Google Update Recovery Plan

The impact of Google updates on your website traffic is something every marketer faces. Whether it’s the September Core Update or the Helpful Content Update, these changes can significantly affect your SEO ranking. But here’s the thing: while we can’t predict when the next Google update will occur, we can certainly plan for them.

The recent Google update in 2022 has caused major declines in traffic for many websites. It wasn’t just a passing trend—it was a wake-up call. But this isn’t a doom and gloom story. This is an opportunity for us to have a fresh conversation with our marketing teams, our clients, and our fellow business owners.

As marketers, we are problem solvers first and foremost. Over the past year, I’ve done a deep dive into monetized content websites, and I’ve learned some critical lessons along the way. I presented these findings at last year’s Email Innovation Summit in Las Vegas, and the results were eye-opening.

Welcome to the digital deep dive where email marketing meets bold business moves. Join me, Doug Morneau, as I unravel the secrets of turning high-traffic websites into gold mines. Expect real talk, innovative strategies, and a dash of my signature sarcasm. It’s not just a blog; it’s your frontline ticket to mastering the art of digital dominance.

This article, “How to Prevent or Reduce Website Traffic Declines in 2023: 8.8 Million Opportunities — Google, SEO, and Email,” was first featured and published on Only Influencers, the World’s Trusted Community for Email Marketers, on Friday, 13 January 2023.

Given the ongoing and growing debate around Google Updates, I felt it was time to revisit and update the post. Since its original publication, this topic has gained even more relevance as new trends emerge, particularly with the rise of AI in SEO and email marketing.

Over the past few years, a whole new wave of marketers has recognized the opportunity to monetize email newsletters through advertising, with more and more newsletter writers realizing that a combination of quality content, good list hygiene, and proper segmentation can unlock a large pool of advertisers eager to invest

For the original article, read it here.

Case Study: The Cost of Ignoring Email Marketing and Bounce Traffic

In 2022, I acquired eight content websites, investing approximately $1.56 million USD. These sites were already generating significant revenue through ads, but the real potential lay in email marketing. These sites didn’t have an email list, and that was a major missed opportunity.

Here’s where it gets interesting: despite the obvious benefits of building an email list and capturing bounce traffic, one of my clients refused to allow us to build an email list or even capture the visitors who bounced from the site. The reasoning? They were too focused on ad revenue and didn’t see the immediate value in collecting email addresses, setting up and running an email newsletter for site visitors, and the potential to monetize the newsletter with email sponsored ads.  

Then came the Google update. As expected, the traffic decline was dramatic, and it hit hard. Their site saw significant drops in traffic, and as a result, their earnings also suffered. The failure to capture and retain visitors during this period was a costly mistake.

While being part of Raptive, Ezoic, and MediaVine’s private Facebook groups, I saw a stream of stories from other marketers dealing with similar impacts. In some cases, Google updates led to traffic drops of 20%, 30%, even 50%. In extreme cases, traffic plummeted by 80%, completely wiping out some businesses.

The common thread among these cases was the lack of bounce traffic capture. Businesses relying solely on Google traffic without any fallback plan were left scrambling when the updates hit.

How to Mitigate the Risk the next Google Update with Email Capture

So, what can you do to avoid this fate? If you’ve got traffic coming to your website, lead magnets are a great tool to entice visitors to opt in. But, more importantly, we capture data on bounce traffic—about 40% of people who leave without converting. This strategy helps us build a valuable email list.

By capturing email addresses, first and last names, and even physical mailing addresses, we build a safety net. This allows us to mitigate the risks posed by Google updates that could otherwise cause a decline in traffic. Now, instead of losing those visitors, we can follow up with them through remarketing and retargeting using digital ads, display ads, or outbound email campaigns.This strategy has been a game-changer for me. We know exactly what pages visitors visited and how many pages they interacted with, which allows us to tailor our follow-up efforts, either through email advertising or display retargeting ads.

A Case for Building Your Email List

In addition to generating revenue, monetizing your email newsletter with sponsored ads offers a significant bonus: it drives traffic back to your site. 

