Google Is Killing Sites?

Hello, my friends. Ready to kick off a new and productive week?

In this morning’s issue, I want to vent a little about Google and the supposed “helpful content update”. A lot of people have been saying their traffic dropped substantially starting last year when this update came out. But…

I think we just need to realize what Google is. And we need to make it less relevant.

So, what’s coming up in this issue:

• Google is Killing Sites
• WordPress Quick Bits
• Membership sites for… local businesses? Hmmm..

Let’s light this candle…

Google Is Killing Sites

Look, I already hate Google. I have mostly phased Google out of my day-to-day life. But, as a content creator I am still forced to care what this company does.

The “helpful content update” to their search algorithm launched last year has really been hurting a lot of sites. And X is rife with people saying that Google has all but destroyed their business because their web traffic has dwindled almost to zero. It can even get sad at times.

The way I see it, this update shouldn’t have been called the “helpful content update”. It should have been called the “big corporate update“.

Basically, Google obviously thinks that content from big corporate sites is more “helpful” than anything produced by smaller, independent publishers. A lot of the search results from regular people are now in the form of posts on Reddit or Quora… both sites that filter content from people through big corporations.

One of the real kickers is that you can see big corporate sites that continue to rank even though they’re performing tactics that smaller publishers would be penalized for if they did them.

Clearly, Google is not a level playing field. Google is the “trust the authorities” company now. Like an oligarchy in the form of a search engine.

But, in the end, we can complain. Or we can just… adapt.

In my opinion, we should be building websites and businesses without even thinking about Google. It doesn’t mean we don’t stay aware of what they’re doing. But, you should view Google traffic as a bonus, not something you are actively seeking. I’ve gotten so many questions from people (even tech questions) where they are obviously paralyzed on what to do out of a fear of what would happen to their Google rankings. That’s sad! It shouldn’t concern you so much.

My general advice on SEO is actually pretty simple: Write for human beings and be as useful as possible. Let SEO take care of itself.

The last thing you should be doing is writing content with specific SEO tactics in mind. Or actively trying to satisfy the Google bots. It isn’t worth the effort. It just causes confusion. And hell…. when you sit back and think about it, it is a form of appeasement.

Here’s some general advice I have on how to deal with Google:

#1 – Stop Worrying About Google So Much

I already said that, but it is worth repeating. 😇 Do your best work. Be helpful. Write for human beings and optimize for human beings. Don’t waste your time appeasing Google. Let Google react to you, not dictate what you do.

#2 – De-Google

Look, Google is big. And frankly, their tools are pretty good. But, they only have this power over the Internet because we gave it to them. And you CAN use other tools.

My primary search engine these days is Brave Search. It is my default search engine in the Brave Browser, which I Also use because I refuse to use the shitware known as Google Chrome. There are many others out there like DuckDuckGo, StartPage, Perplexity, etc.

I moved all my email to FastMail.

I no longer use Google Analytics.

Do I still use some Google tools? Sure. I use Youtube. I still use their maps sometimes. But, I use Google intentionally. Not for everything. They’re not my default. I don’t care to give them that power.

#3 – Make Videos

Ironically, one Google property you should be using is Youtube. It doesn’t mean you depend on it 100%, but Youtube is the major video property of the internet. It holds attention well. And when it comes to generating actual business, Youtube is quite good because the content there connects with people better than the written word.

This is why you see so many of my blog posts these days have a video at the top. Video marketing works. And you should be making videos. Even if it is just a phone pointed at your face. It is better than being invisible.

That said… write fully formed posts to go with your videos. Consider cross-posting the videos to other locations. Back them up, because Youtube could go away at any time.

#4 – Build Your List

One of the biggest benefits of newsletters these days (and they’ve definitely seen a comeback in recent years) is that it is publishing that doesn’t go through the gatekeepers. You own it. I mean… I’m basically “blogging” for you right now, but you’re getting it in your email. I don’t have to think about SEO rankings for what I’m saying right now. Because it is just me…. to you.

So, make growing your email list and your newsletter a top priority at all times.

#5 – Be Helpful as Hell

I know. Vague words. But, you’re smart. You know truly helpful content when you see it. You know what YOU would like when you’re searching for answers. So, produce THAT. When you make content, make it incredibly helpful for other human beings…. just like you would appreciate if you were in their seat.

It is like the “golden rule” for content creators.

