This isn’t an article I wished to write down… however right here it goes.
Running a blog as a enterprise mannequin isn’t simply dying—it’s already lifeless.
In current months, we’ve seen main blogs shut down, course creators abandon ship, and even individuals who made thousands and thousands from website positioning declare it sport over.
However right here’s what nobody is saying…
This isn’t nearly Google updates or AI. The best way individuals eat content material has basically modified, and blogs are now not a part of the equation.
So the true query isn’t simply “Is blogging still worth it?” It’s “If blogging is dead, what actually works now?”
Let’s get into it.
Why Even High Bloggers Are Strolling Away
For years, running a blog was an extremely profitable enterprise mannequin. Excessive-ranking weblog posts introduced in regular natural site visitors, which might be monetized via advertisements, internet online affiliate marketing, and digital merchandise.
However in 2023, that every one modified. A few of the greatest names in running a blog began pulling out. Even we had been provided over half 1,000,000 {dollars} for our weblog—however we turned it down. After which, issues took a flip.
Visitors disappeared. Income plummeted. And previous website positioning methods stopped working in a single day.
So what occurred?
The Brutal Fact About Why Running a blog Tanked
This isn’t simply one other fluff story just like the hundreds of different clickbaity articles on the web proper now. I’m not going to let you know running a blog is lifeless, after which later on this submit say… except you do it the best way I train in my programs.
No. I’m going to offer you my actual, sincere tackle the state of website positioning, content material websites, internet online affiliate marketing, and running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
In case you’re at the moment a blogger and also you’ve been holding on optimistically dreaming of your site visitors coming again, or when you’re a model new blogger and also you’ve simply put a ton of labor into your new web site… or when you’ve at all times wished to begin a weblog however now I’m sitting right here and shitting everywhere in the whole enterprise mannequin… don’t fear.
There IS a silver lining right here. It’s part of this story that nobody is speaking about… a shift that really opens up the largest on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen.
And people who adapt now are going to win larger than ever earlier than.
Be sure you learn to the tip of this submit as a result of I’m going to speak about precisely what that shift is and how one can leverage it to blow up your individual on-line enterprise.
So how did we get right here? Why has running a blog taken such a drastic downturn in such a short while? It wasn’t only one factor—it was an ideal storm of modifications that hit all of sudden. In case you’ve been questioning why blogs are shutting down and website positioning methods are failing, listed here are the largest culprits behind the collapse of running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
1. Google Modified the Guidelines
Google rolled out AI-generated search outcomes, which implies fewer individuals are clicking over to precise blogs. On the identical time, they prioritized boards like Reddit and Quora over impartial web sites.
In case you seek for one thing like “Best Travel Credit Cards,” you’re extra more likely to see a Reddit thread or TripAdvisor submit on the prime of search outcomes than a well-researched weblog article.
And this wasn’t an accident—Google struck a $60 million per 12 months cope with Reddit to make use of their boards to coach AI fashions. In return, Reddit’s content material will get precedence in search rankings, successfully pushing smaller blogs out of visibility.
This all began with the Useful Content material Replace in 2022, and continued with the Hidden Gems Replace within the fall of 2023. As a substitute of rewarding high-quality weblog content material, Google handed the search outcomes over to boards.
Keep in mind these site visitors graphs of your favourite journey bloggers tanking? Properly, Reddit’s site visitors elevated by over 650%, hitting 1.3 billion in that very same timeframe. This was no mistake.
For small bloggers, that is devastating. Even when you write one of the best submit on the web, you’re preventing an uphill battle simply to get seen.
2. AI Flooded the Web with Junk Content material
When ChatGPT launched, bloggers didn’t suppose, “How can I use this to make better content?” They thought, “How many AI-written posts can I publish per day?”
In consequence, search outcomes grew to become flooded with generic, AI-generated content material. Google responded by rolling out updates that penalized AI-heavy web sites, however even high-quality blogs obtained caught within the hearth.
And right here’s the issue… most bloggers didn’t use AI to enhance their content material, or to assist them analysis their information, or make their websites extra user-friendly—they used it to spam the net.
Because the launch and mainstream adaptation of ChatGPT, analysis reveals that as many as 7.5 million weblog posts are being revealed each single day. The search outcomes have changed into a wasteland of soulless, regurgitated AI content material. Google knew this was an issue, so their response? Burn all of it down.
Sadly, that meant even high-quality blogs obtained caught within the hearth.
3. Google’s AI Solutions Took Over Search Outcomes
Google now generates AI solutions proper within the search outcomes—pulling data instantly from blogs with out sending any site visitors again to them.
