Our approach has always been to create genuinely helpful and relevant content based on personal experience, and that remains our focus despite the 2025 Core Updates. With 28 years of travel spanning solo adventures, couples’ getaways, family travel, expat life, and digital nomad journeys, our expertise and storytelling are unrivaled. We’re doubling down on weaving that deep experience into our content while elevating our brand across multiple platforms. Additionally, we’ve long prioritized diversifying our income streams to be less dependent on Google traffic. Our successful COVID pivot to This is Raleigh a localized blog serving the Raleigh community, has been a key part of that strategy—helping us foster a loyal, engaged audience while broadening our revenue sources. By staying true to our expertise, strengthening our brand, and focusing on community-driven platforms, we continue to thrive in a changing digital landscape.

With HCU and us being invited to the Google Web Creator Conversation Event, we've learned just how devastating the algorithm updates has been for independent publishers. While there hasn't been any definitive solutions, we've also kept our eyes open to what the experts are saying that Google is placing more of an emphasis on. In a way, we've been using this as an opportunity to make our content better. That means, making sure we include highlight and summary sections at the top, moving some of the fluff to the bottom, writing with more of a personal voice versus being wholly prescriptive, and not over-doing SEO practices that have been recommended in the past. While we haven't seen significant recovery, we continue to experiment and implement improvements. At the same time, as a general travel site, we also recognize the importance of expertise and so we've also been focusing on specific regions that we're strong in. Lastly, as part of our continued diversification, there's a renewed focus on our YouTube channel and earning income through our partnerships with tourism boards, tour operators, brands, and hotels.

I am still navigating the post-HCU world but one thing that I have quickly realized is it is best for me to divert most of my attention to microsites and destinations where I am truly an authority. The content is harder to replicate (for AI machines and other bloggers) and the pieces I write will constantly be enhanced and not just updated. I have spent countless hours updating content from different destinations over the years but at the end of the day, the content doesn't become better... it just becomes 'up-to-date'. I feel like the path forward for me is to work on content that I can constantly refine and make better. I am grateful that I am still able to do this full-time, but my approach is vastly different than what it used to be.

As weird as this might sound, for a couple that has been full-time travel content creators since 2012, HoneyTrek has never really focused on traffic, SEO, or Google Search…I know the sacrilege. And I am sure we lost out on a lot of money over the years. At a very early travel conference, we heard some very sage advice that always stuck with us: “Write for two people: Your reader and yourself. If both of those audiences are happy, you will have a great life as a travel writer.” So we do just that: we write about places we want to visit, not places that have “high search traffic,” and we write to benefit our readers and inspire them to visit these places. So, my only advice to people affected by any Google updates, aside from obviously diversifying your income so you aren’t overreliant on any one channel, is to get back to what you truly love to experience and write about and do that. You may not get richer, but you will get happier!

Like many travel bloggers, we’ve felt the impact of previous Google updates, with a noticeable drop in traffic—especially as AI-generated answers become more prominent in search results. To adapt, we’ve focused on engaging directly with our audience. Our newsletter has always been a key part of our strategy, but now more than ever, it plays a crucial role in driving traffic. We send it out once or twice a week, with strong calls to action leading back to our blog. We also share on Facebook, X, and Flipboard, though the organic reach remains limited without paid promotions. A bigger shift for us has been expanding to Substack, where we create complementary content with multiple links back to our site. We're also experimenting with Medium, though it’s early days. At the same time, while AI-generated content is gaining ground, there are still many niche topics that it simply doesn’t address—because it doesn’t know. First-hand experiences, local insights, and unique travel stories remain valuable and irreplaceable, and this is where independent bloggers can continue to stand out. On the SEO side, we’ve been updating older blog posts before promoting them in our newsletters, ensuring they’re fresh, relevant, and optimised before driving new traffic to them. Ultimately, our goal is to be less dependent on Google by building a loyal audience across multiple platforms, ensuring that readers actively seek out our content rather than passively discovering it through search results.

