[PLEASE HELP] Should I still work with SEO after get huge penalty or should I shift to direct traffic?

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robertmiller90

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Hello

I got 11 websites like blogs , ecommerce stores and affiliate marketing websites,, since last 10 years...
Got a huge success with a ecommerce website which my traffic comes 99% from SEO traffic, but google alghoritms penalize me a lot and the traffic drops a lot 2 years ago.. (I lost 95% of that traffic and sales become residual) ...

Is it more worthwhile nowadays to invest more in direct traffic, paid guest posts and paid ads, and high-quality backlinks to achieve high traffic volumes that can reach hundreds of thousands, generating consistent sales without having to wait years? Or is it still worthwhile to continue working with SEO knowing the instability of Google's algorithm and considering that I run now a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines? thanks
 
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robertmiller90 said:
Hello

I got 11 websites like blogs , ecommerce stores and affiliate marketing websites,, since last 10 years...
Got a huge success with a ecommerce website which my traffic comes 99% from SEO traffic, but google alghoritms penalize me a lot and the traffic drops a lot 2 years ago.. (I lost 95% of that traffic and sales become residual) ...

Is it more worthwhile nowadays to invest more in direct traffic, paid guest posts and paid ads, and high-quality backlinks to achieve high traffic volumes that can reach hundreds of thousands, generating consistent sales without having to wait years? Or is it still worthwhile to continue working with SEO knowing the instability of Google's algorithm and considering that I run now a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines? thanks
Click to expand...
i would not eliminate SEO entirely but i would not rely on one channel for my entire traffic either. having lost almost all my traffic due to a change in algorithm i would now be concerned about diversiffying my traffic sources through email marketing, return visitors, direct traffic, paid search ads, etc., nd continue using SEO as one such channel too.
 
If the traffic kept dropping over updates, then the methods that once worked for you are no longer working. You can either adapt or switch to new traffic streams like social media or AI tools.
 
Starblazer said:
If the traffic kept dropping over updates, then the methods that once worked for you are no longer working. You can either adapt or switch to new traffic streams like social media or AI tools.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks.
In my case I have a online store selling cosmetics products in skin care niche, but my email list is small (around 600 subscribers).
So should I use more paid ads on social media like Instagram, tiktok, facebook?

For example if I use paid guest post in big blogs and do forum marketing is that a good strategy considering that I have a small follower base?
 
robertmiller90 said:
Hello

I got 11 websites like blogs , ecommerce stores and affiliate marketing websites,, since last 10 years...
Got a huge success with a ecommerce website which my traffic comes 99% from SEO traffic, but google alghoritms penalize me a lot and the traffic drops a lot 2 years ago.. (I lost 95% of that traffic and sales become residual) ...

Is it more worthwhile nowadays to invest more in direct traffic, paid guest posts and paid ads, and high-quality backlinks to achieve high traffic volumes that can reach hundreds of thousands, generating consistent sales without having to wait years? Or is it still worthwhile to continue working with SEO knowing the instability of Google's algorithm and considering that I run now a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines? thanks
Click to expand...
i wouldn't move away from seo completly, but i won't let of google be responsible for 99% of traffic again. keep seo runing while building direct , email, refrls and paid chnls alondside it. backlinks and guest post support seo but diversification wht protects business when other updates hits
 
robertmiller90 said:
Hello

I got 11 websites like blogs , ecommerce stores and affiliate marketing websites,, since last 10 years...
Got a huge success with a ecommerce website which my traffic comes 99% from SEO traffic, but google alghoritms penalize me a lot and the traffic drops a lot 2 years ago.. (I lost 95% of that traffic and sales become residual) ...

Is it more worthwhile nowadays to invest more in direct traffic, paid guest posts and paid ads, and high-quality backlinks to achieve high traffic volumes that can reach hundreds of thousands, generating consistent sales without having to wait years? Or is it still worthwhile to continue working with SEO knowing the instability of Google's algorithm and considering that I run now a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines? thanks
Click to expand...
i do not think i would give up on SEO right away, especially since i have had 10 years of experience managging those sites. however i would not just throw all my money back into SEO either. i would keep SEO running in the background nd test paid traffic nd then allocate money to where there’s a return.
 
robertmiller90 said:
Ok thanks.
In my case I have a online store selling cosmetics products in skin care niche, but my email list is small (around 600 subscribers).
So should I use more paid ads on social media like Instagram, tiktok, facebook?

For example if I use paid guest post in big blogs and do forum marketing is that a good strategy considering that I have a small follower base?
Click to expand...
You can do paid ads, influencer ads, affiliate promotions, etc. depending on what converts better. For example, an influencer talking about your shop as if they found a gold mine works better than a random ad popping up into an user's feed.
 
ancerti said:
i do not think i would give up on SEO right away, especially since i have had 10 years of experience managging those sites. however i would not just throw all my money back into SEO either. i would keep SEO running in the background nd test paid traffic nd then allocate money to where there’s a return.
Click to expand...
Yes obviously is mandatory for me invest heavily in paid ads and need get minimum profit in my business and eventually scale my profits.

