This isn’t an article I wished to write down… however right here it goes.
Blogging as a enterprise mannequin isn’t simply dying—it’s already lifeless.
In latest months, we’ve seen main blogs shut down, course creators abandon ship, and even individuals who made tens of millions from search engine marketing declare it sport over.
But right here’s what nobody is saying…
This isn’t nearly Google updates or AI. The means individuals devour content material has essentially modified, and blogs are not a part of the equation.
So the actual 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 Top Bloggers Are Walking Away
For years, running a blog was an extremely profitable enterprise mannequin. High-ranking weblog posts introduced in regular natural site visitors, which could possibly be monetized by advertisements, online marketing, and digital merchandise.
But in 2023, that each one modified. Some of the most important names in running a blog began pulling out. Even we have been supplied over half 1,000,000 {dollars} for our weblog—however we turned it down. And then, issues took a flip.
Traffic disappeared. Revenue plummeted. And outdated search engine marketing methods stopped working in a single day.
So what occurred?
The Brutal Truth About Why Blogging Tanked
This isn’t simply one other fluff story just like the 1000’s 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 put up say… except you do it the way in which I train in my programs.
No. I’m going to provide you my actual, sincere tackle the state of search engine marketing, content material websites, online marketing, and running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
If you’re at the moment a blogger and also you’ve been holding on optimistically dreaming of your site visitors coming again, or for those who’re a model new blogger and also you’ve simply put a ton of labor into your new web site… or for those who’ve all the time wished to start out a weblog however now I’m sitting right here and shitting all around the total 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 most important on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen.
And those that adapt now are going to win larger than ever earlier than.
Make certain you learn to the top of this put up 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 adjustments that hit all of sudden. If you’ve been questioning why blogs are shutting down and search engine marketing methods are failing, listed here are the most important culprits behind the collapse of running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
1. Google Changed the Rules
Google rolled out AI-generated search outcomes, which implies fewer individuals are clicking over to precise blogs. At the identical time, they prioritized boards like Reddit and Quora over unbiased web sites.
If you seek for one thing like “Best Travel Credit Cards,” you’re extra more likely to see a Reddit thread or TripAdvisor put up on the high of search outcomes than a well-researched weblog article.
And this wasn’t an accident—Google struck a $60 million per 12 months take care of 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 Helpful Content Update in 2022, and continued with the Hidden Gems Update within the fall of 2023. Instead of rewarding high-quality weblog content material, Google handed the search outcomes over to boards.
Remember these site visitors graphs of your favourite journey bloggers tanking? Well, 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 for those who write one of the best put up on the web, you’re preventing an uphill battle simply to get seen.
2. AI Flooded the Internet with Junk Content
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?”
As a outcome, search outcomes turned flooded with generic, AI-generated content material. Google responded by rolling out updates that penalized AI-heavy web sites, however even high-quality blogs received 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 online.
Since the discharge and mainstream adaptation of ChatGPT, analysis exhibits that as many as 7.5 million weblog posts are being printed each single day. The search outcomes have became a wasteland of soulless, regurgitated AI content material. Google knew this was an issue, so their response? Burn all of it down.
Unfortunately, that meant even high-quality blogs received caught within the hearth.
3. Google’s AI Answers Took Over Search Results
Google now generates AI solutions proper within the search outcomes—pulling data straight from blogs with out sending any site visitors again to them.
If you search “Best Places to Visit in Thailand,” Google’s AI summarizes one of the best choices on the high of the web page. Users 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 totally.
If UGC and AI spam have been the storm, Google’s AI-generated solutions have 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.
Here’s the opposite brutal reality nobody is speaking about—even when Google wasn’t killing blogs, shoppers already moved on.
Think about it. When was the final time you made a purchase order choice—whether or not it was for a visit, a brand new telephone, or a course—by studying a 3,000-word weblog put up?
You didn’t.
Instead, you most likely:
Watched a YouTube assessment
Checked TikTok for fast professionals & cons
Looked at Instagram reels for real-world examples
Asked in a Facebook or Reddit group for suggestions
Read Amazon evaluations and checked testimonials on social media
This is simply how individuals purchase now—we would like fast, visible, and trusted data from individuals we really observe and interact with.
You may suppose that this can be 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 modification began occurring lengthy earlier than bloggers had instruments like ChatGPT and Claude.
Is search engine marketing Totally Dead?
Not totally—however for many unbiased bloggers, it’d as nicely be.
Big manufacturers with large budgets will nonetheless use search engine marketing. Even although ChatGPT lately turned one of many high 10 web sites on this planet, at the moment at quantity 7, and is climbing shortly, Google remains to be the god of on-line site visitors for now. It’s on the high of that record, so large firms with some huge cash will nonetheless combat for these high spots.
But the times of recent bloggers rating with nice content material alone are gone. The combat for search engine visibility is simply too aggressive, and Google’s fixed algorithm adjustments make it inconceivable to depend on natural site visitors.
