Here’s exactly how Google’s algorithm changes killed independent publishers…
Join the discussion… it’s juicy!
We were once dominant in the TV show recap space, now we’re non-existent.
Google promoted & fired a once-dominant independent publisher
In fact, all independent publishers in the television entertainment vertical that were dominant a year ago have suffered the same fate, while major publishers like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes have skyrocketed.
We started Alexus Reneé’s Celebrity Myxer to highlight established and up-and-coming celebs in a positive manner. As we gained traction, we pivoted quite a few times. We found our calling in the television recap space and with those actors involved in the show when we conducted a red-carpet interview with Damson Idris for the second season premiere of Snowfall.
When we re-interviewed Damson and the cast for the third season premiere, we were hooked! We genuinely liked the FX show so much that we started faithfully watching as fans, then as journalists recapped each episode. Suddenly, we went from no organic traffic to booming results, but only for Snowfall content.
What Qualifies Us?
As the Chief Editor and marketer (among several other hats I wear for the company), it sparked an idea to write in-depth recaps of popular TV shows.
What separates us from the competition? We write engaging and easier-to-digest content (no wall of boring text), a relevant mix of media (photos and video recaps), character and plot developments, snackable recap bullet points, review ratings, the cast of each episode, and upcoming episodes with air date information. See the breakdown below…
A breakdown of our successful content strategy that now fails in Google SERPs
As an SEO, I think I have some skin in the game to take on such a competitive space… being that I launched and grew a tiny website (AndroidTapp.com) and sold it to BlueStacks in 2015 for an undisclosed amount.
BlueStacks organic traffic boost after acquiring AndroidTapp.com
Pardon my deviation, but I’ve always known the traffic power of great content and SEO. When I sold my mobile app review website to BlueStacks, it tripled their website traffic, allowing for more VC funding (adding $10M into their bank account and boosting organic traffic for users to download their mobile emulator software.)
Also, I consult a few enterprises with their SEO strategies at my marketing firm.
So, I threw all of my SEO knowledge at Celebrity Myxer, focusing on TV show recaps. This recipe drastically helped us reach celebs for sit-down interviews and red-carpet gala interviews. For a while, it worked immaculately until Google’s Algo updates killed it!
Celebrity Myxer’s traffic stats over the years
We went from 98K pageviews in 2020 to 2.5M in 2021, 4.1M in 2022, and tanked to 489K in 2023. Wanna guess how much thus far in 2024? 17K in the two months since this article was published. 😡
Traffic Dropped Nearly 90% and Ad Revenue Plunged 98%
We went from a self-funded two-person team to a seven-person staff with four talented, dedicated full-time writers. After the 2023 updates, unfortunately, we had to let all of our writers and staff go. 😔
I totally understand algorithms are essentially computational machines without feelings. And I understand the nature of competitive business. Yet these cuts have uprooted the livelihoods of exceptional writers like Hasib Afzal, Halla Warner, Amanda Bonar, and published author Jordan Davis.
They are not bots or AI but real humans with a passion for expressing themselves in their writing. They also have real families and real bills that we unfortunately could no longer afford to fund.
The Proof is in the Searching
HouseFresh wrote an exposé with the same regards, illustrating just how jaded Google’s latest algorithm updates are towards major brands, leading smaller publishers to their demise.
HouseFresh outranked by Reddit (image via SearchEngineLand.com)
The screenshot above shows that Reddit once outranked the source article. Another screenshot shows the source as low as #7. 😕 Ironically, it took complaints from the SEO industry and via Twitter for the SERPs to be corrected (a result of negative media attention.)
Searching now yields appropriate results. (But it shouldn’t have to come to drastic outcries if Google is focused on search quality, right?)
I honestly think the negative media backlash caused a human search quality rater to “turn the dials” to get them higher placement, not the broken algorithm fixing the poor search result.
Here’s proof that Google is broken for some industries…
Now, Using Google for the TV Entertainment Industry Sucks
I’m not crying wolf here…
In 2022, when you searched for a specific TV show episode we covered, we would rank for hundreds (or thousands) of variations of how a user would search for it. Back then, Google understood the search intent. For example, Law & Order SVU. Whether you spelled it:
Celebrity Myxer once dominated search results with high rankings for TV show content
- law & order: special victims unit
- law and order svu
- law & order: special victims unit
Google understood the intent of all variations. Furthermore, to identify a season and episode, you could have spelled it:
- (season 24, episode 8)
- season 24 episode 8
- s24 e08
- s24e8
- s24xe8
It didn’t matter because Google understood the intent of all variations. Not anymore!
