"Following the September 2023 update, a significant drop in website traffic has been observed by many small to medium-sized independent publishers. Concerns have been raised about the fairness of the algorithm update, as high-quality websites have suffered while big brands have either maintained or increased their traffic despite lower-quality content. The Core and Spam Update in March 2024 further decreased traffic for many sites, bringing smaller websites to the brink of extinction. Google's new policies, such as removing low-quality content and introducing new spam policies, have raised questions about the preferential treatment of big publishers over smaller ones. The inconsistencies in traffic gains and losses suggest a lack of understanding of Google's algorithm. Despite concerns raised to Google's Search Liaison, there seems to be a bias towards big publishers when implementing algorithmic actions. The frustration among independent publishers continues as they struggle to compete with larger brands under these circumstances."
Concerns have been raised regarding Google’s search algorithm potentially losing control. Recent algorithm updates, particularly the September 2023 and March 2024 updates, have resulted in significant traffic drops for many small to medium-sized independent publishers. This has raised concerns about fairness, as high-quality websites have suffered while larger brands have either maintained or increased their traffic despite lower-quality content. These inconsistencies suggest a potential lack of understanding regarding the algorithm and have led to accusations of bias towards big publishers. While Google insists these updates aim to improve search quality, many independent publishers feel the algorithm’s focus on prioritizing large brands is detrimental to their survival.