Website Traffic Gone - Google's Gone Nuts

The post below, under the line, was written years ago. But I decided to update it given all the crazy goings on with Google Search. So, what's it all about. Many updates later and I think most people, including myself, see themselves in a worse position than they were a few years ago when it comes to the uncertainty of Google Search Results. They are a real mess. Littered with scraped / spun content, AI content and thin pages. This type of content seems to have outwitted Google. 

Or has it? Low quality websites are now outranking pages, and even complete websites that have great content, good backlink profiles and have been doing nothing but playing by the ever changing, super elusive hypocritical white hat Google rule book.

Google really need to clean up their act

I won't beat around the bush. With what Google are doing to mine and many other webmasters sites, it has turned me into a bit of a Google hater. Nothing is fair anymore, they just turn everything upside down week in week out. One week things seem okay, then, without me changing anything, the next week all my websites have flat lined.

Truth is, they should have never been allowed to gain such power and control. Maybe that's my own mistake, depending on Google traffic too much. I just wish there were some serious competitors to Google search. I believe Apple are thinking of starting a search engine. Ahrefs are also doing something similar on a smaller scale. And Brave browser now has a search engine also. But looking at it, I think it just scrapes DuckDuckGo [Which I believe just pulls results from Google]. None of these are true rivals to Google right now, but its a start. We need more. Even Hitler has had enough of Google. lol.

So what are these constant "updates" all about. Some people have speculated that Google is having a really hard time with bugs / errors, and that's why everything is a mess. Others think the updates are due to Google not being able to control the sheer amount of spun content, AI written content, mass generated autoblogs, and bulk link generation. As a result they have chucked their toys out of the pram and decided to just penalize anyone and everything.

What the correct answer is I'm not sure. But it really is unfair on the people who have spent so much time building websites and blogs, doing things the right way, spending hour upon hour writing content, as well as many other things that go with running a website, only to be treated with such disrespect. 

My own opinion on the constant updates that seem to make the results worse. Over the last few months while many updates have been taking place, without fail, after each update I received an email from Google offering me $400 in free Ads to reactivate my Google Adwords account. Do you think this is just a coincidence? I think not. In my opinion this is what they are doing.

Destroy websites that are white hat [do everything by the rules that Google doesn't even follow themselves], then, send a great offer of $400 in free ads. Everyone who is now desperate after losing all their traffic and sales will move over to paid ads to try and get their traffic and sales back.

Once the free $400 in ads is gone you are now spending your own money on paid ads to help you keep generating sales. After all, Google Search is now so unstable [on purpose] that paid ads are the best way to keep revenue consistent. Those are the tactics I think they are employing here.

Problem is, anyone who is aware of what they are doing will surely not give them any money. I certainly won't be giving money to any company that I suspect uses such dirty tactics. If I am right, it's quite hard to believe. Can they really be this heartless and greedy?

Would love to hear other people's opinions. What do you think is going on?

_____________________

Older Article

This question is being asked all over the place right now. Many website owners, including myself, have seen website traffic plummet dramatically over the last few months. I have a few different websites and all of them have been affected. I find this hard to swallow because many people are saying that the fall in visitors in to do with the Penguin and Panda changes / updates. 

I'm no expert on both of these things [Actually, these days I think I am after so many years] but from what I have found out they target spammy websites and penalize them accordingly. That's the problem, and the thing I find so hard to swallow. None of my websites have any malware, spam, duplicate content, or anything else that could be deemed as wrong.

I update all my websites with my own unique content as often as my free time permits and have never spammed or used any unlawful practices to generate visitors or cheat my way to the top of the Search Engines, but still all my websites have been hit.

One of my websites used to get between 1000 - 2000 unique visitors a day. Now it's lucky if it see's 80 - 100. Another website of mine used to get a modest 200 - 300 unique visitors a day, now that site gets about 20 - 30 visitors a day. And I have been updating that site like crazy recently. Also, as soon as I post a new article on this site that crawlers pick it up in less then 30 seconds, so I think they must hold the site in high regard..Or am I wrong? But yet my traffic has hit rock bottom.

I'm really starting to consider just not updating my sites anymore. I feel for everyone going through the same thing that I am. You put the hard work in, make all your own content, play by the rules etc, and look where it gets you..Penalized for no reason. Some people are saying that websites are getting punished because they have too many Ads above the post titles and Google is cracking down. But Google answered this question and said no it's not true. Even if it was true, I only have like one Ad high on a page. Is that enough to get a website penalized these days?

My question is, if I'm not seeing any traffic and none of the other sites are, where is it all going? I'd love to see these websites that are considered "perfect". Someone please enlighten me.