Give real answers. Base it on your actual expertise and experience. Talk like an actual human being. Don’t have AI write your stuff for you. Maybe even provide a nice FAQ at the end of your blog posts because that can help show up in the search results. But, point is…. be helpful. And you judge that with your gut, not by some arbitrary, vague BS in the Google documentation. You’re smart and you know helpful content when you see it.

#6 – Don’t Focus On Ad Revenue

If you’re in the business of monetizing through ads, you’re forced to give every crap about what Google does. And that’s a horrible position to be in because your revenue base is highly reliant on how much traffic your site gets.

Instead, focus on in-house revenue streams. And better yet, focus on subscription income. Lots of ways to do that, between membership sites or even productized services.

It is work to build, yes, But, it puts you in a position where you not only don’t need large amounts of traffic, but you’re not sitting there feeling like a feather in Google’s bad breath.

…

I know full well the feeling of watching a site shrink because of Google. While Blog Marketing Academy has been fine, I remember watching my tech site back in the day just slowly (and sometimes quickly) dwindle in traffic. We used to get well over a million page views per month. And I remember watching these big corporate sites outflank me. This was all well before the “helpful content update”.

Google can indeed make or break businesses.

But, it didn’t break me. I just adjusted. I pivoted. And even with traffic fluctuations here at the Blog Marketing Academy, I’ve adapted.

So, in my view… the best way to deal with Google is to build things in a way where you just don’t have to care.

WordPress Quick Bits

Fluent Forms Updated.. Fluent Forms was updated to 5.1.12, with this version sporting improvements to conversational forms, compatibility with custom post types from JetEngine, and a whole bunch of smaller updates and bug fixes. Read more about the update here.

Syed Balkhi Gets Award For Dumbest Reaction Ever. So, I came across a guy on X who was saying nobody should ever use the All In One SEO plugin. Here you can see the tweet here. Now, to be clear, I think his point was rather misguided and I don’t agree with it. But, I was surprised to see Syed come in there with a response which included a passive aggressive legal threat. “Even though AIOSEO has done nothing wrong in this situation and many will agree that the tweet above is false & libelous worthy of taking legal action … I believe in learning from all types of interactions.” Seriously, Syed? If you don’t know, Syed is the CEO of Awesome Motive and owner of a lot of plugins, including AIOSEO.

The Most Common WordPress Attack Vector Is… stolen session cookies. This report finds that the most common source of WordPress hacks is stolen session cookies. This means that one is logged in as an Adminstrator on their local device and somehow an attacker is able to take over your user session. Likely through a virus or other implanted software on the local machine. Also called the “pass the cookie” attack. This one is a little nerdy, but interesting. The best defense against it is to log out of your site when you’re not using it. And, of course, to maintain good security on your local machine. Be aware of it, but not paranoid.

JetPack Stats Goes Premium. By the looks of all the 1-star reviews, it looks like Jetpack Stats has gone premium. Checking out the pricing page and… yep, it costs $100/year now. JetPack used to be one of those plugins people installed for all kinds of freebies…. stats being one of them. But, I’m sure increasing costs have driven them to begin charging for it now. Anyway, I don’t recommend Jetpack for anything.

Membership Sites For Local Businesses?

With what I do, I build a lot of membership sites. And the two most common types of membership sites people come to me with are:

• Community sites (with groups, etc.)
• Training & online courses

Often with a mix of the two. But, that’s not all there is.

And in fact, there are so many businesses out there that can benefit from having a “membership site” and it might not have even dawned on them.

Keep in mind, a “membership site” is really just any site where you need to log into a user account to access stuff. It doesn’t mean there needs to be online courses. It doesn’t mean there has to be monthly or annual subscriptions. All of that stuff is just common, but definitely not a requirement.

There are a lot of businesses and solopreneurs that could benefit from a WordPress-based membership site that might not have even considered it. Even for services. Consider this…

• A local lawncare business who could have a website with client logins. Automated billing through WooCommerce each month. Billing history. Some useful content for clients inside that membership.
• A chiropractor with a local practice who has built a client portal on their website using WordPress. Might have some useful content for his/her clients, ability to book an appointment, support desk, etc.
• A local pool cleaning company with a client portal. Again, useful content for their clients of course. But, they could even build in ways to make special requests or even upsells.

Point is… not all membership sites have to be broad market. They don’t all have to be about online courses.

Sometimes, a membership site is about helping automate and systematize a business which isn’t even solely online. It might be a physical “real world” business which just happens to have a nice web portal for their clients which makes things simpler… not only for clients, but for the business owner.

Do you offer a “real world” service that could be simplified and/or partially automated using a customer portal?

Book a call with me and we can discuss the possibilities.