Declining Search Visibility for Affiliate Businesses
Google’s new rule, which emphasizes prioritizing original content and authoritative sources over affiliate-heavy pages, has led to a significant drop in search rankings for leading publishers like Forbes Advisor, CNN Underscored, Time, and The Wall Street Journal have recently seen a huge drop in search rankings. This eventually led to an estimated loss of $7.5 million, according to data from Sistrix. This decline in the search ranking has impacted their affiliate businesses; specifically the sections of their website that recommend products and services that help them earn a share of the revenue.
To run these affiliate sections, these publishers frequently worked with third-party companies, like the Forbes Marketplace and Three Ships. To rank higher in the search results, these affiliate sections used publishers’ trusted branding.
Why It Happened: Google Targets Exploitation of Trusted Sites
To stop the activities where third-party companies use the credibility of well-known websites to improve their website rankings, Google’s new rule, introduced in May 2024 called “Site Reputation Abuse.” As per Google, this kind of content misleads the users and can eventually harm the search experience.
The impact has been severe. For example, Time’s affiliate section, Time Stamped, saw a 97% drop in visibility, The Wall Street Journal fell by 77%, while CNN Underscored decreased by 63% and Forbes Advisor by 43%. Google’s New Rule is significant here, as the important thing is that main news section of these websites was not affected, but only the sections of affiliates experienced these losses.
Some analysts believe this targeted drop in the search ranking results is unusual. Steve Paine from Sistrix said, “It’s rare to see such specific penalties, which may involve advanced algorithms or even manual actions by Google.”
What It Means: A Major Shift for Publishers
These losses could have a huge impact on the publishers. Forbes and Times, which are up for sale, might face a price drop because of the loss in traffic and the revenue from their affiliate businesses. Forbes is currently looking for a $570 million deal, while Time is valued at $150 million, but these deals could now be at risk.
What’s more important is that Google’s crackdown could end the activities of publishers relying on other companies to control their affiliate sections. Experts say publishers should take over these operations themselves, which will mean spending more money and resources.
“This approach worked well for years, but Google is now stepping in,” said SEO expert Lily Ray. Publishers will need to adjust and find new strategies as Google focuses on making search results clearer and more reliable.
