Google algorithm shifts hit major publishers' affiliate sections, traffic plummets

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Forbes, CNN, WSJ see massive traffic drops in affiliate content as Google's new algorithm targets non-core site sections.

Google algorithm shifts hit major publishers' affiliate sections, traffic plummets APNews Buyline
By Luís Rijo, on October 25, 2024 2:40 PM

Google's recent algorithm changes have led to significant traffic drops for affiliate sections of major news publishers, according to data shared by SEO experts today, October 25, 2024. The affected sites include Forbes, CNN Underscored, Wall Street Journal Buyside, and Marketwatch Guides, which have experienced substantial declines in their search visibility since September 2024.

According to the documents, several prominent publishers have experienced significant drops in their affiliate content visibility:

  • Forbes Advisor witnessed a substantial decline beginning September 25, 2024
  • CNN Underscored experienced major traffic losses on September 27, 2024
  • WSJ Buyside saw significant drops after September 27, 2024
  • Marketwatch Guides faced declining traffic on October 15, 2024
  • APNews Buyline section was reportedly "wiped out" earlier in the timeline

According to Glenn Gabe's report, Google has clarified that these changes are not related to their previously announced "Site reputation abuse" policy. Instead, Google provided an official statement explaining: "Our systems aim to understand if a section of a site is independent or starkly different from the main content of the site. This helps us surface the most useful information from a range of sites."

The current system appears to focus on:

  • Identifying content sections that differ significantly from a site's main focus
  • Evaluating the relationship between subdomain or subfolder content and the primary site content
  • Algorithmic rather than manual detection and adjustment of search rankings

The changes have affected various types of content sections:

  • Product review directories
  • Buying guides
  • Recommendation sections
  • Affiliate product listings

Chris Long, VP of Marketing at GoFish Digital, predicts two major trends:

  1. Continued decrease in visibility for sites publishing content outside their primary focus areas
  2. Replacement of affiliate content with ecommerce results, Popular Product features, AI Overviews, and community content such as Reddit

Key Facts

  • Multiple major publishers affected simultaneously
  • Drops ranging from substantial decreases to complete loss of visibility
  • Implementation appears to be algorithmic rather than through manual actions
  • Changes began affecting sites as early as July 2024
  • Impact continues through October 2024 with new sites being affected

Summary

  • Changes began affecting major publishers in September 2024
  • Forbes Advisor experienced significant drops on September 25, 2024
  • CNN Underscored and WSJ Buyside saw declines on September 27, 2024
  • Marketwatch Guides faced drops on October 15, 2024
  • Google confirmed this is not related to Site reputation abuse policy
  • Changes appear to target content differing from sites' main focus
  • Implementation is algorithmic rather than manual
  • Multiple major publishers affected across different dates
  • Impact specifically targets affiliate and recommendation sections
  • Trend expected to continue affecting similar content sections
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