Is google really important at all?

When I first started Internet Marketing the only thing on my mind was getting to the first page of google. Thats where the money is I thought, If I can just get there I'll be good. Now fast forward today and I realize that's not the case. I have sites on Google's first page that have done poorly, and one's that aren't that do jsut fine.

I've come to believe that getting organic traffic from google isn't all that important. Sure it's nice, but its through my other marketing efforts and linking where I see the most traffic coming from. My articles, videos, and links are what seem to bring in the majority of my traffic, not google.

As well as being more, I also find it much more stable. A simple algorithm change won't upset my entire empire. Sure youtube could remove my videos, or a blog could remove my links, but these horror stories are much less common than big G pulling the plug. I guess it all goes back to not "putting your eggs in one basket".

Does anyone else feel that google , in the grand scheme of marketing, isn't really all that important?

I realize this is probably niche dependant to some degree. The more saturated your niche the less you can rely on getting good rankings and organic traffic, and the choice of what I choose to market in might effect the way I feel about organic traffic. Still, overall I feel ranking on google, and the organic traffic that follows, should be only a part of an overall marketing plan, and a small one at that.

Thoughts?