Strictly Sardinia is only one of my 3 sites (of the others, one is about general travel, and the other one is also a niche site, but not as focussed as Strictly Sardinia). With affiliate partners pushing travel bloggers to create content that converts into sales, I have come across many copycats that almost entirely copied my local expert guides on Sardinia without ever having been on the island (and as a local, it is easy to spot!). My hope is that readers are smart enough to see that these copycats use the same stock photos on multiple posts (often about different destinations too) and turn to real local experts like me for information. As Google keeps launching new updates, focusing on AI-generated answers and pushing real content creators to the bottom of the search results, I have decided to focus more on the destinations I am a real expert on - first of all Sardinia. I also turned to write about places I really care about, and that I have visited in depth multiple times (which means I can keep the content fresh, relevant and up-to-date). My writing strategy has switched to focus less on SEO and more on actually delivering content that is useful to readers (including placing affiliate links more strategically) For Strictly Sardinia, I am working on building a more engaged community of readers. I am also working on diversifying revenue (rather than traffic) streams. This means focusing on my travel consultations and newsletter, which goes out once a week; and engaging with my Facebook community (and trying to weave out the fake profile and bots that keep pushing sales for AI written books on Amazon!). I have also launched a podcast that goes out once a week. I am still learning, but so far it's been fun and my community seems to enjoy it. I have also started a course to become a nature guide, which is another set of skills I can add to my offer.

The era of publishing merely “information”, such as things to do lists, based on keyword research is definitely over. This type of content has simply been commoditized. For such high-level informational queries, there will always be some higher authority site out there (e.g. Tripadvisor) or AI to provide such basic insights. So a key question to ask yourself is: what can I offer that other sites (or AI) can’t? Having good answers to this may not guarantee success, but I believe it should be the default starting point.

The last two years have been a constant process of adaptation -- quite stressful at times, but it's also forced me to try new things. My main site, Indie Traveller, has luckily weathered the storm. However, I retreated from some SEO-heavy topics (such as certain product overviews) and doubled down on topics where I can offer more unique value. I also split off three destinations into their own niche sites, such as my Portugal content, which is now much better targeted to each audience. It’s something I really should have done a lot sooner!

I still believe search engines give the highest quality traffic with the highest intent to buy/book/etc. However, in order to diversify I do plan to pay more attention to social, newsletters, and building a brand.

In 2025, Google has once again reshaped the landscape for bloggers, especially within the travel sector. The latest update emphasizes helpful, practical, and timely content. Bloggers who fulfill Google's EEAT criteria—Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness—see significant boosts in visibility. Travel blogs, in particular, feel these shifts intensely. What does this mean specifically for us travel bloggers? Google now favors content from authors who deeply and consistently engage with the destinations they write about. Hastily produced, superficial articles are increasingly losing relevance. Instead, Google rewards those offering solid knowledge and authentic experiences. For us as travel journalists who have spent decades revisiting the same destinations, even working there as guides, this is a genuine opportunity. Our strength lies in providing detailed, insightful content that truly adds value for readers. A practical tip: instead of superficially covering new destinations continuously, we focus on regularly updating and expanding our existing articles. If you frequently visit a place or spend extended periods there, actively leverage that knowledge. Regularly incorporate new experiences, updated tips, and valuable insider information. This ensures relevance and optimal alignment with Google's criteria. Another important tip is clearly and transparently highlighting your expertise. Google increasingly evaluates authors' credibility. The more transparently and profoundly you present your personal connections to the travel destinations, the better your visibility will become. In conclusion, Google's 2025 update is a call for travel bloggers to emphasize depth and quality even more. Those effectively communicating their expertise and long-term experiences will gain both reach and trust—on Google as well as among readers.

If we could give one piece of advice, it’s this: drop the ego and get honest about what’s actually working this year. Yes, make sure your SEO bases are covered—fast, mobile-optimized site, clean headings, strong internal links—but what helped us most was digging into who is actually reading the blog. Your email list and social media followers are important, but their behavior and demographics are often very different from your blog readers. Don’t guess—look at your site history: what titles went viral, which posts are still getting traction post-update. Google’s 2025 algorithm changes were the biggest shake-up in a decade, and the only way to survive is to adapt. For us, that meant leaning into what’s proven to work—optimizing content based on data, not instinct—and serving our core audience more intentionally.

