SAN FRANCISCO – Many small independent news website owners have reported a severe drop in Google Search Traffic to their sites after Google made algorithm changes to its search system, with some reporting they may have to close their sites.
Google’s recent updates to its search ranking system have hit independent publishers hard. Since September 2023, some owners have reported losing up to 86% of their usual visitors. Ben Fox, founder of Shepherd.com, shared detailed data showing just how much these changes hurt independent sites that rely on organic search visibility.
Fox found that the site’s most popular area lost 86% of its Google traffic across 16 months. Despite this, users were highly engaged: 60% read at least three-quarters of each page, and the average visitor spent over five minutes per page.
A clear example is content from Kevin Miller, a former Navy pilot and leader at the Naval Aviation Museum. His recommendations for Battle of Midway books used to appear near the top of search results.VORNews reports losing all of its website traffic.
Now, that same content shows up on later pages, or not at all, even though site visitors spend over seven minutes per page, with more than half reading most of the content and 15% clicking links to books or related topics.
Low-quality content is gaining top spots.
Fox also reported that Google search results now often highlight less useful or out-of-date sources, including:
- Bare-bones book lists
- Single forum posts with little discussion
- Basic store pages with little detail
- Old forum threads from years ago
- General retail links
The fallout for independent sites
Lars Lofgren, Co-Founder of Stone Press, called these search changes a major shift in Google’s performance. In an October 2024 LinkedIn post, he said Google’s ability to match quality content with user searches dropped off around September 2023. Lofgren noted things got worse after March 2024, as Google kept making changes that left many publishers struggling.
Other experts and website owners have reported the same pattern—steady drops in organic search traffic, with no clear way to recover.
Timeline for Google changes
Industry experts have pointed out key periods when things got worse for independent sites:
- September 2023: Search rankings stopped reflecting content quality
- March 2024: Search result quality fell even further
- October 2024: Ongoing problems for independent publishers
Google pushed out several core updates during this time, but none helped small publishers regain lost traffic. Many feel their sites are effectively hidden from search, with even strong brands losing visibility for their names.
Important facts
- Traffic began falling about 16 months ago
- Several Google updates did not reverse these issues
- Some sites saw traffic drop by 95% or more
- Some brands don’t appear for their names on Google
- DuckDuckGo and Bing still show many independent sites in their results
Suggestions and feedback from the community
Fox has offered some ideas for fixing the situation:
- Build a partner programme that tracks true engagement
- Make Google Search Console more transparent
- Share clear details about what impacts rankings
- Give specific advice to website owners affected by these updates
Traffic and engagement numbers
- Shepherd.com lost 86% of its organic Google traffic
- 60% of their readers finish the majority of the content
- Average time on page is over five minutes
- 12% click through to learn more
- 8% view related topics through internal links
- Some websites report 95% or higher traffic loss
- Expert-written pages keep readers for over seven minutes
The recent changes to Google Search have left many independent websites struggling, even as they continue to produce content that draws and holds visitors. Many site owners hope for clearer guidance and fairer search rankings to help them regain lost ground.
