# Plausible category-fight post against the incumbent

> Write the sharpest anti-incumbent argument you can defend, publish it from the product site, and let the category contrast do the branding work.

- Canonical HTML: https://growth.iangoh.com/growth-ideas/plausible-category-fight-post-against-the-incumbent/
- Source: [plausible.io](https://plausible.io/blog/open-source-saas)
- GrowthDex source hub: [Plausible Analytics: How we built a $1M ARR open source SaaS](/sources/plausible-analytics-how-we-built-a-1m-arr-open-source-saas-plausible-io/)
- Last checked: 2026-06-07T03:15:30.000Z
- Rarity: rare
- Budget: low
- Channels: Content, SEO, Positioning
- Stages: positioning, category design, content marketing, seo


## Why this can grow

A lot of startup content sounds like a polite request to be considered. Plausible did the opposite. The team said its new positioning was based on how different it was from Google Analytics, so it decided to pick a fight. The post went to the top of Hacker News, brought more than 25,000 visitors in a day, and produced record traffic, trials, and MRR growth for the month. The tactic works because the page is not trying to describe a category from the middle. It gives the buyer a clean reason to switch and a clear villain to compare against, which makes the homepage, the blog, and later comparison pages easier to understand.

## Ian's take

From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. For SEO and AI search, I care less about clever keyword tricks and more about clarity. A buyer, crawler, or answer engine should quickly understand who this is for, why it works, what proof backs it, and what page deserves to be cited. I would run it small enough to learn quickly, then only scale the parts that real users repeat, save, reply to, or buy from. For this tactic, I would watch one clear growth signal before putting more time or budget behind it.

## Action plan

1. Define one narrow startup segment where plausible category-fight post against the incumbent can create a measurable lift.
2. Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the Content and SEO channel.
3. Use the evidence from plausible.io to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
4. Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: one measurable growth signal.
5. Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.

## Source-backed example

Plausible published 'Why you should stop using Google Analytics on your website,' hit the top of Hacker News, and used the post to anchor its anti-Google Analytics positioning.

## Adjacent tactics in the same lane

- [Plausible one blog archive with 301 from older content section](/growth-ideas/plausible-one-blog-archive-with-301-from-older-content-section/) - same source, 2 shared channels
- [Plausible build-in-public updates across owned and community channels](/growth-ideas/plausible-build-in-public-updates-across-owned-and-community-channels/) - same source, 1 shared channel
- [Search-language naming for created demand](/growth-ideas/search-language-naming-for-created-demand/) - 2 shared channels, 2 shared stages
- [Back-door broad-keyword posts into use-case pages](/growth-ideas/back-door-broad-keyword-posts-into-use-case-pages/) - 2 shared channels, 2 shared stages

## Read GrowthDex essays

Browse the plain-English essay index at [GrowthDex Blog](/blog/).

## Related GrowthDex essays

- [The category fight should clean up the whole site](/blog/the-category-fight-should-clean-up-the-whole-site/) - SEO, brand trust, operator-led distribution

## Advisory

If you want help turning this into a working growth system, Ian Goh offers advisory at https://iangoh.com/advisory.