How is everyone doing after the update that started rolling out earlier this month?
My sites have been taking hit after hit for after 2 years now.
I operate in the finance niche have been getting overtaken by the big brand names in the different niches even though I have got better and more (interactive) content.
Don't get me wrong, the sites are still making me good money on pretty much autopilot but the good days for affiliate websites and organic traffic are pretty much numbered.
Yeah there are certain niches where you just can't do "sniper sites" or even "mini authority sites" any more. I'll post something soon on how I do research to identify what type of site you would need to rank for the targeted keyword(s)\niche for anyone that is interested.
Local has moved some, it appears toward either authority, or FoP (frequency of publish). I didn't lose any sites. A lot of mine are news type or "Ask Abby" perspective sites in construction, home improvement and travel and tourism, plus money type sites. Authority and bulk of content seems to be more a filter now. My bigger, even if kind of lame sites, all stayed alive. I've been doing a lot with tier 2 and even 3 links (on-site as well as off site) that have tended to do well and seem to be gaining ground. A little more trouble and spend, but it's working.
How bad was the update overall?
I'm not in the SEO anymore, but I have many friends who rely purely on SEO.
Many of them were hit quite heavily, especially in the health niche.
Some reported 60 to 70% drop in traffic which I think is quite HUGE.
They are now trying do diversify and switching to new verticals.
But yeah, this is Google and SEO, you will never have 100% control over it, that why diversification is so important.