Big brands dominate Google’s search results, frustrating SEOs for smaller sites. They say it’s like a repeat of 2003.
HouseFresh, a small, independent product review website known for challenging Google over being consistently outranked by larger publishers, has seen a 91% drop in its Google traffic after the March 2024 core update.
In a recent blog post, Gisele Navarro, writing for HouseFresh, shared that the site has vanished from Google search results. Navarro discussed the ongoing issue of Google’s product search results favoring “affiliate-focused SEO content” from major media brands, what HouseFresh has learned from this experience, and what the future holds for the website.
Why we care: The March 2024 core update has caused significant disruption, with widespread outrage over Google’s impact on websites and industries. Adding to the concern is Google’s new reputation abuse policy, set to take effect after May 5, which could further alter the SEO landscape.
Keyword swarming. Significant media brands like Dotdash Meredith and Forbes employ “keyword swarming,” saturating the web with subpar content while monopolizing Google’s search results.
At the same time, hollowed-out remnants of legacy brands like DeadSpin and Money churn out commercial content—sometimes AI-generated—aimed at generating affiliate revenue while draining the last bits of value from these iconic names.
Traffic loss. HouseFresh, a small product review site, reported dramatic declines in traffic since October 2023:
“From welcoming 4,000 visitors daily from Google Search, we’re down to just 200. And most of those 200 are explicitly searching for ‘HouseFresh,’ suggesting they’re looking for us specifically.”
Google doesn’t owe HouseFresh traffic. Writing for HouseFresh, Gisele Navarro acknowledged that “Google doesn’t owe us anything. We don’t inherently deserve search traffic because we exist or claim to be worthy.”
She also responded to critics who said HouseFresh’s content wasn’t sufficiently applicable: “People are gaslighting us into thinking our content isn’t good enough for readers.” However, her frustration aside, this critique might have been more constructive than accusatory.
History repeats itself (again). SEO expert Mike Grehan recalled a similar moment at a search conference after Google’s notorious Florida update in 2003:
“Many attendees felt that Google was effectively putting them out of business. One person, who had been the top result in his niche for two years, suddenly vanished from the search results after the update, severely impacting his business. I suggested that he rely on more than one source of revenue to keep his business afloat. I also suggest we visit Google’s headquarters in Mountain View. If we saw Larry Page or Sergey Brin, he could walk up, kneel, and kiss their ass—because Google had been sending him free customers for two years!”
None of this is new. For over twenty years, people have been claiming that Google is driving them out of business. This fact may not offer much comfort to HouseFresh, but Google doesn’t owe you traffic, search rankings, or a guaranteed income.
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