Last year, Google rolled out something called Helpful Content Updates (HCU). I felt that too many websites were over-optimized for search and not run by real people providing real answers based on first-hand experience.
Instead, there were too many SEO farms pumping out bad content for search and ad revenue. Therefore, there is a desire for “useful content” (such as online forums like Reddit) to appear higher in search results. After all, who better to have first-hand experience than someone posting something on a forum? (Or so the logic goes.)
If you’ve been using Google since October of last year, you’ve probably noticed this change.
I think it’s the worst. So I’m not interested in the 2013 forum thread. I don’t want to search through years of comments and replies (many of which are very old) for answers. I think this HCU has made my Google search results much worse. I recently tried to find a gym in Munich and found a very old Reddit thread that didn’t just list gyms in Munich.
I think Google will eventually roll back some of these changes because too many users are complaining about the quality of the results (they tend to roll back some changes after seeing people’s reactions) ). Still, I think this is the first nail in the coffin for blogs, especially single-destination websites with no “defined experts.” (These blogs were among those most affected by the update.)
We bloggers have always lived by algorithms and died by algorithms. Whether it’s social media or search, we’re at the mercy of these companies. But Google’s recent changes were some of the most extreme I’ve seen in my 16 years working online. Our search traffic has decreased by 50%. I feel like I’m living an easy life compared to people who have zero websites.
Many bloggers have quit blogging and are now looking for “real” jobs. Only a few people seem to have gotten anything from the new changes, most notably Rick Steves, who has a forum that actually saw an increase in his traffic.
Over the past few years, I’ve started to think that the days of blogging are coming to an end. Google is making changes that push real content to the bottom of search results, thanks to ads, embedded widgets, and partnership spam that appear at the top of search results. People are instead turning to social platforms to find information. For example, TikTok’s search is very good.
And as I said in another post, AI may not be ready for prime time yet, but it’s slowly coming. At the moment it’s just spewing out awful generic lists and content. I don’t think creators need to worry about AI at all at this point.
The biggest challenge for creators is search.
Blogs are like the second version of the Internet, following web forums and Geocities sites, and now most users are moving toward short-form videos. I don’t think blogs will disappear completely, but I don’t think they will become the source of information that they once were. Google’s changes only confirm this to me. Because if Google were to look into the future and say, “Let’s downgrade this content,” then one of the only visualization tools left on your blog would be gone.
If you’re a blogger, I think you need to find a way to not only become a blogger, but really fast. That means you can continue blogging, but you’ll need to diversify not only the ways you reach people, but also the ways you make money.
What else can I do? Podcast? video? Social media? Do you want to run an event? Do you want to start a forum? (But forums are a pain and difficult to run. I wouldn’t do it. I ran forums for a little bit, and I’m glad I stopped.)
To succeed in this new era, you need to bring more of your brand and personality to social media. You cannot have anonymous destination websites. You can’t rely solely on affiliate and ad revenue.
Even if Google reverses some of the changes, the consequences will remain.
I think these changes will cause many older bloggers (i.e. those who have been blogging for over 10 years) to shift to other things. For example, my friend Matt from Expert Vagabond is currently producing 360° videos. Bloggers will continue to write and update their blogs as long as they make money. But as traffic dwindles, many OG bloggers either pivot to other things or end up updating less frequently as their blogging days draw to a close and they enter a new phase in life. I think so. (This is just my theory at least.)
I’m not really sure what that means for Google. If people create less content because they know it won’t matter because it won’t show up in search, what search results should Google show? What kind of posts does AI scrape (steal)?
I think people will continue to create travel stories and tips, but scale back as they focus on other types of content and initiatives. Blogging is just one (small) piece of the puzzle.
In the future, I think brand searches will become even bigger as people refer to blogs by creators and talents they know. After all, why comb through tons of trash forum threads when you can just go to the blogger or creator’s website and see if they have the information?
Or maybe you start using Bing or DuckDuckGo more. (In fact, our traffic from Bing recently spiked by about 40%.)
At the end of the day, I don’t think blogs will ever go away. They will exist just like guidebooks. It’s useful and still used, but it’s not as popular as it once was.
Travel booking: logistics tips and tricks
Book a flight
Find cheap flights with Skyscanner. This is my favorite search engine. We search websites and airlines from all over the world, so you always know that every step is taken.
Book your accommodation
You can book hostels on Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, Booking.com always has the best deals on guesthouses and hotels.
Don’t forget travel insurance
Travel insurance protects you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellation. Comprehensive protection in case something goes wrong. I never travel without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
Want to travel for free?
With a travel credit card, you can earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation without spending extra. Check out our guide to choosing the right card and my current favorites to see the latest deals.
Having trouble finding activities for your trip?
Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.
Ready to book your trip?
Check out my resources page for the best companies to use when traveling. I’ll list everything I use when I travel. It’s the best in its class, so you can definitely use it while traveling.