How AI Is Destroying the Lives of Creators (Including Us)

Summary

Justin and Jess, full-time travel content creators, discuss the challenges they've faced due to recent changes in Google's algorithm, which has drastically cut their website traffic and income by up to 70%. Their blog relied on SEO, but new updates and the rise of AI-generated content are impacting their revenue. Despite the setbacks, they emphasize the importance of adaptability and diversification, now focusing more on social media, YouTube, and building a community. They share their struggles while remaining hopeful about finding new ways to succeed in the evolving content creation landscape.

Takeaways

• 📉 The Google algorithm change has significantly impacted the couple's income, reducing it by 60-70%.
• 🚫 They express concern over AI scraping content and copyright infringement, viewing it as unfair.
• 🌐 Their primary source of income was their travel blog, which relied heavily on Google traffic.
• 🔍 They utilized SEO strategies to drive traffic to their blog, aiming for top search results.
• 💸 Their revenue came from ads and affiliate links, with no paywall for their content.
• ❄️ A recent winter storm prompted a move inside, highlighting the couple's nomadic lifestyle.
• 📈 They experienced growth in their website traffic until recent algorithm changes.
• 🤖 The introduction of AI-generated results by Google, such as Google Gemini, has diverted traffic away from their blog.
• 📊 They foresee a decline in the quality of online content as reputable bloggers are forced to leave the industry due to financial pressures.
• 🌐 They acknowledge the need to diversify their income streams beyond reliance on Google's SEO.
• 💪 Despite the challenges, they remain committed to adapting and growing their brand across various platforms.

Q & A

What caused the drop in traffic for Justin and Jess's travel blog?

The drop in traffic was primarily caused by Google's core algorithm updates, which negatively impacted SEO rankings for their blog. Additionally, the rise of AI-generated content in Google search results has reduced the need for users to visit individual blogs.

How did Justin and Jess make money from their blog before the traffic drop?

They made money primarily through ads and affiliate revenue. Ads generated income each time a visitor scrolled past them, and they earned commissions from affiliate links when readers purchased products or services they recommended.

What are Google’s core updates, and how do they affect bloggers?

Google's core updates are major changes to the search engine's algorithm, which determine how content is ranked. These updates can hurt blogs by lowering their visibility in search results, thus reducing traffic and income.

Why is the rise of AI-generated search results problematic for content creators like Justin and Jess?

AI-generated search results provide users with quick answers without needing to visit blogs or websites, which reduces traffic to content creators' pages. This harms their ad revenue and affiliate link clicks.

How has the decline in their blog traffic affected Justin and Jess emotionally?

The decline in traffic has been emotionally tough for them, especially for Justin, who expressed pride in their business. He admitted struggling with the situation and even felt like crying during the video.

What steps have Justin and Jess taken to adapt to these changes?

They have started diversifying their content by focusing more on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. They are creating videos and engaging with their community to grow their audience beyond SEO-reliant traffic.

Why do Justin and Jess feel partially responsible for their current situation?

They feel responsible because they relied too heavily on SEO for generating income and didn’t diversify their revenue streams sooner. They now acknowledge that putting all their eggs in one basket was a mistake.

What other factors besides algorithm changes have impacted their blog's revenue?

Other factors include the shift in user preferences toward video content and the removal of cookies by Google, which will make ads less targeted and thus less valuable for advertisers.

What advice do Justin and Jess have for aspiring content creators?

Their main advice is to diversify income sources and not rely on a single platform or strategy, like SEO. They also stress the importance of building a brand and being adaptable to changes in the content creation landscape.

How have Justin and Jess adjusted their business goals in response to the traffic drop?

They are now focused on building community through social media and creating more video content. They aim to diversify their income streams and engage more directly with their audience to mitigate future risks.