As I said I currently have a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines only?

I need to profit every month to keep my business alive and profitable.......

So which paid ads platforms would you recommend me considering that I have a ashop selling cosmetics products in skin care niche?.
 
HustleTong said:
It's not a good idea to completely ditch search traffic
If you can afford to spend more on paid ads, Go for it
Click to expand...

Thanks for advice.
yes fortunately , I can afford few thousand dollars per month in paid ads. so I will make a proper plan and invest.

I know SEO is important but my business can't wait to get that traffic naturally from search engines that could take months and months to start increasing..

Well I know influencer marketing it's a good and effective way to promote cosmetic and health products, but besides that strategy which other strategies could be effective in order to promote this kind of products?
 
for skincare id retarget your existing site visitors and email list with paid social before spending on cold traffic, cheaper and youll learn what creative works before scaling
 
the smartest move imo is running paid traffic to cover current costs while rebuilding SEO authority in parallel so you're not entirely dependent on either one.
 
robertmiller90 said:
Hello

I got 11 websites like blogs , ecommerce stores and affiliate marketing websites,, since last 10 years...
Got a huge success with a ecommerce website which my traffic comes 99% from SEO traffic, but google alghoritms penalize me a lot and the traffic drops a lot 2 years ago.. (I lost 95% of that traffic and sales become residual) ...

Is it more worthwhile nowadays to invest more in direct traffic, paid guest posts and paid ads, and high-quality backlinks to achieve high traffic volumes that can reach hundreds of thousands, generating consistent sales without having to wait years? Or is it still worthwhile to continue working with SEO knowing the instability of Google's algorithm and considering that I run now a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines? thanks
Click to expand...
I wouldnt kill SEO just because of one penalty go paid for known LPs to make money while getting search back online, measure both by profit not by volume
 
robertmiller90 said:
Hello

I got 11 websites like blogs , ecommerce stores and affiliate marketing websites,, since last 10 years...
Got a huge success with a ecommerce website which my traffic comes 99% from SEO traffic, but google alghoritms penalize me a lot and the traffic drops a lot 2 years ago.. (I lost 95% of that traffic and sales become residual) ...

Is it more worthwhile nowadays to invest more in direct traffic, paid guest posts and paid ads, and high-quality backlinks to achieve high traffic volumes that can reach hundreds of thousands, generating consistent sales without having to wait years? Or is it still worthwhile to continue working with SEO knowing the instability of Google's algorithm and considering that I run now a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines? thanks
Click to expand...


Before picking a channel, check GSC under manual actions. If there is a manual action listed, that's a fixable problem with a known process and you can submit a reconsideration request after fixing it. If nothing is listed, don't automatically assume it was a penalty. It could be an algorithm update or something else. which one was it?

On the paid ads side, skincare and cosmetics can have extra policy restrictions, especially around health or product claims. I would check the Meta and Google ad policies before putting a lot of money into ads, so you don't solve one traffic problem and create another one.
 
As long as you focus on cheap and effective ways of SEO, deviating from the new standard it would all have to lead to losses. I know it is tempting to save on investment but you need to stop and ask yourself, what is the point of investing into no return.

I can see a lot of obsolete services being still bought by webmaster because they are cheap, but that is not how business focused on ROI should work.
 
Ten years and one update nearly killed the momentum thats exactly why single channel is risky long term Build paid andd direct traffic as the stable base, let organic be the upside not the lifeline. This way a future update stings way less then it did this time.
 
robertmiller90 said:
Hello

I got 11 websites like blogs , ecommerce stores and affiliate marketing websites,, since last 10 years...
Got a huge success with a ecommerce website which my traffic comes 99% from SEO traffic, but google alghoritms penalize me a lot and the traffic drops a lot 2 years ago.. (I lost 95% of that traffic and sales become residual) ...

Is it more worthwhile nowadays to invest more in direct traffic, paid guest posts and paid ads, and high-quality backlinks to achieve high traffic volumes that can reach hundreds of thousands, generating consistent sales without having to wait years? Or is it still worthwhile to continue working with SEO knowing the instability of Google's algorithm and considering that I run now a business with high monthly costs and cannot wait many months to eventually get traffic from search engines? thanks
Click to expand...
i see this as diversification problem rather than an SEO vs paid decision. Keep improving SEO, but use paid ads for faster traffic, email to bring existing users back, and referrals to build another acquisition channel.
 
BlackShield said:
i see this as diversification problem rather than an SEO vs paid decision. Keep improving SEO, but use paid ads for faster traffic, email to bring existing users back, and referrals to build another acquisition channel.
Click to expand...
yes seems the best option. do you know any quality SEO agency which I can hire their services, and with good reputation in the market?
 
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