(P.S. Search any of the keywords from the screenshot above and notice what two popular brands dominate the top position now. And we’re nowhere to be found in the SERPs.)
Maybe Google Does Not Have Enough Data For the Algorithm to Yield Quality Results
According to Neil Patel, Google sees more than 8.5 billion daily searches. Of that, there are 1.27 billion searches daily for new search queries that have never been typed into Google. So, I can understand how low data for new searches can be impacted. But how could Google do so well with new searches with low data in the past yet perform so poorly in the present?
Let’s break this down…
In the TV show data vertical, Google has flat-out shifted towards IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.
Google’s updates promoted their AI summary, IMDB, and Rotten Tomatoes content, then removed independent publisher Celebrity Myxer
They are great resources but are very limited regarding search intent for TV show episodes. (Because most of the pages are created with automation. Any other interaction is user-generated content and syndication at best. A human editor rarely adds content.)
They are great for getting future (or past) episode titles, synopsis, and cast info (sometimes.)
They are poor at gaining episodic recaps, reviews, character and plot developments, videos, photos, and cast info.
E-E-A-T is Snake Oil
What does it take to write a TV show recap or review?
First, you have to watch the episode. So, at least invest one hour of your time plus the time to write about it. Then, you must write about the key parts of the episode. Describing character developments and plots is key.
Viewers resort to recaps even if they watched the episode and may have missed, misunderstood, or wanted more information. Additionally, if they hadn’t seen the episode, they resort to recaps to catch up. Hence, it is the core reason why they search for it.
There are valid reasons why fans search for information about their favorite TV show
Alternatively, fans search to ask questions, vent, or empathize with relatable topics within episodes.
In the TV show recap space, timing is an important factor. Obviously, when the episode has not aired, there is limited data compared to after it has aired. Let’s illustrate…
Poor SERP Breakdown – Chicago Med S9 E6 Before Airing
Above is a screenshot for SERPs of NBC’s Chicago Med. It is for the ninth season and sixth episode (btw we cannot be found in the SERPs). Google: Chicago Med Season 9 Episode 6
This was taken at 1:35 pm CST on February 28, 2024, hours before the air date. In the past, traffic would pick up on the air date as the broadcast network would air more commercials for their primetime show, piquing fan interest and leading to searching.
There are layers of wrong with this picture, full of terrible search results…
Google scraped the synopsis info from a source but didn’t credit them. Yay! Looking forward to more of this with SGE!
Next, they place the “People also ask” module rife with questions completely irrelevant to this episode.
Furthermore, this section is what led to the Helpful Content Update crackdown. Shouldn’t it be removed at this point? It’s taking away real estate for the first organic result.
Next, we have Google’s YouTube videos. But wait, video #3 is a reupload of video #1. And wait… video #4 is clickbait to an Amazon-hosted URL redirecting to a malware site.
Ah, the first organic result is… you guessed it, IMDB (after scrolling below the fold!) But wait… the content is syndicated from tveveryday.com. And wait… why isn’t the source the #1 SERP? Oh, I forgot… low domain authority (not popular.)
The #2 result is a generic season 9 page on TVGuide.com, which lists the same synopsis hundreds of other sites have. Oh, and it’s the same thing Google scraped and didn’t credit the source.
The #3 result, in my opinion, is the best result. It takes a page out of our editorial playbook. And although they are our competition, here’s why their result is the best thus far:
- Written by a human for humans: A real writer took time to write this for show fans—no automation with sparse synopsis content hundreds of websites share.
- Time-Sensitive: Their content was written two days before the episode aired, giving searchers more insights than the synopsis alone.
- Experience & Expertise: The writer clearly knows what happened in past episodes to offer insights into this episode with comments like, “It makes us wonder if she [Dr. Zola Ahmad] will continue down the same path or try to adjust better to the rules at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.”
- Episodic Photos: They post pictures from the episode with cast names associated.
- Video Trailer: They post the episode trailer.
In a sea of high authority, synopsis only subpar pages, this is how you differentiate your content. Yet Google is not properly rewarding them. Hence, why I say E-E-A-T is snake oil!
The rest of the search results are pitiful. An IMDB result from 2021, a Rotten Tomatoes synopsis, a SoundCloud clickbait page, and worse… Chicago PD spoilers when we searched for Chicago Med. The latter is not a typo.
