Is AI Reducing Traffic at HubPages?

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   Rock_njposted 12 months ago

   My son said something to me that made me wonder if it explains why my traffic at HubPages is down around 60% year-over-year. He said he doesn't use search engines anymore and doesn't click on links to articles because ChatGPT serves him what he's looking for. Is AI reducing our traffic here at HubPages?

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      Jan Stepanposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      Short answer – yes. A more detailed one? Yes...
      
      As someone who works with AI daily, I've seen enough to be more than convinced that AI will change the internet and how people search (or better say "type") for information forever.

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      SerenityHaloposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      There are, unfortunately, multiple factors causing traffic decline. AI isn't helping. It would take something incredible to cause a recovery in views.
      
      Also, the niches haven't been negatively influenced evenly. Some sites have been hurt far more than others. I recommend using Semrush to check the health of a website before writing. You can get 10 free queries a day.

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         Gregory DeVictorposted 12 months agoin reply to this

         Thank you for a fantastic suggestion. I would like to know how many articles are currently published on HobbyLark. However, I'm sure that the team wouldn't give me that information because it is an HP secret.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 12 months ago

   The decline in views and earnings at HP predates the introduction of AI. It's been going on for over five years if you discount the brief revival three years ago which now seems like an aberration.
   
   The long-term decline can clearly be seen if you look at the stats for the various niches. The introduction of new search technology had little effect on the overall trend.
   
   I would therefore say that the effects of AI on search traffic are currently limited but may be set to grow.

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      Rock_njposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks! My traffic was holding up okay until a few months ago. I can now see that AI will have a major impact on sites like this. It's easier to use than traditional search engines and reading various articles or sources that come up. The younger generations will flock to AI searches.
      
      I've also noticed that Google has moved some of my articles further down in the search displays. It seems like the first page search displays are now almost exclusively major media sites. I have an article about improving the Zillow Zestimate that used to spike my spring views and earnings since this is the time of year most people are trying to sell a home. My article used to be top 3 in Google, but now is nowhere to be found. Such is life!

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         Kenna McHughposted 12 months agoin reply to this

         Rock, I agree. AI has changed the course of the Internet. I used to write content for one client. Now, I edit their AI content. With that, significant media sites now advertise on Google. Organic content, unfortunately, will go the wayside.

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   alexadryposted 12 months ago

   IMO, I feel like AI is going to lead to two main outcomes: people heavily relying on ChatGTP for quick information and people flocking to websites like Quora and Reddit where there are still posts from real people. It seems to me like Reddit and Quora seem are getting lots of traffic and engagement lately and likely it's due to their community styles.
   
   I read an article about Google Declaring the End of the World Wide Web and it sounds like we are in for big changes in the near future.
   
   The ethical way for AI to share info would be to gather no more than 50 words from websites and link to the original sources with anchor links that say 'read more.' Instead, it seems like AI is doing what Google has always frowned upon and penalized: spinning content.

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      JerryFisherposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      Google doesn't know how to spell ethical. Never has.

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         alexadryposted 12 months agoin reply to this

         So true and its evolution proves it. It started by using a few snippets of text from websites as previews, then more and more detailed paragraphs, and now long summaries that capture the essence of entire articles.

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   Kain 360posted 12 months ago

   This is a major concern for me. My traffic is the lowest it's ever been. I remember years ago getting articles at the top page of Google on another account, causing me to get over 10,000 views per day for a while. Now, it seems significantly more difficult to get a good ranking in the SERPs. I noticed this new AI thing on Google when I used my phone.
   
   I'm not sure how I will be able to make a living as a freelance writer if AI content becomes more successful than websites that feature articles. What's the point of putting effort in getting published if all your content is beaten by AI generated content?
   
   I'm pretty demoralized at this point and have little hope for the future. Least my health has been better than last year. Had Lyme which affected my ability to walk and type.
   
   I'm not sure how HubPages, other websites, and corporations will deal with AI information. While I think AI can be useful for some things, it can also be a negative thing.

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   FatFreddysCatposted 12 months ago

   At this point, is there anything that isn't reducing traffic to HubPages?

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      theraggededgeposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      Nailed it

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   PaulGoodman67posted 12 months ago

   I think it's difficult to assess the impact of the Google AI bot, especially when looking at the current rollout,  without some stats being collected.
   
   Most of us thought that Google "snippets" would have a dramatic effect when introduced but the impact turned out to be limited.
   
   In the longer term, I do think AI will radically alter the nature of search, though.
   
   However, right now it does seem a little academic when views and earnings have been in steep decline for some time for reasons other than AI.

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   dougwest1posted 11 months ago

   My traffic is down also. Probably due to all the multiple reasons people have mentioned. I hope Hubpages and the other ways to write on the internet don't go the way of the typewriter.

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