Forbes Advisor Hit by Google Penalty: SEO Tactics Lead to Traffic Drop
By: Zulekha Nishad | Updated On: October 3, 2024
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Forbes Advisor, a major player in affiliate marketing, appears to have been hit with a penalty from Google, resulting in a massive drop in its search rankings.
Speculation suggests that Forbes Advisor may have violated Google’s site reputation abuse policy by pushing the boundaries with its SEO tactics.
Within days of an article highlighting these concerns, the site saw a sharp decline in traffic, sparking debate on whether Google took manual action against them.
Here’s what happened and what it means for the future of SEO and affiliate marketing.
The Initial Spark: Lars Lofgren’s Article
It all started with an article by marketing expert Lars Lofgren, published on September 18th.
In his post, Forbes Marketplace: The Parasite SEO Company Trying to Devour Its Host, Lofgren called out Forbes Advisor for potentially violating Google’s SEO guidelines.
If you’ve wondered why Forbes appears EVERYwhere in Google now, it’s because it has a parasite SEO program. The whole thing is insane: https://t.co/QqxNcHfQ0D
— Lars Lofgren (@LarsLofgren) September 18, 2024
Forbes Advisor, though widely recognized as part of Forbes, is actually operated by a separate entity called Forbes Marketplace, which handles the affiliate business under the Forbes brand.
Lofgren alleged that Forbes Marketplace was using the Forbes name and branding to appear more authoritative than it truly was.
According to him, this separate company made its website look and feel like an official part of the Forbes brand, exploiting every corner of Google’s algorithms to maximize its SEO success. Forbes Advisor rapidly gained top rankings in lucrative health, finance, and insurance search categories.
While this strategy initially worked, Lofgren’s article questioned whether the site was using deceptive branding practices to bend Google’s rules. And within days of his article going live, things started to unravel for Forbes Advisor.
A Sudden Drop in Search Rankings
Just a week after Lofgren’s article was published, SEO expert Glenn Gabe noticed a sharp decline in Forbes Advisor’s search rankings.
Based on the 9/25 drop of Forbes Advisor, here are several directories within that section of the site. Some huge drops there across health, credit cards, banking, car insurance, and more. I’m not seeing drops across a number of other sites doing similar things yet, so seems… pic.twitter.com/M6s4Hm0DF6
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) September 29, 2024
He shared data showing that the site’s visibility had plummeted, with over 1.7 million queries losing rank or disappearing from Google’s search results altogether. The drop was particularly severe in key directories like health, banking, credit cards, and car insurance.
Gabe speculated that this sudden decline could be linked to a Google penalty, specifically a manual action related to the site’s reputation abuse policy.
He also noted that the drop in rankings coincided with Google’s recent update to its spam policies, which added more detailed guidelines on site reputation abuse.
While it’s not confirmed whether Google directly penalized Forbes Advisor, the timing suggests a connection.
Gabe’s analysis indicated that the ranking drop appeared to be isolated to Forbes Advisor, as other affiliate marketing sites using similar strategies didn’t experience the same drop—at least not yet.
Just a few examples of the craziness based on the 9/27 volatility. Again, some sites are reversing course based on the post-August core update volatility (from 9/6, 9/10, 9/14, 9/18, etc.) while some are surging or dropping for the first time. The August core update was wild, but… pic.twitter.com/1pzR49ZlKQ
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) October 1, 2024
Is This a Manual Action by Google?
One of the biggest questions surrounding this situation is whether Google took manual action against Forbes Advisor.
A manual action occurs when someone from Google’s search quality team reviews a site and determines that it is significantly violating guidelines, resulting in a penalty that lowers its search rankings.
Unlike algorithmic updates, which automatically adjust rankings based on Google’s systems, manual action is more severe and can have long-lasting effects.
Experts suspect that Forbes Advisor’s decline may be due to a manual action because of the specific nature of the drop and its alignment with Google’s site reputation abuse policy.
Since May, Google has been focusing on this policy, manually enforcing penalties on websites that manipulate their brand reputation or deceive users.
The policy is not yet enforced by algorithms, meaning human reviewers at Google are responsible for identifying and penalizing sites that break the rules.
If Forbes Advisor was found to be misrepresenting its relationship with the Forbes brand to gain SEO dominance, this could explain the manual action.
What This Means for SEO and Affiliate Marketing
Forbes Advisor has seen a massive drop in visibility, likely leading to significant decreases in traffic and revenue. But, the implications extend far beyond just Forbes Advisor. The situation raises concerns for other affiliate marketing sites that rely on aggressive SEO tactics to dominate search rankings.
Affiliate marketing has always been competitive, with companies constantly looking for ways to outmaneuver each other in Google’s search results. Forbes Advisor’s fall from grace could signal a broader crackdown by Google on sites that use questionable tactics to boost their rankings.
Right now, Forbes Advisor seems to be the only major site affected by this type of penalty. However, the fact that Google has updated its spam guidelines to include more details about site reputation abuse suggests that other sites using similar strategies could be next.
This reminds affiliate marketers and SEO professionals that playing by Google’s rules is more important than ever. While aggressive SEO tactics may provide short-term gains, they can lead to severe penalties if they violate Google’s guidelines.
Forbes Advisor’s Rise and Fall
Forbes Advisor didn’t achieve its rapid growth by accident. In 2020, Forbes Marketplace, a separate company, partnered with Forbes to run its affiliate marketing business.
Forbes Marketplace, also known as Forbes Advisor, used the powerful Forbes brand to gain instant authority in Google’s search results, focusing on high-value topics like credit cards, insurance, and health.
This affiliation gave Forbes Advisor a major advantage in SEO, helping it rise quickly in the rankings for some of the most competitive search terms.
However, Lofgren’s article pointed out that Forbes Advisor wasn’t officially part of Forbes but was instead using the Forbes name to appear more legitimate and authoritative to both users and search engines.
While this strategy worked for a while, it now appears to have backfired. By making itself look like an official part of the Forbes brand, Forbes Advisor may have crossed a line in Google’s eyes, leading to its sudden drop in rankings.
What’s Next? Predictions for the Future of SEO
So, what does this mean for the future of SEO, especially in the affiliate marketing world?
Forbes Advisor’s penalty serves as a clear warning that Google is paying close attention to how websites present their branding and reputation. Websites that attempt to manipulate these factors to deceive users or gain an unfair advantage in search rankings may face severe consequences.
For affiliate marketers, the lesson is clear: focus on long-term SEO strategies that prioritize transparency and user experience. It’s tempting to take shortcuts and push the boundaries of Google’s guidelines to gain quick wins, but as Forbes Advisor’s situation shows, these tactics can lead to significant penalties.
SEO professionals should ensure that their sites follow Google’s guidelines closely, particularly when it comes to branding and reputation. Any practices that could be seen as manipulative or deceptive should be avoided, as Google is clearly willing to take manual action against sites that break the rules.
Key Takeaways
- Forbes Advisor’s rankings have plummeted, likely due to a Google manual action related to the site reputation abuse policy.
- The penalty may have been triggered by deceptive branding practices, where Forbes Advisor appeared more closely affiliated with Forbes than it actually is.
- Other affiliate marketing sites should be cautious, as Google’s recent update to its spam guidelines suggests that further penalties could be on the horizon.
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