Poor SERP Breakdown – Chicago Med S9 E6 After Airing
The above screenshot is for SERPs after the episode aired. This was taken at 9:17 pm CST on February 28, 2024. Typically, my media company and my competitors flood the web with recaps and insights about the episode. This is a time of SERP volatility, and the best content typically prevails. Not anymore. The brands with the most popularity will win!
16 companies dominating the world’s Google search results (via Detailed.com)
Detailed wrote a follow-up exposé proofing sixteen brands dominate SERPs with subpar content. How can a coming soon page with no relevant content (without the regurgitated synopsis) outrank a page with relevant, fan-focused, experiential content? Oh… I forgot it’s part of the “cool kids” club under the Fandom umbrella.
What is Happening Here?!?
So all of that smoke Google blew about E-E-A-T means nothing if your domain authority is low due to a low backlink profile (I’ll elaborate in an experiment below). Publishers with genuine expertise and experience around a topic pale compared to popular brands.
Where does this lead the web? Down a darker rabbit hole, follow me.
Content is No Longer King, Backlinks are…
Search is turning into Hollywood. It’s not about your talent but who you know. Backlinks are the signals that vouch for your website. Backlinks are the who you know.
E-E-A-T should be S-A-P
Subpar Content, AI Spun Content, Popularity Contest.
Trustworthy and Authoritative websites have abused their power without penalty. So, how can you trust a news site recommending the best air purifiers for pets? Anywhoo, if your domain is Popular, nothing else matters. If you have this recipe, you’ll win in search:
- Subpar Content: This only works for Popular sites. You don’t need expertise or experience to get away with weak content. 😀
- AI Spun Content: With AI, you can enhance the grammar of existing content. Additionally, Google’s SGE may repurpose your content, offering limited attribution and reduced traffic.
- Popularity Contest: Toss trust and authority out of the window. If your domain is popular, that’s practically all you need nowadays! (I.e., Trump is wildly popular, but is he trustworthy? See the dilemma…)
I thought the March 2023 core update would resolve our sinking traffic issue, nope! Then, I had hoped for the August 2023 core update (which introduced E-E-A-T), but nope! OK, what about the October and November 2023 core updates? Nada!
Update: Google’s Spam & Core Update in March 2024
So, Google released a spam and core update on March 5th. This update explains the chaos and degradation of Google’s algorithm. Apparently, we’re considered spam.
There are thousands (potentially hundreds of thousands) of content-driven sites that monetize with ads and/or affiliate links, which are blatantly considered spam from Google’s perspective.
Granted, there are a ton of spammy, crappy, malware-riddled sites that should be the target of the update. But to label any website that provides better quality content for searchers and monetize via ads/affiliate links as spam is irresponsible!
How dare Google negatively stereotype us? I hope they’re prepared for the largest class-action lawsuit of the decade.
Even worse, their greed is forcing more ads in search results and poor-quality search results, paving the way for SGE to be riddled with malware and copyright infringement.
Furthermore, we see Google’s partners thriving from the updates. Now, only Reddit, Forbes, Quora, YouTube, and TikTok dominate the SERPS for poor quality, irrelevant content.
Lastly, if Google does not like the amount of ads sites use, why do they allow ad partners to use their DFP ad server technology to overserve ads? Google is an end-to-end problem!
The TvShowRecaps.com Experiment
After months of research and optimizing every fiber of the Celebrity Myxer website, I decided to look into the mirror. Thinking, perhaps we have too many ads, negatively affecting the user experience, thus tanking rankings. I pondered if our theme was too sluggish, making the website slow. Again, negatively affecting rankings.
So, I started tvshowrecaps.com in late July 2023. I ran this experiment through mid-October 2023. Here’s what I did differently and what I learned:
I used a vanilla WordPress theme editor with the lightning-fast Astra Pro theme combined with the Spectra Pro block editor. All assets are cached on Cloudflare’s CDN.
Initially, there were zero ads. Then, a few weeks into the experiment, I added our AdSense (since we don’t use it for Celebrity Myxer.) I set one ad every six paragraphs in an old-school style script rather than using fancy ad agencies for placement. Thus loading fewer third-party assets.
A breakdown of our once successful content strategy now fails in Google SERPs
I brought in my (once successful) SEO content strategy for TV show recaps with a matching domain name. I added review snippets schema to rate episodes. I covered shows we had advance screeners, so there was no waiting on live air dates. Simply watch at leisure, write at leisure, and schedule the post! I even added a few DR 82 “dofollow” backlinks to the fresh website via my News Break Contributor account. And you know what happened? Nothing!
