2024 was ruthless—Google swung its algorithmic axe without mercy, slaying even some of the most established websites.
Let’s take a moment to remember the fallen, a grim reminder that what Google gives can just as quickly be taken away.
Read Also: SERPS Winners and Losers in 2024
Forbes Advisor (2019-2024)
The SEO sitcom of the year! There’s not much more to say about it at this point but if you are just waking up from a coma and want to catch up, Lars Lofgren posts are a great start.
Forbes Marketplace: The Parasite SEO Company Trying to Devour Its Host (Lars Lofgren)
You can also read that wild comment on LinkedIn by the former founder of Forbes Mktp, Dr. Achir Kalra aka Liam Neelson TL;DR “I will find you and I will kill you”
My unsollicited 2 cents on their future: Forbes Advisor, as it existed, can’t be resurrected, but considering they grew a website that quick means they are resourceful and more than capable of a comeback in another form. I’m thinking of Wirecutter that remains largely untouched by Google’s ire despite having a similar structure, with a key difference: NYT acquired Wirecutter, while Forbes Advisor is a separate company piggybacking on Forbes’ domain.
…or Google will update their guidelines and karate-kick Wirecutter. 🥋🤷♀️
https://www.forbes.com/advisor
CNN Underscored (2017-2024)
Deja vu. (see Forbes’ drama)
CNN and USA Today Have Fake Websites, I Believe Forbes Marketplace Runs Them (Lars Lofgren)
https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored
The Manual (2014 – 2024)
Owned by DigitalTrends, it seems they kept stumbling over Google’s updates without managing to course-correct. I’m not very familiar with the brand, and I’d need to look back two or three years to fully understand their downfall but after browsing the site for two minutes, I can’t quite grasp what the brand is about or who its target audience is.
In 2022, according to SEMrush, they were competing with GQ and Men’s Health (I guess I can see it now… grooming, coffee, cars etc.) but today they feel more like a generic online magazine. It requires a strong brand to be a successful generalist magazine in 2025, even GQ and Menshealth have notably declined in recent years.
T3 (2008 – 2024)
Future PLC’s website has been struggling for a while. Now dipping below 100k monthly visits (source: AHREFS) and with no significant growth in the past two years it might be time to call it. The OG magazine, however, will outlive it—celebrating its 30th birthday in 2025!
Looking 2 minutes at the site I don’t even feel trying to understand how they ended up here. But one thing stands out, how little they try to differentiate from any other tech publisher: generic images, impersonal titles, unoriginal content. I can’t blame them, this is a sad conclusion that can be observed amongst most of the large publishers today and one of the main reasons so many are spiraling to their death. Back to T3, I would start by removing the Black Friday deals from the homepage just to make it to look like someone is still managing the site (note: written 1/30/2025, BF was 2 months ago).
Smaller names, but a mighty loss
pawtracks.com, newfolks.com, happysprout.com (2021 – 2024)
So young! Launched in 2021 by DigitalTrends, the three domains are now flatlining near zero visits per month according to Ahrefs. Since they are sister properties, I was curious to see how their traffic would look on the same chart:
Interestingly, they started declining around the same period, suggesting a common reason. I might dig deeper into those as they could offer valuable insights into Google’s evolving expectations: they rose and fell so quickly, likely without any drastic changes in strategy or platform on their end.
At a glance, I checked one of their most popular page from 2012 ie. https://www.pawtracks.com/dogs/how-to-calculate-dog-years/ and as it loaded, my CPU fan got louder. The ad experience is definitely on the heavy side. The content itself is well written, and between the ads, the minimal design is pleasant. Ultimately the website leaves a strong ‘made-for-Google‘ aftertaste, and the reliance on generic stock images (with little context) is sure not helping. The content is somewhat unoriginal and on that page they even link to the first Google result for the same intent (ie. WebMD pets). Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the rare candor from a publisher, as most would rather cut off a limb than linking to a competing website even when relevant. But in this case, creating their infographic (or a better one) could demonstrate a better and less opportunistic commitment to quality content.
dicebreaker.com (2020 – 2024)
Acquired last year by IGN (Ziff Davis) along with other gaming-related domains, and immediately followed by layoffs, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with it next as it lost -82% of its traffic YoY. To be fair, it was already in rough shape, and I’d bet IGN got it in a bundle while aiming for the rising rockpapershotgun.com.