In case you search “Best Places to Visit in Thailand,” Google’s AI summarizes one of the best choices on the prime of the web page. Customers get the data they want with out ever visiting a weblog.
For bloggers, this implies they’re not simply getting buried in search rankings—they’re getting erased from the equation fully.
If UGC and AI spam had been the storm, Google’s AI-generated solutions had been the ultimate tsunami that worn out every part left standing. It’s like taking part in a sport the place you do all of the work… and another person takes the trophy.
Right here’s the opposite brutal fact nobody is speaking about—even when Google wasn’t killing blogs, shoppers already moved on.
Give it some thought. When was the final time you made a purchase order determination—whether or not it was for a visit, a brand new cellphone, or a course—by studying a 3,000-word weblog submit?
You didn’t.
As a substitute, you most likely:
Watched a YouTube evaluate
Checked TikTok for fast execs & cons
Checked out Instagram reels for real-world examples
Requested in a Fb or Reddit group for suggestions
Learn Amazon opinions and checked testimonials on social media
That is simply how individuals purchase now—we would like fast, visible, and trusted data from individuals we really comply with and interact with.
You would possibly suppose that it is a direct results of individuals dropping belief in blogs as a result of so many are simply written with AI, however that’s not the case. The reality is, this transformation began occurring lengthy earlier than bloggers had instruments like ChatGPT and Claude.
Is website positioning Completely Useless?
Not fully—however for many impartial bloggers, it would as nicely be.
Massive manufacturers with large budgets will nonetheless use website positioning. Though ChatGPT not too long ago grew to become one of many prime 10 web sites on the earth, at the moment at quantity 7, and is climbing shortly, Google continues to be the god of on-line site visitors for now. It’s on the prime of that record, so massive corporations with some huge cash will nonetheless battle for these prime spots.
However the days of latest bloggers rating with nice content material alone are gone. The battle for search engine visibility is just too aggressive, and Google’s fixed algorithm modifications make it unattainable to depend on natural site visitors.
So when you’re nonetheless attempting to develop your small business via website positioning running a blog in 2025, you’re not simply competing with Google—you’re competing with how individuals really eat content material now.
In case you’re writing website positioning weblog posts and attempting to rank in Google for key phrases…. Cease it.
In case you’re doing a little variation of that, like attempting to rank for Bing or ChatGPT… Cease it.
In case you’re engaged on the technical website positioning to your web site and attempting to optimize it. Cease it.
It’s a whole waste of time.
There are different issues you ought to be engaged on if you wish to construct a sustainable, future-proof enterprise, and we’ll get to {that a} bit later.
What Truly Occurred to Our Running a blog Companies (And How We Pivoted)
We nonetheless make passive earnings from our web sites, however solely as a result of we’ve been round for years. We’ve 4 of them, and so they’re nonetheless bringing in just a few thousand {dollars} monthly from advertisements and associates.
We’ve invested tens of hundreds of {dollars} in website positioning and hyperlink constructing, which gave us some cushioning as every part collapsed.
However we knew we would have liked to pivot years in the past. Greater than 7 years in the past, we realized that we had been placing WAY too many eggs within the running a blog basket.
We relied fully on Google website positioning, Associates, and Adverts to pay us our wage. But it surely didn’t take lengthy to understand that Adverts dropped as a lot as 50% seasonally or relying on the political scenario, and associates? Don’t even get me began…
I already wrote a submit on how Airbnb cancelled their associates program with out warning, costing us $100,000 per 12 months. And that was simply one in all MANY instances that occurred to us.
Mainly, we had been making unimaginable cash, however we had no management over our site visitors sources, or the earnings coming into our financial institution accounts.
That a part of our enterprise was actually profitable and it obtained us to the place we at the moment are. However now, for the previous 2 years, as a substitute of counting on weblog site visitors and website positioning to herald leads, we’re doing it via social media.
Now earlier than you say what I used to say again then and be like “I hate social media”, let me let you know that for one, you’re most likely 40+ like me, and two, that perspective will possible be the only motive you received’t have a profitable on-line enterprise in 5 years.
What This Means for the Way forward for On-line Enterprise
Running a blog is now not a viable enterprise mannequin, however that doesn’t imply on-line enterprise is lifeless. Actually, there has by no means been a greater time to construct a worthwhile enterprise.
One of the best ways I can clarify that is via a browsing analogy. No, I’m not a surfer, however simply bear with me for a minute…
We had been using this large wave of website positioning and Running a blog. We made thousands and thousands of {dollars} on that wave and on the time, we thought it was one of the best wave within the sea.
However whereas we had been cruising on that wave… an even bigger, extra lovely, and extra sustainable wave was constructing momentum behind our wave.
