NichePursuits.com - Google is slowly killing blogging...

I think I accidentally poked the bear.

I was feeling a bit "salty" yesterday as I was thinking about what I've experienced with Google over the past 12 years of blogging.

And well, Google took notice!

Here's what I posted on Twitter yesterday:

"Google is slowly killing blogging.
​
Blogging used to be about providing off the cuff updates, sharing unique perspectives, and interacting with blog comments!
​
Now Google has forced bloggers to make everything SEO optimized, long form, and tightly focused around a single keyword. If you don’t bow to Google’s will, you don’t get traffic!
​
Now, with the Helpful Content Update, they’ve gone so far as to say that “unhelpful” articles on your site can penalize your ENTIRE site!
​
This is ludicrous.
​
If you wrote about a personal update or something just “fun”, does this now make your entire site “unhelpful”?
​
So, we have moved “blogging” in the traditional sense away from our site and onto social media. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or wherever is now where you get the real “blog” updates.
​
You no longer get that on blogs, no more true insights, because heaven forbid Google deems a post as unhelpful and penalizes your entire site.
​
The ironic thing?
​
Google ranks Reddit extremely well BECAUSE people are providing off the cuff comments and doing what bloggers used to do!
​
So, Google is killing the individual bloggers, but sending tons of traffic to a major corporation (Reddit) instead, because Reddit users are doing what bloggers used to do.
​
Thanks for crushing traditional blogging, Google.
​
(PS - what you just read is the type of thing I used to write on my blog, but I can’t do that anymore…)."

Boy, oh boy, did that start a firestorm!

This tweet has now been viewed over 89,000 times and the comments just keep flooding in.

What was TOTALLY unexpected is that the official Google Search Liason Twitter account (Danny Sullivan) responded to the thread!

And not just once, he got into a bit of a back and forth with Twitter...

Google Search Liason says...

"Writing about something that’s fun, or a personal update, or whatever anyone wants to write about on their blog is not an issue. We haven’t said don’t do that. Nor do blogs don’t have to somehow only about one particular topic. Perspectives & experience are welcomed, as we’ve talked about before as to why E-A-T became E-E-A-T: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/12/google-raters-guidelines-e-e-a-t

Unhelpful content is content that’s generally written for search engine rankings and not for a human audience. If your audience wants to know about what fun thing you did today, and that’s why you wrote it – that’s helpful. Write away! Write about anything that you think human beings coming directly to your blog would like to hear about. That’s all great.

But if you wrote “20 fun things you can do today” because your primary purpose in doing so that you wanted to rank well for “fun things” rather than this being something you’d typically write about, that can be a sign you’re producing unhelpful content. It wasn’t something you wrote for you. It wasn’t something you wrote for your audience. It was something you wrote for search ranking purposes – and that often can align with unhelpful content.

For more, this is our guide about how to create helpful, people-first content: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content"

Then things started to heat up with all kinds of Twitter users jumping in to show how this statement from Google is disingenuous.

I won't copy and paste all the comments in this email; however, I HIGHLY recommend that you check out all the comments and how Google responds on Twitter right here.​

Google DOES Approve of Internal Links...

​

The one thing that Google does say is good for your website is internal links.

They've publicly stated this in their Webmaster guidelines.

So, if you want more humans to find your website on Google, you need to make sure your internal links are done properly.

Link Whisper is a WordPress plugin I created to make building internal links faster and easier.

We use it daily on NichePursuits.com (my blog), and my traffic is hitting record highs and actually INCREASED during the helpful content update.

Of course, internal linking was only 1 factor that has helped my website perform so well, but it's a critical factor.

If you want to check out Link Whisper, you can get $15 off by using discount code "NichePursuits" at checkout.

​Go Ahead and Start Building Smarter and Faster Internal Links Here.​

Meet Jesse Cunningham: The Man Building "High Quality" AI Content at Scale

Jesse is on the podcast with Jared today!

Not only does he give you his story, but he also shares all his SEO tips for creating AI content that can rank.

What you'll get is a true masterclass in creating topical clusters, using AI tools, and scaling content production that keeps quality in check.

​Listen, Watch, or Read the full interview with Jesse right here.​

Thanks again,

Spencer

Tools to Help You Grow Your Digital Business

Building Smart Internal Links Just Got Easier. Discover the #1 Rated Internal Link Building WordPress Plugin. Get $15 Off Link Whisper here when you use discount code "NichePursuits" at checkout.

Ready for the Smartest Way to Track Your SEO Performance? Rank Logic analyzes your keyword rankings, author performance, content updates, and more. Get Rank Logic Right Here.​

Get the Most Accurate AI Content Detector and Plagiarism Checker On The Market Built Specifically for Serious Content Publishers Looking For Peace Of Mind. Sign Up Here And Try It For Free.​

Buy or Sell Content Sites Quickly and Hassle-Free on Motion Invest; Created By, and For Niche Site Owners Seeking the Best Price. Browse The Marketplace Here.​

​