Retro Dodo, Google and digital sharecropping
Bookmarked Google Is Killing Retro Dodo & Other Independent Sites by Brandon Saltalamacchia.
Well, that all came to an abrupt end in September 2023 when Google decided to release an algorithm update that completely obliterated thousands of independent content businesses overnight, and we are one of them.
Since September 2023, Google has hidden our site from millions of retro gamers, reducing our organic traffic and revenue by 85% and causing our business to be on the edge of going under.
Two things:
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Nobody is entitled to search traffic.
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Relying on Google is not a sustainable business model. It's a form of digital sharecropping where you are entirely dependent on your digital overlord's corporate interests being aligned with your own.
I sincerely hope they are able to turn it out around. Independent publishers like Retro Dodo are the good guys. We need more of them, not less. Retro Dodo's founder also wrote a follow up on his personal blog, sharing some of his takeaways from this situation.
Caveat emptor: I do not share the view that Substack is the future of independent publishing.