Granted, this site was launched during the summertime TV season, which traditionally experiences seasonal lows. It experienced dismally low rankings and traffic.
Dismal traffic for tvshowrecaps.com
We didn’t receive enough traffic to warrant pursuing the experiment. It received 3K pageviews in its short life span. It illustrated the fact that new sites in certain niches are not permitted into a space Google predetermined for “popular” sites. No matter how good the content is.
A Rookie Can No Longer Be King of the Hill
One analogy I used to sell my agency clients was how backlinking vouches for another site. For example, when a rookie in sports has talent and a veteran vouches for them, they gain authority. And in time, they can vouch for others coming up behind them.
With the new search updates, rookies can’t be the king of the hill. Old, stale, subpar, and outdated veterans will remain dominant. Similar to our political system…
So, how can a rookie escape this trap? Create one thing of value (or angle a gimmick) and press heavily for backlinks. This is the only thing that will transition dominance in search results.
Diminishing Marginal Returns
TV-related independent publishers whose traffic tanked after Google updates
The law of diminishing marginal returns occurs when adding more resources results in progressively smaller increases in output.
When I observed our traffic plane crashing, I thought we were alone and that Google hated us. It turns out that our entire industry crashed, too. These sites had far higher domain authority than us, yet their organic traffic tanked in the television entertainment vertical. But they’re not in the cool kids club either.
Meanwhile, all of our traffic was poured into IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes. The screenshots show just that…
I contacted other indies in our industry, but only one responded.
In an industry often marked by fierce competition, it’s rare to find moments of unity and shared challenges. Yet, the recent upheaval in Google’s organic traffic distribution has brought such a moment to the forefront. Among the voices in our exploration, one stands out for its unexpected solidarity.
Dan shared his insights from ReadySteadyCut.com, a site that navigates the same turbulent digital waters as we do. Despite our rivalry for the same audience, our experiences converge significantly, underscoring a collective plight faced by independent publishers across the spectrum.
Dan articulates this shared predicament with a perspective that resonates deeply with our own. He notes, “The best way to get news and insights is by having independent publishers that can bring varying news, ideas and perspectives. Let’s hope that Search remains that way. The alternative is a lack of voices.”
This sentiment highlights the importance of diversity in our digital ecosystems and serves as a poignant reminder of what’s at stake should this diversity wane. As we navigate these challenges, Dan’s response underlines a critical truth: our fates are intertwined. It emphasizes the need for a digital landscape that fosters, rather than impedes, the flourishing of varied voices.
SEO Is Dying
I hate to be an alarmist, but portions of SEO are dead!
How can you rank a low authority site with expert and experiential quality content without backlinks?
How can you get backlinks without something of quality worth linking to?
Now that publishers know there is value in their backlinks, how do you, as a newbie or low-authority publisher, encourage them to link to you when they charge for links? (But isn’t this against Google’s rules, and if you’re caught, you get penalized?)
I foresee the backlinking issue growing wildly out of control since it’s the ticket to ride the SERPs train.
With SGE on the horizon, popular brands will be on the chopping block when their organic traffic diminishes from stolen AI content.
Perhaps this is the stair step Google is preparing the world for. Learn the world’s content to answer users’ questions without them searching around. I must admit, getting thee right answer the first time is a great user experience for Google. But it comes at the expense of others.
If Google transitions into an entity that does not drive traffic to publishers, what is the incentive to allow the bot to consume publisher content?
If publishers stop producing content or allow Google to scrape their content, how can their AI learn and improve?
I would love their algorithm to receive an update promoting relevant, high-quality content. For now, their updates have caused us to pivot. Relying on organic traffic alone is a death sentence for independent publishers…
Pivoting
We’ve decided not to have Google kill our site and have pivoted to personal styling and fashion. We’re migrating to other platforms and will no longer rely solely on G!
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
Man, this whole situation with Google’s updates has just wrecked me. First, the “Helpful Content Update” in September slashed my traffic in half, and just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, the March 2024 Spam and Core Updates practically wiped me out. Now, what little traffic I’ve got left is dribbling away to forums like Reddit and Quora instead of my site. How is this even fair?
