Gisele Navarro, founder of review platform HouseFresh, recently experienced a falling off in Google Search traffic directed to her site, which reviews and rates air purifiers. The cause? Algorithm updates from Google. These changes have affected HouseFresh’s ability to rank on Google search results, leading Navarro to overhaul the site’s SEO approach.
During the pandemic, HouseFresh saw a rise in engagement. However, this trend reversed in October, with traffic dropping from four thousand daily referrals to just three hundred. This 92.5% fall forced HouseFresh to focus on quality over quantity. To reverse the trend, the team began identifying gaps, exploring new user engagement strategies and tweaking algorithms.
HouseFresh’s downturn also affected their financial situation.
HouseFresh’s SEO adjustment post Google update
Being largely reliant on affiliate fees for revenue, reduced traffic led to a significant income drop. This has impacted the site’s ability to maintain its workforce, leading to layoffs and reduced productivity. To mitigate these setbacks, HouseFresh has begun seeking alternative funding and exploring government relief funds.
The issues experienced by HouseFresh seem to align with updates to Google’s search function, including a permanent core update in March 2024. Despite compliance with Google’s SEO rules, HouseFresh struggled against larger media enterprises. These competitors, armed with larger budgets and stronger brand recognition, contributed to the decline of HouseFresh’s organic search traffic and ad revenue.
Navarro has voiced criticism of these changes, implying Google’s new algorithm hushes the truth by favoring larger publications. Navarro believes this algorithm shift presents challenges to smaller expert blogs like HouseFresh who find it difficult to gain visibility amidst media giants dominating search results.
Suspicions arose when leaked Google documents suggested Google prioritizes larger websites. These claims sparked debate about Google’s operations, although Google denies these allegations. As discussions continue, the conversation turns towards questioning Google’s operational transparency and impartiality.