Outlines

00:00

📉 Impact of Google Algorithm Changes on Content Creators

The video script discusses the significant negative impact recent Google algorithm changes have had on the income of full-time content creators, Justin and Jess, who primarily earned money through their travel blog. They reveal that their income has been slashed by 60 to 70% due to the changes, which have affected their website's visibility on search engine results. The creators express their frustration with AI scraping content and the lack of fairness in such copyright infringements. They explain that their success was built on search engine optimization (SEO), which helped their content rank highly on Google searches. However, recent algorithm updates have drastically reduced their traffic, leading to financial struggles. They also touch on the broader implications for users relying on search engines for accurate information.

05:01

🔄 Google's Algorithm Updates and the Shift to AI

The script continues with a discussion on Google's core algorithm updates, which were previously beneficial to the creators but have recently caused substantial drops in their traffic. The creators explain that reputable content creators like themselves are being adversely affected by updates that seem to target articles with many affiliate links. They also address the rise of AI-generated content through Google Gemini, which provides immediate answers at the top of search results, thus diverting traffic away from blogs. The creators express concerns about the accuracy and quality of AI-generated content and the potential long-term effects on the availability of high-quality content online. They mention additional factors contributing to their reduced traffic and income, such as the shift towards video content and changes in cookie usage due to privacy concerns, which affect ad relevance and revenue.

10:01

🚫 Acknowledging Dependence on Google and the Need for Adaptability

In this section, the creators acknowledge their over-reliance on Google's SEO for their income and recognize the need for diversification in their revenue streams. They admit that Google is not to blame for changes to its algorithm, as it is their responsibility to stay competitive and relevant. The creators empathize with other bloggers who have been hit harder by the changes, some of whom have had to let go of their staff or leave blogging entirely. Despite the challenges, they remain optimistic about their ability to adapt and grow their income through other channels. They highlight their focus on building a community and expanding their presence on social media platforms, which has provided some cushion against the recent algorithm changes.

15:05

🌟 Embracing Change and the Future of Content Creation

The final paragraph sees the creators reflecting on the necessity of being adaptable in the ever-changing landscape of content creation. They advise anyone interested in entering the field to be prepared for frequent changes and to diversify their revenue sources. The creators express their determination to continue growing their brand across various platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, to ensure a more stable future. They encourage viewers to engage with their content through likes, shares, and comments to support them and other content creators. The creators end on a hopeful note, suggesting that the current challenges might ultimately lead to positive changes and growth in their business strategy.

Keywords

💡Google Algorithm

The Google Algorithm refers to the complex set of rules that Google uses to rank search results. In the video, it is mentioned as a significant factor that has negatively impacted the creators' income by causing a drastic drop in traffic to their travel blog. The creators explain that changes in Google's algorithm have made it more difficult for their content to be discovered, which has led to a substantial decrease in their earnings.

💡SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the practice of optimizing websites to rank higher in search engine results, thereby increasing visibility and traffic. The video creators used SEO strategies to attract over 2 million annual visitors to their website. They discuss how being proficient in SEO allowed them to scale their blog's success, but recent algorithm changes have undermined these efforts.

💡Passive Income

Passive income is money earned with little to no effort by the recipient, often generated through investments or automated processes. In the context of the video, the creators discuss how their blog used to provide a passive income stream after they had written and published content, which would then rank high in search results and generate ad revenue over time.

💡Affiliate Revenue

Affiliate revenue is income earned by promoting other companies' products or services and receiving a commission for each sale made through the referral. The video mentions that the creators earned a portion of their income through affiliate links, where they would recommend a product or service, and earn a commission if a viewer clicked through and made a purchase.

💡A.I. Scraping

A.I. scraping refers to the practice of using artificial intelligence to extract data from websites, often without permission. The creators express concern about A.I. scraping their content and republishing it, which they view as copyright infringement. They argue that this practice is unfair and devalues the original work of content creators.