We've noticed that some posts have been significantly impacted by Google updates, while others have even seen an increase in traffic. Updates to older posts haven't had a noticeable impact for us so far. To differentiate ourselves more clearly from AI-generated content, we're increasing our focus on creating videos, both long-form and short-form. We've clarified our focus on social media and we now have a daily presence with reels and shorts. In addition, we send newsletters to our subscribers more frequently.

Since the Google updates I have been focusing on diversifying traffic and income sources (instead of just relying on SEO and blog ad income). Pinterest, and my email list have been a huge focus and both have given me good returns. Last 6 months traffic and income have both stabilized. I am promoting affiliate and travel digital products on my blog and email list. Pinterest was always part of my blog traffic but strategic posting (creation of new group boards) have helped to improve impressions and clicks to my site!

Since its creation in 2018, the main objective of our blog, Amoureux du Monde, has always been to help our readers plan their trips simply. When writing content, we do our best to provide all the necessary information so that readers can plan everything from our blog. Initially, we didn't create it to monetize; it was simply to help and answer questions we had on Instagram.
We haven't experienced any overall impact following the update in terms of visits. Our guiding principle is always to maintain the quality and authenticity of the content. We write about destinations we've actually visited and enjoyed, sharing our good tips and, sometimes, the bad ones. I think this strengthens the trust and connection we have with our community.

Every time I write an article, I ask myself: would what I just wrote help me if I wanted to visit this destination? Putting yourself in the reader's shoes is very important.

We also regularly share the blog through posts on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. We should also focus on sending a regular newsletter in 2025, with relevant information.

If I may offer one piece of advice, it's to focus on authentic content, sharing your feelings and emotions in front of a beautiful landscape, for example. AI won't do it like you! :)

I had a well-established travel website in Spain. The problem was that despite having tons of content since 2008, the website never reached as many visitors as other industry colleagues in Spain.

However, I've always had reasonable revenues that allowed me to make a comfortable living off affiliations and content marketing campaigns with companies and tourist destinations. My brand, however, had the name of a Japanese slot machine, so Google's algorithms clearly hurt me.

With the 2023 Core Updates, things were getting worse and worse, so before the summer of 2024, I decided to change my domain and migrate almost all of my content. I changed the design to make it more streamlined, cut corners, and eliminated more than half of my old articles and improved the best ones until I had a new website, with updated content and no ads to improve the user experience.

Since then, my travel website has improved significantly in terms of both visits and affiliate conversions.

Additionally, I've complemented this by significantly boosting my Instagram and TikTok channels by focusing on short videos with a story to tell about each destination, achieving more than remarkable results.

With Google's 2025 Core Updates, my key strategy has been to heavily invest in updating older content, bringing it up-to-date with current search intent and user needs. I've prioritized restructuring my website to enhance mobile performance, ensuring quick load times and seamless navigation on all devices. Additionally, optimizing images by reducing file sizes and improving alt texts has significantly boosted user engagement and SEO rankings. By consistently refreshing my articles to match Google's latest standards and guidelines, I've seen tangible improvements in organic visibility and reader satisfaction.

My 13 year old family travel site, based 100% on personal travel experiences in over 50 countries has been destroyed. Updating doesn't help, social media traffic is a drop in the ocean. I haven't completely given up hope but I'm very close. That said, a new site on a small destination that I started last year is still performing very well. The trick is to pinpoint why that one works and the big one doesn't. I haven't found the answer yet, but I'm testing several possibilities.

Since the Google core updates of the past 18 months I've focused on getting my site optimised as much as possible for speed and user experience following Google's guidelines and using Search Console to identify areas that need attention. I've concentrated more on EAT. I've always written from personal experience but have tried to include more personal anecodotes and, although I'm camera shy, I'm including more images of myself in the destination to prove to Google I was actually there and am speaking from experience, this also builds trust with my audience. I've always tried to include a lot of destination information and tips so this hasn't changed. I'm also trying to build more of a relationship and rapport with my audience via my newsletters and certain social media channels.