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Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

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Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#111

Post by vineyardmike »

hypeatei wrote: post #67
Aboutplants wrote: post #48

If you’ve visited any of these sites recently it’s obvious that part of the issue is that you’re bombarded with pops, ads everywhere, autoplaying video, etc. It’s nauseating and a horrible user experience. If all I’m looking for is straightforward content/info then I’m naturally using the most efficient way to get that content/information and visiting a website is not the most efficient way anymore

Weren't those ads always there, though? The most obvious change is that a little AI popup appears on Google search providing a brief (even if hallucinated) overview of what the user queried. Unrelated, but I wouldn't expect this take on HN where I assumed everyone knew what an ad-blocker was.

I don’t use ad block.

I find that when it messes with the layout or formatting of a website it’s really annoying, and I consider the volume and type of ads an important signal for a website’s trustworthiness.

Oh and plenty of devices don’t have easy access to ad block, like my work computer.

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#112

Post by daxfohl »

daxfohl wrote: post #106

So, soon the sources will be out of business and the LLMs will have no information to look up. I guess the future model is, LLMs pay for raw data and news to ingest and use on demand, and ignore the "free" internet. That seems like a good landing point, where quality info is rewarded and cheap spin is not. Of course cheap spin will continue to be produced, but hopefully won't be baked into the system.

A potential corollary: companies that offer a single service of high quality will be preferred by AI agents. Companies that cobble together low quality services will be replaced by agents that integrate high quality services on demand. The business model of "core service plus add-on services" will also be diminished, as low quality add-ons will be replaced by on-demand integration with higher quality equivalents or AI generated custom functionality.

So basically businesses who focus on maintaining best in class core services and avoid the cruft will be the winners in the AI world.

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#113

Post by politelemon »

structural wrote: post #88
hypeatei wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weren't those ads always there, though? The most obvious change is that a little AI popup appears on Google search providing a brief (even if hallucinated) overview of what the user queried. Unrelated, but I wouldn't expect this take on HN where I assumed everyone knew what an ad-blocker was.

Mobile users (or other locked down devices where adblockers are forbidden) are still a decent chunk of traffic. It's much easier to just read the overview and not click through to the ad infestation, or even use a chatbot of choice as the search engine instead of going to Google, because "websites is how you get spammed with ads".

Ublock origin is a Firefox extension that works on mobile. You don't need a dedicated app for blocking adverts.

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#115

Post by npilk »

Aboutplants wrote: post #48

If you’ve visited any of these sites recently it’s obvious that part of the issue is that you’re bombarded with pops, ads everywhere, autoplaying video, etc. It’s nauseating and a horrible user experience. If all I’m looking for is straightforward content/info then I’m naturally using the most efficient way to get that content/information and visiting a website is not the most efficient way anymore

Infinite Jest describes a very similar (fictional) development, albeit with network TV. As viewers leave, content producers are ever-more desperate to monetize remaining traffic, which worsens the experience and drives more viewers away, creating even more desperation to monetize... a vicious cycle.

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#116

Post by pousada »

vineyardmike wrote: post #111
hypeatei wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weren't those ads always there, though? The most obvious change is that a little AI popup appears on Google search providing a brief (even if hallucinated) overview of what the user queried. Unrelated, but I wouldn't expect this take on HN where I assumed everyone knew what an ad-blocker was.

I don’t use ad block. I find that when it messes with the layout or formatting of a website it’s really annoying, and I consider the volume and type of ads an important signal for a website’s trustworthiness. Oh and plenty of devices don’t have easy access to ad block, like my work computer.

I use reader mode 90% of the time, I’m really not interested in fancy layout or formatting for a website. I just want the text readable and looking exactly the same way for every website. Designers probably hate users like me.

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#117

Post by pousada »

politelemon wrote: post #113
structural wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mobile users (or other locked down devices where adblockers are forbidden) are still a decent chunk of traffic. It's much easier to just read the overview and not click through to the ad infestation, or even use a chatbot of choice as the search engine instead of going to Google, because "websites is how you get spammed with ads".

Ublock origin is a Firefox extension that works on mobile. You don't need a dedicated app for blocking adverts.

Not on iOS, there Firefox is actually Safari under the hood and you can’t use extensions… Haven’t found a good solution yet (other than avoiding websites with ads)

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#118

Post by pousada »

flakeoil wrote: post #33
eggbrain wrote: post #29

Many of today's news websites (tech or otherwise) cashed in their goodwill / reputation / page rank to sell ads. The first shoe dropped when news websites realized they weren't generating content fast enough. Hard, in depth journalism takes time, but when people want to know something that happened _today_, they don't want to wait a week for all the facts to come out, and so the major websites started losing traffic…

> you can get the answers you want, described to you exactly how you'd like to hear it I thought we wanted the truth.

You can’t handle the truth

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#119

Post by carefulfungi »

gortok wrote: post #114

Since the internet is ad-driven, what happens when these sites can no longer afford to stay in business because AI is siphoning off their traffic? What does AI do when the content it relies on stops coming?

The AI companies will be charging you a $20 monthly subscription fee. And showing you ads. It's going to be great.

Re: Most-read tech publications have lost over half their Google traffic since 2024

#120

Post by ashleyn »

Latty wrote: post #66
xrd wrote: post #5

I recently replaced a power supply to upgrade a GPU. I bought the power supply on Cragslist, so it had a jumble of cables and no manual. In the past I would have read an article that I would have found on one of those sites. This time I conversed entirely with Gemini, sending pictures of the cables and of the components and the motherboard. I'll not soon forget when I plugged in a cable incorrectly and sent an image…

It's crazy to me that you'd trust the output of an LLM for that. It's something where if you do it wrong it could cause major damage, and LLMs are literally famous for creating plausbile-sounding but wrong output. If you wanted to use an LLM to identify it, sure, you can validate that, and then find the manufacturer instructions and use those. Just following what it says about the cables without any validation it's c…

I'd probably view LLM advice like the blind spot indicator on my car. Trust when it's lit. Don't trust when it's not lit.
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