💡Google Gemini

Google Gemini is mentioned in the context of A.I.-generated search results. The creators note that instead of directing users to original content like their blog posts, Google is increasingly showing A.I.-generated summaries at the top of search results, which can lead to a decrease in traffic to their site.

💡Content Creation

Content creation is the process of producing various forms of content, such as articles, videos, and social media posts, for online distribution. The video's creators are full-time content creators who focus on travel blogging. They discuss the challenges of relying on a single revenue stream and the importance of diversifying content formats and platforms.

💡Algorithm Updates

Algorithm updates refer to changes made by Google to its search algorithms. These updates can significantly affect how content is ranked and discovered. The creators describe how recent updates have negatively impacted their blog's visibility and income, highlighting the vulnerability of relying on search engine traffic.

💡Diversification

Diversification in the context of the video means spreading risk by engaging in multiple revenue streams or business strategies. The creators emphasize the importance of not relying solely on SEO and Google traffic, suggesting that diversifying into other platforms and content formats is crucial for sustaining a content business.

💡Social Media

Social media platforms are used by the creators to share highlights and engage with their audience. They discuss how they have started to focus more on social media to build a community and drive traffic, especially in light of the challenges faced with Google's algorithm changes.

💡Adaptability

Adaptability is the ability to adjust and respond effectively to changes. The video creators stress the importance of being adaptable in the content creation industry, as algorithms and platforms evolve, and strategies that once worked may no longer be effective.

Highlights

Google algorithm changes have significantly impacted content creators' income, cutting it by 60 to 70%.

A.I. scraping and copyright infringement are major concerns for content creators.

Content creators rely heavily on Google traffic, which has been rapidly changing.

The importance of search engine optimization (SEO) for driving traffic to blogs.

Content creators earn money through ads and affiliate revenue, with no paywalls for readers.

Google's core updates have negatively impacted many full-time bloggers.

A.I. generated results from Google Gemini are replacing organic blog content in search results.

The quality of content on the internet may decline as reputable bloggers lose business.

The long-term effects of A.I. on content reliability and the internet's information quality are concerning.

The shift towards video content and the impact of cookie privacy changes on ad revenue.

Content creators are not blaming Google for algorithm changes but are adapting to the new landscape.

The necessity for content creators to diversify their income sources due to algorithmic changes.

The importance of building a strong social media presence to mitigate algorithm changes.

Content creators advise against starting a blog due to the current volatile online environment.

The need for adaptability and flexibility in the content creation industry.

Engagement from the audience is crucial for supporting content creators.

Content creators are focusing on building a brand and community across various platforms.

Transcripts

it's frankly been really hard to see one change from a Google algorithm

set us so far back.

To be honest, it's probably cut our income by like 60 to 70%.

Really? Yeah. Yeah.

S***.

That's not good.

I don't think A.I. scraping and taking publishers

content and regurgitating it, when it's blatant copyright infringement,

I don't think that's fair.

The last couple months have been really hard for me.

I, um- I don't want to cry...

I'm Justin.

I'm Jess, and we are full time content creators.

And until recently, we've made about 95% of our income from our travel blog,

and we drove traffic there through Google,

but unfortunately, that's changing real quick.

We share a lot of the highlights on our YouTube channel and our social media

showing us swimming with manatees and hiking up Havasu falls.

But in reality, we do a lot of working behind the scenes,

and there's obviously some lows like what we're currently experiencing.

Beyond that, it also impacts everyone that uses Google

or search engines in general.

So we just kind of want to share our experiences on the publisher side.

So, you know, what to expect via your search engine.

Yeah, if you search for things on Google, the changes that impacted us

have pretty huge ramifications on you, the people who are actually

searching for information and not just as it relates to travel

content for your vacation to Hawaii, but for pretty much everything.

So taking a step back, I think it's kind of important for us to explain

how we make money via our website.

I think we need to move inside.

There's a- There's a pretty big winter storm coming through.

So I think we're going to relocate to inside the trailer.