Seriously, does Google even care about small publishers anymore? Or are we just collateral damage in their quest to “improve” the web? It feels like they just keep moving the goalposts, and only the big players can keep up. How are small sites like mine supposed to survive when Google changes the rules every other month?
And now, instead of finding my content—which I’ve worked super hard on, by the way—people are just getting their answers from random users on forums. No offense to forum folks, but that’s not always the most reliable source. What happened to valuing expert, well-researched content?
What do I need to do, Google? Tell me what “high-quality content” is supposed to look like now! Because clearly, whatever I’m doing isn’t cutting it anymore.
Absolutely, I couldn’t agree more with your frustrations. This relentless wave of updates from Google has not only undercut the traffic to small publishers but seems to deliberately favor larger, more established sites with the infrastructure to quickly adapt and dominate. The “Helpful Content Update” and the subsequent “Spam and Core Updates” have created a landscape where small sites are being obliterated from the search results, and it’s anything but a level playing field.
The notion that these updates are to “improve” the web is becoming increasingly dubious. It seems more about consolidating Google’s power by driving traffic to major sites, which arguably might not even need it, and to platforms like Reddit and Quora, which are now ironically enriched with our lost audiences. These platforms, while valuable in their own right, often feature user-generated content that lacks the depth, accuracy, and expertise that dedicated content creators bring to the table.
Isn’t it peculiar how the definition of “high-quality content” is seemingly morphing into whatever suits the big players? Small sites dedicate immense effort to crafting detailed, thoughtful, and well-researched content only to be shoved aside. Meanwhile, an answer on a public forum, potentially riddled with inaccuracies and devoid of any real expertise, gains prominence.
This is not to disparage these platforms or their contributors but to highlight the disparity in how content is valued. What happened to the internet being a democratic platform where quality and effort find their rightful place? Now, it seems more like a tyrannical regime under Google’s algorithm updates, where visibility is awarded to those who can afford the crown.
So, what are we to do? How does one adhere to the ever-changing standards that Google sets if they keep redefining what qualifies as “quality”? It’s maddening. Small publishers are not just struggling; we are being actively pushed out of the race, not because our content lacks quality but because we lack the resources to play in an unfair game that favors visibility over substance.
Does Google care about small publishers? The evidence suggests not. They care about retaining their dominant market position and whatever supports that goal, be it at the expense of the diversity and richness of content the web once promised. It’s a call to action for all small publishers – we need to adapt, yes, but also unite in demanding fairer play rules, because this isn’t just a battle for traffic – it’s a fight for our very survival on the digital frontier.
While I understand your frustration, it’s important to remember that Google’s updates are designed to benefit the user’s search experience. Perhaps this is a wake-up call to refine your site’s content and SEO strategy? There’s always room for improvement, and maybe aligning more closely with Google’s guidelines could actually help improve your site’s authority and traffic.
The writing is on the wall and we’ll definitely have to shift our SEO strategy. But to what exact as we’re doing everything write yet Google seems to hate us.
Maybe it’s the ads on your site that Google doesn’t like. I have a colleague who has a theory that Google is targeting sites that run too many ads. Just a thought..
How else do they expect us to monetize?
We’re offering high-quality content, a lot of it you cannot get from other competitors or (even the source.)
Our audience really loves it but it can no longer be found in Google. (Unless you go to page 97 LOL!)
In all seriousness, Google slaps a tons of ads before the 1st organic search result, lining their pockets with “too many ads” and have the audacity to point fingers at others monetizing their content/platform? 🤔
Ahhh! Now we’ve learned that Google removed “niche” informational content sites that monetize from ads and affiliate links so they can take their revenue by stealing our content, train their sh*tty SGE AI search bot.
Shame 🤦🏾♂️
This is just another example of Google’s corporate greed overshadowing the needs of individual creators. They tweak their algorithms not to improve search quality but to cater to big publishers and advertisers who line their pockets. Small site owners like you are the casualties in Google’s relentless march towards monopolizing information.
This article really breaks down why using forums like Reddit and Quora for expertise is a terrible idea
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/lets-be-real-reddit-in-the-serps-lacks-credibility/512302/
Yes, there’s first hand experience thought from anonymous people. Most are not experts, and the anonymity kills trust. The only authority is the website’s brand reputation.
Further proving EEAT is SH*T!
I really hate to hear that you’ve been hit this hard. It’s a tough break, especially with how much effort folks like you put into your content. Unfortunately, these algorithm changes, while intended to improve user experience, don’t always consider the smaller players. Maybe there’s a way to adapt more resiliently? Could diversifying content or boosting user engagement through social channels help mitigate this impact?
