Google Adjusts Search Algorithm to Target Subdomain/Subdirectory Leasing, Prompting CNN to Shut Down Its Directory Leasing
Brook.X
Websites often rely on subscriptions or commercial advertisements for revenue, which may be relatively low. Thus, some large sites consider alternative income streams.
For instance, news and information sites like CNN and Forbes have been leasing subdomains or subdirectories (also known as affiliate sites), possible because of their high search engine rankings.
Advertisers could lease a subdomain or directory to build a site unrelated to CNN, yet still benefit from the high search ranking due to the domain's association with CNN.
Originally, Google did not actively penalize affiliate site practices. However, Google has now revised its search algorithm to crack down on all affiliate sites, leading to a significant drop in traffic for affiliate sites of CNN and Forbes.
Given these changes, CNN has decided to discontinue its affiliate site feature, ceasing the leasing of subdomains or directories to advertisers. This decision likely stems from concerns that Google's algorithm adjustments could impact the main site's SEO rankings.
Google commented on affiliate site practices back in 2019, stating that its systems are designed to differentiate between a site's main content and content that is entirely separate. This helps Google showcase the most useful information from a variety of sites.
In essence, Google's stance is that leasing subdomains or directories, which can be seen as SEO manipulation, should be a target of its algorithm enforcement. Although Google hadn't taken action in the past five years, the recent crackdown that began around August has affected several large US tech sites by October, with a notable decline in traffic for affiliate sites, though not necessarily for the main sites.
However, as a precautionary measure, these sites have started to phase out their affiliate sites to avoid potential impact on their main sites. Therefore, it's expected that the practice of operating affiliate sites will decrease in the future, though it's unlikely to disappear entirely.
