NAIROBI, Kenya- Earlier this year, Google rolled out major changes to its search algorithm and spam filters, aiming to weed out low-quality content.
While the update intended to enhance user experience, it has wreaked havoc on smaller websites, leading to drastic drops in traffic and forcing some online businesses to consider layoffs or even closure.
Gisele Navarro, a 37-year-old Argentine,at the center of the trending story, runs a niche site focused on air purifier reviews, with her husband.
The site had carved out a reputation for honest, ad-free product reviews since 2020, earning commissions from clickthrough’s to Amazon.
However, Google’s update turned their success story upside down.
“We went from ranking number one to not even showing up,” Navarro told AFP.
HouseFresh’s daily Google referrals plummeted from 4,000 to around 200, a drop so severe that Navarro has considered taking down the site and starting afresh.
A major source of frustration for Navarro and many others is the opacity of Google’s ranking system.
The tech giant is notoriously secretive about its algorithms, spawning an entire industry of search engine optimization (SEO) experts trying to crack the code for better rankings.
The latest update has left SEO professionals scrambling to understand why some sites soared while others sank.
Google defends its update, stating it was designed to reduce results “made for search engines” and improve user experience.
“We believe that these updates have been helpful,” Google said in an email to AFP.
Yet, critics like Navarro argue that search results are increasingly dominated by ads and AI-generated content, pushing genuine reviews and high-quality content further down the page.
Adapting to the New Normal
In response to the upheaval, affected businesses are exploring ways to reduce their reliance on Google search.
Some are turning to newsletters, podcasts, and other methods to engage their audience.
The boss of a fintech news outlet shared that competitors employing SEO firms to buy traffic fared better post-update, putting additional pressure on independent publishers.
Navarro, who has had to significantly cut her staff, is pivoting to video reviews and newsletters to reconnect with her audience.
Despite the challenges, she remains optimistic about the web’s potential, buoyed by support from her community and increased referrals from alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo.
“The entire knowledge of humankind is on the web — and that’s worth something,” Navarro said. “I don’t want to give up on it just because Google is broken.”
