Many bloggers went out of business after the Google SERP Update of March 2024, but I don’t intend to be one of them (full disclosure that I currently do have other income from my Amazon FBA business to keep me afloat).
While Google claims that the latest update targets unoriginal and unhelpful content, I beg to differ on what they claim is unoriginal and unhelpful (more on this later).
Keep reading to see how this update compares to the the 2008 update, what sites Google is now favoring, and how we can all overcome this bump in the road called life.
Contents
2008 vs. 2024 SERP Updates
I’ve been a blogger since before “blogging” was even really a word. I started sharing content back on Tripod sites in 1998 as a hobby. This hobby turned into a full-time job in 2001 due to the wonderful world of affiliate marketing. I then created a website for each of my passions on Blogspot and eventually moved them all over to WordPress.
The Google SERP Update 2008 taught me a lot of things–one of was them being humble. The update targeted content farms and low-quality websites, which they apparently considered mine to be. This made me so sad as I worked so hard on them.
I had interlinked all of my different websites thinking I was being helpful, when it fact Google considered that to be a content farm. I ditched a few websites and concentrated on making just a handful of them great again (I absolutely did not mean to include a Trump pun in my article).
To me, everything in life, including blogging and Google updates, mirrors the stock market – a journey of ups and downs, filled with uncertainty and opportunity. We learn to adapt, strategize, and navigate with resilience, knowing that patience and perspective can lead to remarkable outcomes.
Niche Site Lady (who puts out a terrific email every week with great SEO tips) hit the nail on the head with the graphic above about the blogging journey. While she compared the ditch of rocks to 2020, I personally compare the ditch of rocks to 2008 (but I presume I’m also much older than her). But I agree the lake is now where most bloggers are at. But we got this!
“If you don’t feel comfortable owning a stock for 10 years, you shouldn’t own it for 10 minutes.” – Warren Buffett quote. I feel the same way about my blogs. They are personal to me.
Empowering E-commerce
E-commerce businesses have emerged as the beneficiaries for the March 20243 SERP update. These websites are getting more eyeballs on their products and a bigger spotlight in search results, which means more chances for sales to roll in.
I’ve had an e-commerce online store for my liquidation boutique for a couple of years, but it’s been basically for local customers. I am now taking this opportunity to ramp it up and hit a bigger audience, and diversify the eggs in my basket per se. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
- Switched from Woocommerce to Shopify – Plus I’m willing to ship out items nationwide instead of just offering local pickup.
- Testing Print-On-Demand with Printful – This requires no upfront inventory costs, and they handle fulfillment.
- Got Merchant Approval on Pinterest– My goal is to hit 1m monthly viewers again on Pinterest as I previous did on a site (and socials) that I sold in 2020.
Unoriginal & Unhelpful – Really?
This very blog used to rank well for the keywords “Target salvage liquidation store“, and my content is 100% original. It literally took me hours to write that post as I had to research Target private label brands and take photos of my actual Target salvage liquidation inventory. I spent even more hours to compile a whole database of all the Target salvage liquidation stores in the continental USA which wasn’t an easy feat.
I didn’t write that post specifically for Google. Instead, I wrote it for those truly interested in what Target salvage liquidation stores are and where to find them as no one had dug as deep as I did into the subject.
But now if you search for that keyword phrase in Google, the number one result (for me anyway; it may vary for you), is a keyword stuffed article from DealNews (I’m not giving them the satisfaction of a link back). I clicked on the article and nearly cried. The editor did no research whatsoever and obviously doesn’t even know what a true Target salvage store is!
How do I know they did no real research? They suggest asking a Target member or staff if there’s a Target salvage store in the local area. I can guarantee that if you truly ask any Target employee this question, they will look at you like you are a pink gorilla.
I presume the DealNews editor used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate the article just I like used AI to create the pink gorilla image above. I’m definitely not opposed to using AI to help with content generation, but one needs to fact check it as it’s not 100% accurate. This is especially true if you are writing about a new subject, such as liquidation stores.
Other Ways To Overcome
Besides stepping up my e-commerce game, I’m also concentrating on ramping up social media presences (mainly Facebook, Flipboard and Pinterest) and pimping out my email lists that I host on Mailerlite.
I’ve also personally been shifting my own search inquiries to other search engines, such as Bing, that I never gave the time of day to before. I do this because the results in Google are not giving me accurate or even correct results (as I mentioned above).
Final Thoughts
I am part of a several blogging communities, and I honestly do not know one blogger that this update has been kind to. I also know most of those bloggers are authentic, genuine and real people just like me, not some big fancy Fortune 500 company. We are all in this together, and we will persevere.
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