Ooo it’s so nice and toasty in here.

All right.

We started our website in 2018

and we actually started to take it seriously in 2021.

By 2023 we were able to scale it to receiving over 2 million

annual visitors a year by using something called search engine optimization or SEO.

That's essentially just a fancy term for a really wide set of strategies

that help search engines find your content and rank it highly.

Think of if you search for a term things to do in Bozeman,

Montana, us as publishers,

Our goal is to basically have the number one result in Google.

If you search that term.

And we got really really good at that particular set of strategies

and were able to write a bunch of articles and rank highly for them. The way

that we made money is one, through ads, So all of our content was free to read.

There is no paywall, we get earn a fraction of a penny

every time you scroll past an ad on the page.

Also through affiliate revenue.

So sometimes we would recommend a tour or product or service,

almost always something that we paid for, bought or use ourself.

And if we recommend it and you click on a link and buy it yourself,

we get a very small commission at no extra cost to you.

So between those two things,

that's how we made the majority of money from our blog.

But obviously that only worked if you were coming to our blog

and reading those pages in the first place.

That was really our sole strategy.

And frankly, good SEO was the strategy of almost

all successful blogs for the past forever, really.

For decades. That's how it's always been.

And it's been really nice because we don't have to do

a lot of brand deals we don't have to, like, partner

with other companies and try to sell their stuff.

We usually pay for all our own tours, all our own travel ourself.

We only recommend things that we love and we use.

And it was really nice

because we could go somewhere or do something and capture photos about it,

and then we could wait months before we wrote a blog article about that

and once just wrote something and published it, we'd just forget about it.

Eventually, it would make its way up to the top of the page on Google

and it would just kind of passively make income

and we could focus on the next thing that was on our priority list.

So this has been very attractive to us because let's say we have a period

in our life where we need to slow down for a little bit

because of a medical issue or there's some family emergency...

We have the ability to I mean, really effectively just stop

producing content altogether for weeks or months at a time and still be making

the same amount of money that we did the day before.

Unfortunately, what we weren't doing

was building up our profile- Jess: Social media.

Yeah, building up social media.

And that's really kind of something that you and I

started to focus on at the beginning of this year.

Well, I guess a little bit last year, thank God, because if we hadn't,

we'd be in a much worse position So really, our sole strategy

with our website has just been focusing on driving traffic via SEO.

Unfortunately, that's really changed in the last couple of months.

One thing that's been a huge change is Google's algorithm.

Without getting too technical, they essentially have

these things called core updates.

They used to have them maybe twice a year or even once a year.

And honestly, they usually benefited us and helped their content rank more highly.

Yeah, there's a lot of blogs out there who use these bad tactics to try to game

the system by making sure their content shows up when it's really not helpful.

Or maybe it's being paid

for behind the scenes and they're not indicating it is such.

And eventually Google gets wise to that and blocks their content

altogether, and that ends up helping us because we're reputable and

we try to make sure that we write good content

that is- Jess: helpful and from first person experience.

In the recent months, though,

there's been a couple really massive core updates that have hurt

pretty much all of the big bloggers that kind of this is their full time job.

We're not aware of anyone that has not been negatively impacted by it.

There was one in October that cut our traffic by 30%

and fortunately we rebounded.

Unfortunately, there was another one in March

and it cut our traffic and thus our income by about half.

Honestly, it seems to be targeting

articles that have a lot of affiliate links in it too.

So to be honest, it's probably cut our our income probably by like 60 to 70%.

Really?

Yeah. S***. That's not good.

So that's one thing that's changed.

Another big one is A.I. and you've probably noticed if you've been

searching on Google on your phone or computer for the last few months,

that instead of seeing results at the top, you now see

A.I. generated results from Google Gemini.

So basically it's looking at the entirety of the Internet and it's coming up

with an answer using AI that it thinks you want to read.