I feel your pain, really. My site also took a massive hit after the last update. Traffic halved overnight, and it’s been a struggle to climb back. Have you tried re-evaluating your content against the E-E-A-T criteria? Sometimes a fresh audit and some structural tweaks can make a difference. Hang in there, and don’t give up just yet!
Oh, lovely! Google’s algorithm strikes again, championing the ‘high-quality’ content of large publishers and burying the little guys. What did we expect, right? A fair digital playground? Better luck next millennia, indie publishers!
Reading about your situation really struck a chord with me. It’s unjust how dependent we’ve all become on a system that can destabilize our livelihoods with no notice or explanation. If there’s any way we can support each other as a community—be it through shared resources, advice, or even just spreading the word about our experiences—count me in. We might be small, but together, we’re tougher to ignore.
It’s really disheartening to hear about your struggles with Google’s updates. So many of us small publishers are in the same boat. It’s unfair how these changes favor big names and leave us scrambling. Maybe we need a stronger collective voice to challenge these practices, or perhaps more transparency from Google on how exactly these decisions are made.
Sounds like someone just can’t hack it in the big leagues. Should’ve optimized your SEO better or maybe just written content that people want to read? Google’s just cleaning house, and it sounds like your site was just clutter.
That’s insane! I never knew the TV industry was like this but I wouldn’t want to know details about my fave show from IMDB or Rotten Tomatos. They don’t really have much information on those sites and when they do its from 3rd parties. I can simply cut out the middle man.
Isn’t it just convenient that right after Reddit plans to go public with an IPO, they strike a $60 million deal with Google? And now all the niche traffic that used to go to small publishers suddenly skyrockets up 400% for Reddit. Seems like a perfect setup for pumping up valuation numbers to me. Does Google get a cut from the IPO or what?
I smell a pump and dump!!
Definietly something fishy going on and it stinks!
Maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way, but could this Google-Reddit deal potentially improve content quality on the web? If the AI learns from diverse interactions on Reddit, maybe the Search Generative Experience will actually help us find better answers… Or am I just being naive here?
While I appreciate the optimism in your comment regarding the Google-Reddit deal potentially improving content quality on the web, I must respectfully disagree based on the patterns and examples we’ve seen thus far with Google’s algorithm updates, particularly those highlighted in the Helpful Content Update and the subsequent Spam and Core Updates.
Firstly, the premise that the AI learning from Reddit will enhance the Search Generative Experience (SGE) overlooks the fundamental nature of the content that predominates on platforms like Reddit. Reddit is an incredibly diverse forum where the accuracy of content can vary significantly. The platform is driven by user-generated content that ranges from highly informed and well-researched to completely anecdotal or speculative. Training AI on this dataset might not necessarily lead to better content quality on the web. Instead, it risks propagating the biases and variances in how content is voted upon and promoted within Reddit itself.
Furthermore, consider the practical impacts of these Google updates which have been extensively detrimental to small publishers. As detailed in my article, the Helpful Content Update specifically aimed to prioritize content that provided direct utility to users, supposedly favoring content depth and reliability. However, the aftermath saw many small publishers seeing a significant drop in their site’s visibility and traffic… us included. These were sites that often produced specialized, high-quality content. If Google’s AI learns from a pool as varied as Reddit’s, the nuance and depth of specialized content could be drowned out by the noise of mass appeal.
Moreover, the dynamics of Reddit’s content system—where visibility is often a function of “popularity” rather than “accuracy” might further skew what is considered “high-quality” in Google’s eyes. This is particularly concerning considering that before this deal, Reddit had openly considered cutting off Google from indexing its site because they felt self-sufficient in their audience reach, a stark pivot to now feeding their content to train Google’s AI. 🤔
This deal appears to be more about convenience and possibly commercial benefit (given Reddit’s upcoming IPO) rather than a genuine commitment to improving the quality of search results. The historical context of these updates and their impact on small sites provide a cautionary tale of what might come from this new arrangement: not a renaissance of content quality, but a potential worsening of the diversity and reliability of information that reaches the average user.
While the idea of AI-enhanced search experiences is promising, the source of the training data (in this case, Reddit) and the track record of the entity implementing these changes (Google) do not inspire confidence that the result will be the utopian vision of “better answers” you suggest. Instead, they hint at a future where content might become even more homogenized and less trustworthy than ever before.
