The Struggle of Backlinks: A Veteran Blogger’s Experience with Google’s Changes
As a blogger with 17 years of experience under my belt, I have weathered numerous algorithm updates from Google, including well-known iterations like Panda and Penguin. However, the past year has been particularly challenging, with a staggering 80% drop in my website’s traffic.
Despite my commitment to delivering high-quality, informative content and building a robust backlink profile, it seems that the very elements I relied on for SEO may no longer hold the weight they once did. My backlink portfolio boasts links from esteemed sources, including:
- Hundreds of links from Wikipedia
- 16 references from The New York Times
- 10 from The Guardian
- 3 from the BBC
- 25 from Business Insider
- 6 from Bloomberg
- 9 from Yahoo News
- 4 from NPR
- 2 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 54 from the Huffington Post
- 23 from NASA
- 17 from the Daily Mail
- 4 from The New Yorker
- 81 from BuzzFeed
- 51 from Stack Exchange
- 23 from Weather.com
- 30 from Smithsonian Magazine
- 4 from Khan Academy
- 2 from National Geographic
- 232 links from Atlas Obscura
In total, I have amassed over 110,000 backlinks from more than 8,000 unique domains. Yet, despite this impressive figure, Google’s updates seem to have diminished the value of these links. Each core update has resulted in a further decline in my traffic, leaving me scraping the bottom of the barrel for visitors.
This frustrating situation has led me to a crossroads in my blogging journey. What was once a thriving online platform has now become a mere shadow of its former self. As I contemplate my next steps, I find myself questioning the future of my blog. Should I persist in this challenging landscape, or is it finally time to call it quits?
The evolving nature of SEO can be daunting, particularly for those of us who have invested years into cultivating our online presence. While I aim to adapt and find new strategies, the growing uncertainty surrounding backlinks and their significance in Google’s eyes continues to cloud my optimism. If you’re facing similar struggles, know that you’re not alone.