And while this is sometimes helpful,

it hurts us because instead of people actually going to blogs

and reading things that we write,

they're just looking at those results that are presented at the top.

Now, we're not anti-A.I.

I use A.I. occasionally for different things in our creative process,

but a lot of times A.I. content is just wholly inaccurate.

Another huge issue that I think we see because we're involved in the space,

but I don't think it's readily apparent to people who use search engines

as that a lot of these big reputable bloggers who have exceptionally

talented writers and photographers and pay for this great content,

they're all losing their business and they're moving over to something else

and they're just not supplying

the Internet with high quality content anymore.

Google is

only as good as the existing content that exists on the Internet right now.

And we're starting to see more and more

AI generated results that are inaccurate or maybe outdated.

And I think the long term effects are going to be that people who are writing

content for the Internet are going away, and I'm just really worried

about the quality of content that's going to exist moving forward

and how the specific lack of content is going to feed AI.

And we're just going to get

increasingly less and less reliable results on the Internet.

There is also a couple other factors without getting too long winded, a couple

that I'll touch on is, people are moving more towards video content like this.

And then another layer

that I'm really not going to get into because it's very technical is cookies.

I'm sure you've seen cookie banners when you've went to various websites,

especially if you've been on European websites.

Cookies are a way that Google and other third parties can effectively

track your activity across the Internet, which helps them serve ads

for products and services that you would actually be interested in.

if you've ever been watching like streaming platforms, like Hulu

we’ll always comment on how annoying it is that we'll get video

ads for medications that don't apply to us or something like that.

And that's because they just don't have any idea who we are.

And over the course of the next year, Google is going to start slowly

getting rid of cookies because of privacy concerns,

which means ads that are presented to you are going to become less

and less relevant to your interests. You're still going to get ads.

There's not going to be as relevant to you anymore.

Right.

So now advertisers are effectively going to be willing to pay a lot less

because the users that are getting served those ads are

may not be even interested in that particular product.

So all of that being said, there are a ton of different things

that have basically cut our traffic and thus are income in half.

And to be honest, we know that there are things coming down

the pipeline that are going to make it even worse.

Frankly, we don't really know what has caused

such a significant drop in our traffic.

And that's the same for other large bloggers

who have been in the industry for decades.

Something massive changed recently and we get very vague

release notes on the updates for the Google search engine.

But something I think it's important to call out here.

I think this is partially our fault for- Jess: Oh, 100%.

Justin: ...for putting all of our eggs in one basket.

this is a very appealing strategy to be able to write content,

rely on SEO, and just make passive income.

It's hard to blame Google

because all of this traffic was given to us by Google.

some of you watching might actually be surprised to hear from us

that we don't really feel like Google is to blame for it-

To be clear, I want to be very clear here.

Some things I don't think are fair.

I don't think A.I. scraping and taking publisher’s content

and regurgitating it when it's blatant copyright infringement,

I don't think that's fair.

However, Google changing their algorithm to favor whatever they want to favor,

We have no control over it and we have no right to be upset-

And frankly, it's their responsibility to do that.

I mean, they're competing with other companies like Tik Tok

who make video content, and they want to make sure that they're relevant.

And when people search for things that people keep coming to Google

and it's their responsibility to listen to their audience

and to make sure that they keep generating content or favoring things

like short form videos at the top of the feed as opposed to blog posts,

if that's what people actually want to see.

Fortunately, we're not hurt nearly as bad as some other bloggers.

People who have, you know, dozens of writers

have had to let go of all of their staff at the same time and have had to leave

blogging entirely in the last couple of months to go pursue

a different career or go back to their old career.

So this is a pretty massive change.

And while we've been hit pretty hard,

we haven't been hit nearly as bad as some other people have.

So our goal this year was to basically replace

our income from our old corporate jobs with our income

from our website and other content And we were on track to do that.

But obviously, unfortunately, with our income

being cut more than half, that isn't going to happen.

