via cold ads. For me, the mentorship and cross‑posting didn’t just send one‑off clicks; it created an ongoing stream of people who arrive already pre‑sold because they trust the person who introduced my tools.

Own distribution channel (Ground Control as a hub)

During one of my conversations with Omari, the idea clicked: instead of scattering free snippets, paid plugins, and docs all over the place, I should create a single control panel to manage everything. That became Ground Control – a central dashboard where users can toggle my free snippets, configure paid plugins, and manage settings in one place.

For years I had been quietly giving away free snippets and support to the community; Ground Control turned that into a structured, front‑door experience. Since launch, it’s now active on more than 3,600 Squarespace sites (according to BuiltWith), which means any improvement or new feature I release instantly has distribution into thousands of real, live websites. Instead of relying on an algorithm to show people my work, I have my own “in‑product channel” where updates, new plugins, and trials can surface directly where users are already working.

Owned audience (newsletter, community)

One of the first questions that surfaced during my mentorship with Omari was simple but critical: “Do you have a newsletter?” At the time, I didn’t. My leads and emails were collected primarily through one‑off purchases, and I wasn’t putting much effort into consistent outreach. Since then, I’ve grown an email list to over 3,000 subscribers, and it has quietly become my most valuable distribution asset.

Open rates consistently sit in the 40–50% range, which is far above the typical cross‑industry email benchmark, and I keep iterating on list cleaning and link placement to keep click‑through meaningful. This lines up with broader marketing data: email still delivers far higher ROI and conversion than social media, with studies putting average email ROI around 36× compared to roughly 2.8× for social.

In practice, that means my biggest launches and most important updates now go to the list first. And looking ahead to 2026, as I experiment with a paid membership and a Slack group for pro users, that owned audience – and the smaller, high‑intent community inside it – will be the foundation for any recurring plan I add on top of my existing products.

Why I’m Sharing This (and What the Moat Really Is)

We live in the age of vibe‑coding. Every week, there’s another story of someone who used an AI assistant to spin up a surprisingly polished app or plugin over a weekend. The hard part is no longer “Can you build it?” but “Can you get anyone to care?”

Where I sit – in the Squarespace plugin world, but also from watching broader software – the pattern keeps repeating:

• Founders ship something impressive.

• They assume users will just search for it.

• They underestimate how long it takes for a stranger to buy, and how many touchpoints, recommendations, and proofs they need before they’re ready.

That’s why I care more about distribution than code. My moat is not some secret algorithm or a feature no one can copy. My real moat looks like this:

• Hundreds of happy customers leaving public reviews.

• Designers and developers who default to my tools on new client projects.

• A Ground Control install base that instantly sees new features.

• A newsletter and, soon, a small paid community where the most serious users gather.

AI has made it easier than ever to launch software – and harder than ever to build a durable business around it. The few things that still compound over time are trust, relationships, distribution, and a product that quietly does what it says it will do, day after day.

That’s the game I’m trying to play in 2026.