Every time you send out your newsletter with links to your blog or landing pages, you’re not just adding value to your subscribers—you’re boosting your site’s traffic as well. 

While it’s not exactly perpetual motion, the more people you have on your list, the more emails you send, and the more they engage with your content, the greater your traffic will grow. 

This increased engagement leads to higher ad revenue, whether you’re using platforms like Raptive, Mediavine, Ezoic, or any other form of advertising. Of course, always be respectful of your subscribers by not overloading them with ads. 

But as you continue mailing, you should notice a steady increase in your return visitors, which you can track through your Google Analytics. The more you mail, the more you drive that valuable traffic, which in turn fuels more ad revenue for you.

Introducing BounceCapture

One of the most effective tools we use to capture bounce traffic is BounceCapture. This tool helps us capture the email addresses and key data of visitors who leave your site without converting. By doing so, you can re-market to them through digital ads or email, bringing them back to your site when needed.

BounceCapture helps you:

• Capture email addresses from visitors who bounce off the site
  
• Collect first and last names, and for most visitors, even their physical mailing address
  
• Retarget these users with display ads and email campaigns
  
• If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out BounceCapture here.
  
• Build an email list that you can rely on, regardless of Google updates affecting your traffic

Google Updates in 2024: Winners, Losers, and Overall Trends

2024 was a year that brought seismic shifts to the SEO landscape, largely fueled by the growing competition between traditional search engines like Google and emerging players like ChatGPT and Claude. Google continued to ramp up its efforts, especially in the AI department, leading to massive volatility in search results.

But what does this mean for you and your business? Let’s break down some of the winners and losers of Google updates in 2024 and what we can learn from these shifts.

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The Rise of AI and User-Generated Content

One of the biggest changes in SEO this year was the increasing focus on AI, particularly Google’s launch of AI Overviews and Gemini 2.0. AI Overviews, which first rolled out in May 2024, changed the game by incorporating more detailed AI-generated summaries directly in the search results. While this caused a bit of initial chaos, by the end of the year, it had expanded to over 100 countries.

But here’s the kicker—user-generated content (UGC) soared in visibility. Sites like Reddit, Quora, and Stack Exchange saw massive growth in search visibility, as Google began to prioritize forums, discussions, and real-life user-generated experiences over traditional content. This shift is a game-changer for anyone still relying on stale, SEO-heavy product reviews or generic articles.

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Biggest Winners in 2024 SEO

Reddit emerged as a surprising SEO winner, increasing its visibility by a whopping 190.9% by the end of 2024. This was driven by the rise of AI Overviews and Google’s continued push to highlight forums and social media posts. Other big winners included Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify, all of which saw visibility gains thanks to Google’s revamped algorithm that now favors platforms offering diverse, authentic content.

Ecommerce sites also made huge strides, with eBay and Carter’s seeing massive improvements in SEO rankings. As Google continues to tighten up its algorithm, businesses that focus on creating authoritative, high-quality content are seeing the most success.

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SEO Losers: Declining Visibility and Search Trends

But not all sites fared well. Many ecommerce giants like Best Buy and Walmart saw gradual declines in their SEO rankings throughout 2024. What gives? The competition is fiercer than ever, and niche competitors that specialize in specific products are edging out these large retail platforms for top spots.

The March Core and Spam Updates had the most significant impact on these sites, as Google focused on reducing visibility for websites engaged in “scaled content abuse,” and site reputation abuse. If you’ve been building your content strategy around thin affiliate content or scraping product reviews, now’s the time to rethink that approach.

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Conclusion: When’s Next for Google Update and SEO Crisis?

2024 has been a year of dramatic shifts, and the winners and losers in SEO are clear. As Google continues to roll out AI Overviews and Gemini, and as the search engine doubles down on prioritizing user-driven, authentic content, it’s more important than ever to stay ahead of the curve.

For those of you looking to ride the wave of these changes, the key lies in building email lists, capturing bounce traffic, and diversifying your content strategy to include more authentic, user-generated contributions. The businesses that succeed in this new SEO landscape will be the ones who embrace AI, optimize for forums and social media, and continuously adapt to the ever-changing world of Google updates.