“If you want to beat the competition, don’t just outrun them—buy them and let them rot.” Sun Tzu (it’s not, but could be)
toptenreviews.com (2003 – 2024)
It could have been declared dead many times since 2019, I’m not sure why Future hasn’t pulled the plug yet. (monthly est. 21k, -88% YoY). I bet they wanted to give it a real chance and build a strong brand, starting with a top-tier, original design… wait a minute…
Palliative Care (and hoping to be wrong)
Some domains, I’ll be keeping a close eye on in 2025 because of how much they have lost recently. They can always turn things around, but we’re talking about huge drops YoY.
Thrillist (2004 – 2025?)
Thrillist was hit pretty hard in July/August 2023 and never managed to recover. It was acquired from Group Nine Media the year before by Vox Media and I wonder how much the migration played a role.
A statement following the mass layoffs in December 2024 hints about the lack of strategy and doesn’t exactly offer an optimistic outlook for the brand’s future.
“We are incredibly disappointed by management’s decision to decimate Thrillist, a vertical that it has invested almost nothing in since acquiring it from Group Nine (…) we will make sure that they are made whole in light of management’s decision to essentially shutter this beloved publication”
source: thewrap
TheBalance (2016 – 2025?)
A bit of a tangled mess here, once thebalance.com and thebalancecareers.com but half was redirected to thebalancemoney.com and the rest… gone?
Let’s take a look at the combined traffic:
In 2017, they split thebalance.com in two, ultimately killing their momentum. Yet, they did another split in 2022 and lost another 50% overnight. Without further context, it is hard to understand why they pulled the trigger despite the first failed attempt, but I remember the CEO explained how they broke about.com into multiple brands in 2017 (link below), with some domains branching out even further, e.g., verywellfit.com, verywellmind.com, thespruce.com, thespruceeats.com.
There’s a fine line between boldness and recklessness, and only the outcome reveals which it is.
Full Q&A: Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel on Recode Media (Vox, 2019)
MakeUseOf (2012-2025?)
Another tech publisher, another terrible ad experience.
I’m not saying that’s what caused their demise but IMHO, having such a horrendous user experience is not a great sign that the company is interested in delivering the best experience, including the content (in the broader sense, that includes features, imagery, the budget for research etc.).
Bob Vila (20??-2025?)
I find that quote from the former CEO of Recurrent enlightening. It was four shy months before he stepped down and another round of layoffs:
“We bought Bob Vila right at the beginning of 2020, and it was just four people. [Bob had] been keeping the business relatively small, it’s just four people, it was profitable. We came in and said, “Bob, look at all these different ways we can grow that brand and all these other channels.” Today, Bob Vila is 40 people, and it’s one of our most profitable brands. So we’ve more than 5X the revenue, 5X the audience, it’s a very profitable business. That’s what we’re looking for, really these iconic brands, great businesses that’ll benefit from investment and work really well with the Recurrent model.”
Lance “profitable business” Johnson
TL;DR Let’s make money. Bob who?
Another insightful article about the morale after his departure.
“Frankly, many people I’ve talked to are looking for the door,” the current employee said. “They just don’t trust the company leadership to make smart decisions.”
Source: How Recurrent Ventures went from media darling to another publisher hit by layoffs and struggles (BusinessInsider)
We’re not running charities, and I certainly don’t blame the CEO for talking about profit. But as an insider myself, I know the pressure to prioritize revenue over user engagement and content quality can be damaging. This is just another example.
I just clicked one random article, a tutorial allegedly co-written by Bob Vila. Not only are the pictures not showing Bob Vila, but most are just stock images.
not Bob Vila
Still not Bob vila
Bob Vila? no
Turns out, turning a person into a brand is not that easy! (but turning a website into a content farm is a lot easier)
Business tip: If your plan is to buy MichaelJordan.com (it is for sale btw) and post “How to Dunk” tutorials by Bobby McFumbles, it might not work as expected.
Important Note: Despite the sarcastic tone, this is no joke. Whether or not Google is heading in the right direction for the Internet, its decisions impact real people in these companies—often leading to mass layoffs. I know some won’t shed a tear over the mass extinction of greedy websites, but as an insider, I can tell you that the SEO and editorial teams—the first to get hit—are usually the ones trying to do things right.
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