I’m guessing people might wonder if I’m exaggerating when I say that search and traffic are bad now. Not just really bad. Kind of horrific in many ways.
So here’s one proof that shocked even me.
Raptive (formerly AdThrive) is one of the premier ad networks to which bloggers and website owners can apply. Their long-time requirement was 100,000 page views per month in order to qualify. This has to be verifiable by Google Analytics.
A few years ago, they opened up a scaled-down version for blogs and websites called Rise with “only” a 50,000 page view requirement.
This week Raptive announced they are getting rid of that and going to a blanket 25,000 page view requirement to be considered for the full Raptive service.
Yes, I said 25,000.
If that doesn’t tell everyone how bad it has gotten in terms of being able to bring traffic to your website, I don’t know what will. That number would have been unthinkable four or five years ago.
I know someone who uses Raptive and she forwarded her official email to me. The Raptive announcement said:
We’ve found that as the industry evolves, traffic alone no longer defines success, and what truly matters is original, high-quality content that audiences trust.
and
We’ll continue to be thoughtful and selective about who we partner with, choosing creators who share our commitment to quality, creativity, and authenticity.
In a world full of AI-generated slop, we’re proud to stand for the real, human web.
A blogging friend and I have been discussing for a few years that the long-term winners online will be the ones who stick to real content that they write themselves. Raptive apparently agrees.
That’s why I played with AI a bit and realized it wasn’t for me when it came to writing posts. I’ve disclosed how I do use AI in a limited way, but this website has always been and will continue to be written by me.
The goal of 100,000 pages views was really never achievable for me. Even 50,000 seemed impossible in recent years (and apparently I was correct). But 25,000 does not.
So we’ll see what happens. But if Raptive decided this was their best strategic choice, then things must be even worse than I thought for the bigger websites. Raptive only makes money when bloggers make money so this is a fascinating decision in so many ways.
At one point I had made 50,000 views a month and then Google did one of its changes to how it does ranking and the AI apocalypse and my pageviews plummetted and I’m now at about 10,000 maybe? I don’t know, it’s depressing. But my sales of the few products I have are up. I really don’t understand it.
Hi Ticia,
That is a huge drop and fits what I’ve seen so many people report (80% or so drop). It is depressing, but at least we know we aren’t alone. But it’s also hard to want to fix it and know that the power to do so is largely out of your control. It’s so frustrating.
Ironically, Duck Duck Go is now my biggest referring search engine. It likes my more unusual posts and sends me traffic to them. Bing is not far behind. I manually submit my new and updated posts to Bing Webmaster and I do think it makes a difference. I can’t prove it, but it seems to be paying off with Bing.
Sallie
I had a brief time about two months ago where I was very much considering giving up on the whole thing because I was just done with it all. There’s just so much mess trying to figure it all out.
I understand. I’ve had those moments as well. Many many times. Weekly at times, but certain monthly for a while.
There is no figuring it out at this point. Trying to figure it out was making me unhappy and feeling defeated.
I decided I was going to do what I enjoy and other people can choose to read or not. There is no way to make choices that everyone is happy with.
Some people don’t like ads.
Some people don’t like certain topics.
Some people don’t like certain layouts.
Some people don’t like certain designs.
Some people don’t like Christian content.
Some people don’t like discussing conspiracy theories.
Some people don’t like questioning particular doctrines.
Some people don’t like it if you even consult AI in your work.
And on and on and on and on…
This is my creative outlet that I pay for where I share what I’m learning and what I’ve learned in the past. If it’s my creation and my hobby, then I’ll do it my way.
Pleasing Google no longer even comes into play for me. I don’t even consider it any longer when I do my work. SEO? Barely think about it. AI bots? Blocked them all except Arya.
God can direct people here because that’s one of the only ways people can find me any longer.