This week’s podcast kicked off with a narrative we’ve lined extensively previously, however now it’s hit the mainstream press. Bloomberg simply printed a chunk titled “Google AI Search Shift Leaves Website Makers Feeling Betrayed” — and it places the highlight squarely on Google’s Net Creator Summit held again in late 2024.
For those who’ve been following our podcast, you already know the gist. Google invited round 20 small publishers to its campus — people who’d been hit onerous by the Useful Content material Replace and the updates that adopted. The concept was to listen to them out, perceive their ache factors, and (presumably) make adjustments in order that high-quality, unbiased content material creators may as soon as once more rank in search.
Since then? Crickets.
Now Bloomberg is telling that very same story, with a nationwide lens. It’s not simply the search engine optimisation and content material neighborhood speaking about this anymore — it’s the broader world beginning to see simply how far-reaching these algorithm shifts have been.
Watch the Full Episode
Google Promised to Assist Small Publishers. Then Nothing Occurred
The Fallout from Google’s Guarantees:
- Creators like Morgan McBride (who we interviewed previously) and Jake Boly are prominently featured in Bloomberg’s protection.
- Morgan misplaced 70% of her site visitors and 65% of her revenue. Jake put it bluntly: “For those who drive away all lovers and small publishers, then we’re going to be overrun by spam and the few gamers who can afford to pay to play.”
- A SimilarWeb evaluation confirmed site visitors drops throughout 67 small publishers in verticals like journey, DIY, and meals — confirming what we’ve seen anecdotally.
Regardless of following Google’s EEAT tips, these websites aren’t seeing restoration. In truth, site visitors continues to say no. That’s the place the true sense of betrayal is available in. Publishers had been advised they had been doing all the pieces proper — but nothing modified.
And in a time when Google desperately wants good PR, this story is changing into one other stain on its fame.
TikTok’s Countdown: 75 Extra Days to Discover a Purchaser
Let’s pivot to a different platform that’s been within the headlines for all of the flawed causes: TikTok.
Again in January, TikTok confronted potential shutdown within the U.S., and after just a few hours of precise downtime, the federal government gave dad or mum firm ByteDance 75 days to promote the platform. That deadline just got extended — they now have till mid-June 2025.
What’s Occurring with TikTok Now?
- A number of consumers are rumored to be within the combine, together with Oracle, Amazon, and personal fairness teams.
- The uncertainty has advertisers spooked. CPMs are down considerably, and eight of TikTok’s high ten promoting classes reduce their budgets in Q1 2025.
- Regardless of the chaos, TikTok remains to be projected to generate almost $15 billion in U.S. advert income this yr — much more than YouTube.
Thomas and I each agreed: whereas TikTok’s long-term viability stays unclear, there’s an actual short-term alternative for creators and advertisers.
- Fewer creators are publishing as a result of uncertainty.
- CPMs are decrease, which implies cheaper publicity.
- Manufacturers prepared to abdomen the chance would possibly discover that is the most effective time to get into TikTok promoting.
If TikTok sticks round — and we predict it in all probability will — the creators and advertisers who caught with it by means of the turbulence could discover themselves in an amazing place.
The Newest in AI Picture Instruments: MidJourney v7 and Extra
We additionally lined the continuing arms race in AI picture technology. MidJourney released version 7, following intently behind OpenAI’s GPT-4.0 picture instruments and Ideogram v3.
How Does MidJourney 7 Stack Up?
- MidJourney v7 is a major improve in realism and visible nuance.
- It nonetheless struggles with text-heavy prompts in comparison with GPT-4.0.
- It is advisable to “prepare” the mannequin to your type by deciding on most well-liked photographs in setup — about 200 of them.
The place it actually shines is in creating photographs that don’t look AI-generated. There’s even a immediate hack utilizing filenames like “IMG_4147.HEIC” to trick the mannequin into producing photographs that appear to be they got here off a cellphone digicam.
So what’s the TL;DR for content material creators?
- Finest all-around instrument: GPT-4.0 picture technology. Nice with textual content and has superior modifying options.
- Finest for design layouts and API work: Ideogram v3.
- Finest for inventive or photorealistic work: MidJourney v7.
Facet Hustle Replace
Certainly one of Jared’s Calculator Websites is Beginning to Rank
On the aspect hustle entrance, I shared an replace on one in every of my 5 calculator web sites. After some early yo-yoing in rankings, one web site is displaying indicators of taking off.
- The homepage calculator simply jumped from place 72 to 13 for its most important key phrase — which will get 60,000 month-to-month searches.
- Engagement is robust: over 130 customers previously week and a 51-second common engagement time.
- The key phrase is driving many of the site visitors, and if it cracks the highest 10, this might flip into a gradual earner.
That is the primary of the 5 calculator websites to essentially present traction. And whereas it’s nonetheless early days, it’s encouraging to see motion like this from a really lean construct that relied closely on AI instruments.
Thomas’ Publication Income: First Month on Beehive
Thomas additionally shared his first full month of income numbers for his “AI in Actual Life” e-newsletter, which he lately moved to Beehive.
- 14 emails despatched in March to an inventory of about 3,000 subscribers
- Whole income from Beehive’s built-in advert program: $257
- Highest incomes emails had been tied to particular high-value AI advertisers
It’s not a full-time revenue, but it surely’s early days — and the income scales with listing measurement. Plus, it matches properly right into a broader content material and monetization technique that features YouTube and affiliate affords.
Bizarre Area of interest Websites of the Week
This week’s “bizarre area of interest” picks featured two very completely different however equally fascinating examples: TireSize.com and PerishableNews.com.
TireSize.com
It is a powerhouse calculator web site within the automotive area.
- 315,000 natural visits/month
- Over 20,000 listed pages protecting tire sizes, comparisons, gear ratios, and extra
- Monetized through each show advertisements and affiliate hyperlinks to tire retailers like Amazon and Low cost Tire
What stood out was how tightly built-in the calculator outcomes are with the affiliate shopping for journey. It’s an amazing instance of not simply fixing an issue, however seamlessly guiding the consumer to a purchase order.
PerishableNews.com
Thomas introduced a hyper-specific area of interest information web site to the desk this week.
- Covers the perishables {industry}: produce, meat, floral, and so forth.
- Excessive DR (71) however low reported natural site visitors
- Probably drives vital short-term site visitors from breaking information that instruments like Ahrefs don’t seize
- Monetized through industry-specific show advertisements and convention promotions
It’s an amazing instance of how area of interest information websites — particularly these with a enterprise or B2B angle — can thrive even when their success doesn’t present up in conventional search engine optimisation instruments.
Last Ideas
This week’s tales actually drove house a central theme: the panorama is shifting quick. Whether or not it’s algorithm adjustments, AI instruments, or platform instability, the one fixed is change.
However with change comes alternative. For those who’re prepared to experiment, keep nimble, and put your viewers first, there’s nonetheless loads of upside to be discovered — even within the face of setbacks.