So for those who’re nonetheless making an attempt to develop your enterprise by search engine marketing running a blog in 2025, you’re not simply competing with Google—you’re competing with how individuals really devour content material now.
If you’re writing search engine marketing weblog posts and making an attempt to rank in Google for key phrases…. Stop it.
If you’re performing some variation of that, like making an attempt to rank for Bing or ChatGPT… Stop it.
If you’re engaged on the technical search engine marketing to your web site and making an attempt to optimize it. Stop it.
It’s a whole waste of time.
There are different issues try to be engaged on if you wish to construct a sustainable, future-proof enterprise, and we’ll get to {that a} bit later.
What Actually Happened to Our Blogging Businesses (And How We Pivoted)
We nonetheless make passive revenue from our web sites, however solely as a result of we’ve been round for a few years. We have 4 of them, and (fortunately) they’re nonetheless bringing in over six-figures a 12 months from advertisements and associates.
We’ve invested in search engine marketing and hyperlink constructing over time, and constructed up our viewers, which gave us some cushioning as every part collapsed.
But we knew we would have liked to pivot years in the past. More than 7 years in the past, we realized that we have been placing WAY too many eggs within the running a blog basket.
We relied fully on Google search engine marketing, Affiliates, and Ads to pay us our wage. But it didn’t take lengthy to comprehend that Ads 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 put up on how Airbnb cancelled their associates program with out warning, costing us $100,000 per 12 months. And that was simply considered one of MANY instances that occurred to us.
Basically, we have been making unimaginable cash, however we had no management over our site visitors sources, or the revenue coming into our financial institution accounts.
That a part of our enterprise was actually profitable and it received us to the place we at the moment are. But now, for the previous 2 years, as an alternative of counting on weblog site visitors and search engine marketing to usher in leads, we’re doing it by 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 angle will doubtless be the one purpose you most likely gained’t have a profitable on-line enterprise in 5 years.
What This Means for the Future of Online Business
Blogging is not a viable enterprise mannequin, however that doesn’t imply on-line enterprise is lifeless. In reality, there has by no means been a greater time to construct a worthwhile enterprise.
The greatest means I can clarify that is by a browsing analogy. No, I’m not a surfer, however simply bear with me for a minute…
We have been driving this large wave of search engine marketing and Blogging. We made tens of millions of {dollars} on that wave and on the time, we thought it was one of the best wave within the sea.
But whereas we have 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, you must know when to get off the wave. Because for those who journey it too lengthy, it’ll crush you. And in companies that contain know-how, these waves can come extraordinarily shortly.
In the tech panorama, the search engine marketing wave was like an enormous tidal wave. It lasted SO lengthy, and we’re extremely grateful for that.
But 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 Future of Online Business: Social Media, Digital Products, and Email Marketing
If running a blog was the outdated wave, social media is the brand new one. And it’s the most important alternative for natural site visitors and monetization we’ve ever seen.
This wave is the most important alternative we’ve ever seen within the on-line world:
It’s the most important alternative to construct an enormous viewers free of charge
It’s the most important alternative for natural site visitors
And it’s by far the most important alternative to monetize and make tens of millions of {dollars} from promoting digital merchandise
1. Build an Audience with Short-Form Video
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are the place individuals are consuming content material now. Instead of writing 3,000-word weblog posts, creators are constructing large audiences by short-form video.
2. Sell Your Own Digital Product
Unlike running a blog, social media permits you to monetize quick—when you’ve got the proper product. Instead of incomes $0.002 per customer by advertisements, you may promote a $37 digital product and make actual cash immediately.
People like Natalie from Boss Babe have remodeled $100,000 per thirty days 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 doable with running a blog. There may’ve been some off likelihood that you just received 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 have been simply writing weblog posts for search engine marketing, it will take months, typically years, earlier than they’d see any revenue.
Even me. I constructed a fly fishing web site from $0 to $8,400 per thirty days in a single 12 months. But for the primary 6 months, it earned subsequent to nothing. And I knew what I used to be doing!
3. Use Email Marketing to Automate Sales
Your weblog must be an internet site—not a content material hub. It ought to:
Build authority
Capture emails
Sell 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 have an actual affect and assist individuals, and it’s the primary steps in constructing an actual, loyal neighborhood.
The Future is Here—And It’s Not Blogging
Blogging was once an unimaginable enterprise mannequin, however instances have modified. Google and AI have made it almost inconceivable for brand spanking new bloggers to succeed the way in which we did years in the past.
But that doesn’t imply the chance is gone. It’s simply moved.
Writing search engine marketing blogs had develop into monotonous and boring. Ask any profitable blogger, we have been bored with writing the ten greatest issues to do in Bangkok and the 15 greatest price range microwaves.
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 price it.
This is the long run. And the individuals who embrace this shift now are going to win large.
If you’re able to cease losing time on outdated methods and begin constructing a worthwhile enterprise, seize our free coaching beneath that exhibits precisely how we—and our shoppers—are doing it.
The greatest on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen is going on proper now. The solely query is—are you going to take it?