That wave was Social Media.
In enterprise, it’s important to know when to get off the wave. As a result of when you journey it too lengthy, it’ll crush you. And in companies that contain know-how, these waves can come extraordinarily shortly.
Within the tech panorama, the website positioning wave was like an enormous tidal wave that began within the Atlantic and ended within the Pacific. It lasted SO lengthy, and we’re grateful for that.
However now, the brand new wave is right here, and it’s been right here for a very long time, us older technology simply didn’t see it.
The Way forward for On-line Enterprise: Social Media, Digital Merchandise, and Electronic mail Advertising and marketing
If running a blog was the previous wave, social media is the brand new one. And it’s the largest alternative for natural site visitors and monetization we’ve ever seen.
This wave is the largest alternative we’ve ever seen within the on-line world:
It’s the largest alternative to construct an enormous viewers at no cost
It’s the largest alternative for natural site visitors
And it’s by far the largest alternative to monetize and make thousands and thousands of {dollars} from promoting digital merchandise
1. Construct an Viewers with Brief-Kind Video
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are the place individuals are consuming content material now. As a substitute of writing 3,000-word weblog posts, creators are constructing large audiences via short-form video.
Meet Nadine!
Considered one of our purchasers, Nadine, is a 60-year-old girl who had by no means even posted a reel on Instagram earlier than. She took what we confirmed her and carried out it on her first reel, and her third one went completely atomic. She obtained 600,000 views in just a few weeks and was quickly as much as 28,000 followers. And naturally, she made gross sales. She had a month-to-month monetary retirement objective and after simply 6 months since posting that reel, she had a month the place she not solely hit that objective however doubled it.
Meet Jimmy!
Or Jimmy, who didn’t even have an Instagram account when he began with us. He had zero followers and had by no means recorded a reel earlier than. He plugged away for just a few months utilizing our sharing framework and abruptly shot as much as 80,000 followers and now makes frequent gross sales of his high-ticket monetary teaching provide. He even give up his job to maneuver to Asia along with his spouse!
2. Promote Your Personal Digital Product
In contrast to running a blog, social media enables you to monetize quick—when you have the fitting product. As a substitute of incomes $0.002 per customer via advertisements, you’ll be able to promote a $37 digital product and make actual cash immediately.
Folks like Natalie from Boss Babe have remodeled $100,000 monthly promoting a easy digital product. And we all know of a lady who remodeled 1,000,000 {dollars} in a 12 months from her tiny viewers of lower than 3,000 individuals.
A a lot fatter model of me unveiling my first running a blog course 😂
This simply wasn’t attainable with running a blog. There would possibly’ve been some off probability that you just obtained picked up by an enormous TV community or one thing and also you went viral in a single day, however for 99.9% of bloggers who had been simply writing weblog posts for website positioning, it might take months, typically years, earlier than they’d see any earnings.
Even me. I constructed a fly fishing web site from $0 to $8,400 monthly in a single 12 months. However for the primary 6 months, it earned subsequent to nothing. And I knew what I used to be doing!
3. Use Electronic mail Advertising and marketing to Automate Gross sales
Your weblog must be a web site—not a content material hub. It ought to:
Construct authority
Seize emails
Promote your product
Look, making $17 on a $500 Airbnb reserving was nice, and incomes 0.002 cents per customer on our weblog was additionally cool, however there’s nothing like the sensation of waking up and seeing that somebody bought your $500 course or your $4,000 teaching program.
It’s validation, it’s thrilling to have the ability to assist individuals, and it’s the primary steps in constructing an actual, loyal group.
The Future is Right here—And It’s Not Running a blog
Running a blog was an unimaginable enterprise mannequin, however instances have modified. Google and AI have made it almost unattainable for brand spanking new bloggers to succeed the best way we did years in the past.
However that doesn’t imply the chance is gone. It’s simply moved.
Writing blogs had develop into monotonous and boring. Ask any profitable blogger, we had been bored with writing the ten finest issues to do in Bangkok and the 15 finest finances microwaves.
This submit would possibly ruffle just a few feathers. However I’d stand as much as anybody who stored claiming that running a blog is a viable enterprise.
Blogs take a TON of labor. So to do all that work simply to have a Google Algorithm replace or AI fully wipe you out in a single day? That’s simply not value it.
That is the longer term. And the individuals who embrace this shift now are going to win massive.
In case you’re able to cease losing time on outdated methods and begin constructing a worthwhile enterprise, seize our free coaching under that reveals precisely how we—and our purchasers—are doing it.
The largest on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen is occurring proper now. The one query is—are you going to take it?