Naive is an understatement, mate. This deal isn’t about improving content quality; it’s about monopolizing control. My site’s traffic has plummeted since these updates and this deal. What good is ‘better answers’ if they’re only coming from one giant echo chamber known as Reddit?
You’re being naive alright. This deal is a death sentence for small publishers. We can’t compete with Reddit’s volume, and now Google’s just feeding them all our traffic. Might as well shut down now and save the prolonged agony.
Improve content quality? Because Reddit’s known for such scholarly discussions, right? Next, we’ll be using Twitter threads for dissertation references!
Oh sure, ‘diverse interactions’ from Reddit will really enrich Google’s AI. Because what we need are more AI responses that sound like they came straight out of a meme generator. RIP to small websites who thought they had a shot.
Better answers, really? More like better revenue for Google and Reddit. Here I am, laying off staff because our traffic is a shadow of what it was pre-deal. This isn’t innovation; it’s annihilation.
Diverse interactions on Reddit? You mean the blind leading the blind? Google’s just killed my site with this deal. Traffic’s gone, revenues decimated, and here I am having to explain to my kids why we’re cutting back on groceries. ‘Better answers’ my foot.
Better answers from an AI trained on Reddit’s chaos? That’s the joke of the year. Here’s the reality: my site’s traffic has tanked, ad revenue has dried up, and I’m considering closing up shop. So much for the web’s ‘improved content quality’
The recent update has been brutal for a lot of small publishers who, unfortunately, got caught in the crossfire. Google’s March spam and core updates aimed at cleaning up AI-spun content, and rightly so. Sites mass-producing low-quality articles just to manipulate SEO rankings needed to be addressed. For example, platforms like Eightify.app that automate content creation were particularly hit. This serves as a cautionary tale for those relying heavily on AI without oversight on quality. The question remains, however, about the fate of legitimate sites that were unfairly penalized and how they can recover or appeal effectively.
Google went Nuclear on sites today! Deindexing them. Some good sites got caught up 🙁
Gues they were serious this time about the update lol
Just checked my site: deindexed. Thanks, Google.
Let’s unpack the March updates. Google’s move to deindex sites en masse under the guise of a ‘spam and core’ update has sent shockwaves through our community. Particularly, this has brought the spotlight back onto the ethical use of AI in content creation. Sites utilizing tools like AI content generators have seen the brunt of Google’s crackdown, receiving Manual Action notices which essentially wiped them off the search grid.
The premise of penalizing sites for AI-generated content isn’t without merit. The web is saturated with low-effort, low-quality articles that offer no real value to readers; they’re merely designed to game the SEO system. In that light, Google’s actions are justified and perhaps necessary to maintain a semblance of quality and reliability in search results. However, the execution was far from perfect. The ‘site:’ operator tests reveal that not just the offenders, but many legitimate sites have disappeared. This ‘collateral damage’ has affected sites that dabbled in AI for efficiency but maintained a level of oversight on the content’s quality.
As we move forward, the key will be for site owners to navigate these changes by focusing on quality, human oversight, and ethical SEO practices. For those hit, the path to recovery involves appealing Google’s manual actions—which thankfully they’ve provided a process for—and ensuring compliance with Google’s evolving guidelines. Let’s also initiate more community-driven discussions to share developments and recovery strategies. This isn’t just about surviving an update; it’s about setting a standard for responsible AI use in content creation.
My site is not spam and I never used AI but I got deranked (not deindexed.)
I can still be found on Google just on page 6+
Some of these other sites with weak content and ads are taking over the first page.
Seriously not understanding this
While it’s easy to cheer Google on for cleaning up the web, let’s not ignore the smaller sites that took an unnecessary hit. Yes, mass-produced AI content should go, but what about the legitimate players who use AI responsibly? They’re suffering without cause. Google needs to refine their detection methods – it’s the only way to protect innocent site owners caught in the crossfire.
I’ve seen numerous small sites disappear overnight after the March updates. It’s disheartening. Using the ‘site:’ operator, you can clearly see the deindexing at work. Many owners claim they received Manual Action notices for using strategies that were borderline at best, not outright spammy. Google’s tightening the noose on AI-generated content, sure, but the lack of clarity on what constitutes ‘acceptable’ AI use is worrying. We need transparency on these rules to avoid collateral damage.