But we are lucky in that we're still definitely making enough money

to live off of and we have a relatively clear path

forward of how we intend to kind of grow that income in other areas.

For those of you watching who are invested in us

and our story and our success, it's not all totally bad news.

Fortunately, Jess and I really, uh-

Every year we set a goal for ourselves and this year

it was really about building community and making sure that we're

getting out there in the social media platforms.

It was something that we weren't

focusing on a lot in previous years, frankly, because we just didn't have to.

But we knew we didn't want to place all our eggs in one basket.

We've seen so many bloggers who said, don't worry about social media,

don't worry about Tik Tok or Instagram or Pinterest.

just keep on with your SEO strategy and you can retire on that in a few decades.

And we just never felt comfortable with keeping all of our eggs in one basket.

So I'm really glad that last year we started to focus on creating videos

like here on YouTube, and it's been really great to

start building that community and start making short form videos as well.

Reels on Instagram and Facebook.

Definitely follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Well, all the links are below.

Yeah.

So anyway, I think if we hadn't been focusing on that

for the last year, I think we'd be scared pretty s******* right now.

I mean, I'm going to be I want to be very transparent like this...

The last couple months have been really hard for me.

I don't want to cry. I was very proud of myself, of how we scaled our business.

And it's frankly been really hard to see

one change from a Google algorithm set us so far back, especially

when it's this business that I was so proud of,

but I'm proud that we are going to continue to grow it.

And that, I mean, I think especially in this world,

you have to be adaptable and flexible and willing to pivot,

and that's just what we're going to do.

And I really wouldn't be surprised if a few months or a few years

from now we look back on this moment and we'll be really grateful

that this happened.

This is the motivation that we needed to make sure we diversify

how we make our money and not just get it all from

one source of revenue

I think if we have one piece of advice, if you are interested in becoming

a content creator or really having any business is to diversify,

especially with the content creation space,

I think that having a brand moving forward is going to be really important

and that's something that we're just going to be laser focused on, on growing

a community, having kind of a consistent message across a variety of platforms

and hopefully creating more content on YouTube and Instagram

and still our website to help you travel better.

very frequently.

People will ask Jessica and I if and how they should start a blog. And

I just I'd hold off for a little bit.

Fortunately, our blog and other streams of revenue

are giving us enough money to live comfortably on right now as it is.

So I'm confident that we'll get back to a good spot.

Jessica is unbelievably talented.

She writes some incredible articles and her videos are also exceptional as well.

So I have no doubt that we will get back to a good place

But we- Justin is also amazing as well.

And does lots of good things on YouTube.

I wasn't fishing for that,

but we just wanted to make sure that anyone watching this

that was interested in getting into content creation in general understands

that, you are beholden to other algorithms.

And even in our case where we own our website

we still are beholden to search engine algorithms that drive traffic to it.

it is definitely a ever evolving landscape.

The goalposts are always moving and if you want to get into this career,

you have to be someone who is adaptable and comfortable with changing frequently

because that's just the world that we live in

And to be totally transparent, I am not that kind of person.

And I have really been having a rough couple of months.

But I think it's important in this career just to be open,

flexible and understanding that there are going to be times of change.

So with that, you'll be seeing us on YouTube

and Instagram and Facebook a lot more than you used to.

And we're hanging in there if you want to help us

and other content creators the best thing that you can do is engage.

So leave a comment, Share something that you think

is interesting, hit that like button. Subscribe.

it really, really, really helps people like us who do this for a living.

Yeah. Well, thank you so much for watching.

And if you're not already, please follow our journey

from Key West to the southernmost point in the US all the way up

to Tuktoyaktuk, the furthest north you can drive in North America.

And until next time.

Our next video will be a little bit more cheery, we promise.

Yeah. Okay, bye.

So in summary, not all hope is lost for us, but...

Oh no... You know, it's

not good when you're ending a YouTube video with “not all hope is lost for us.”