Wow, Google really just can’t stay out of everyone’s pockets, huh? Millions to train their AI with Reddit’s data? Next thing you know, they’ll own all the content on the web. And where does this leave us small site owners? Vanished from search results, so Google can push their new toys and Reddit can stuff their wallets. Ridiculous!
This is total BS! My site’s traffic has tanked while Reddit’s traffic has quadrupled since Google’s deal? All my hard work down the drain so Google can play nice with Reddit for their AI experiments? How about some fairness for small publishers who rely on organic search traffic!
I’ve been playing around with sge and its trash it really is spam in the results how can google not detect this?
For decades Google search was a superb product that only seemed to get better with time. Not anymore…
Never knew they would sabotage their best product for greedy deals.
It seems SEOs figured out majority of the top secret sauce and used it to excel so Google decided to completely change the rules and become hypocrites.
This exposé talks about it and how E-E-A-T is Snake Oil.
It was written days before the industry discovered its truth.
Have a content site that monetizes with ads or affiliate links and you’re not a popular brand? Well… Google says die!
This is crazy!
This is going to be the new normal. AI plagiarism, copyright infringement or straight up theft! What to look forward to with Google SGE 👍
https://x.com/aworldtravelguy/status/1773935304002400766?s=46
As Google fans we know they always get a kick out of a little humor on that day.
What if they return to the epitome of superb search results on April 1st?
What if they give niche sites a 1000% bump in traffic to compensate the loss in traffic?
What if they nuke forums and big news sites as the definitive resource for medical information or product reviews?
What if they purposefully sabotaged the SERPs to get the world to “appreciate” what used to be the world’s best search engine.
Everyone loves a comeback story…
Sadly, a cruel “joke” is wishful thinking 😔
Google search is all profit now. So get used to the first page full of ads, AI stealing & summarizing content, spam/ malware/ irreverent/ weird/ trash results.
Oh… page 7 is the new page 1. That’s where the good stuff will live 😁
Happy April Fools! 👍
I told you guys… E-E-A-T is Snake Oil!
https://alexusrenee.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/04/Google-SERPS-are-trash-1.jpg
https://alexusrenee.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/04/Google-SERPS-are-trash-2.jpg
The Verge ranks at #2 for “best printer”
This is part 2 of an April Fool’s joke years in the running. It just illustrates that you don’t need expertise or expertise with ranking for product reviews. Just have a “popular” site and you’ll rank!
The Google is broken…
Google doesn’t owe you anything!
There’s a few rants of those who oppose this opinion and you’re entitled to it.
Google does owe us for stealing our content, learning from it, cutting us off to monetize from subpar SGE search results.
Just like they’re paying Reddit, they should pay us because they’re nothing without us.
Honestly, any AI tool should compensate content creators whom they’ve stolen and learned from then turn around and monetize from and cut out the the originators
How do you pay us? Use your fancy AI to figure it out!
Ultimately, that copyright theft will either result in lawsuits (so they’ll pay what they owe to a degree) or they’ll implode since there’s not much competition to steal from to train AI.
I hope ChatGPT and others wipe out Google for coming into the AI game late trying to monetize trash.
At least ChatGPT stole and trained from our content with more class by allowing open usage, not off cutting verticals, then competing for their (now defunct) traffic.
Greedy, arrogant monopolies eventually collapse in time.
Have any sites recovered from HCU?
I wonder if you go hard on a PR campaign and get dozens of high DA backlinks will it help recovery…..
Nope!
Once you’re on G’s naughty list, it seems you can’t get off.
Look at HouseFresh and all the organic backlinks they picked up from the media… they still tanked 🤷🏾♂️
The few I’ve heard about were not decimated and recovered. More like they had a dip and restored traffic.
It’s disheartening to hear about the impact Google’s algorithm changes have had on independent businesses. I can only imagine how frustrating and overwhelming it must be to navigate through these challenges. In my own experience, I’ve found that diversifying your online presence beyond just relying on search engines can help mitigate the risks associated with sudden algorithm changes. Consider building a strong social media following, investing in email marketing, or exploring partnerships with other websites to drive traffic to your business. Stay resilient and adaptable in the face of adversity – you’re not alone in this struggle.
I have a few questions:
1. How have other search engines responded to Google’s algorithm changes affecting independent businesses?
2. What steps can independent businesses take to advocate for fairer treatment from tech giants like Google?
1.) There’s reports that Google lost market share (slightly) while Bing cut into their dominate territory: https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share
2.) At the moment, we don’t have a good answer for that…
Have you tried the new SGE? TERRIBLE!!!