Forbes, the renowned business and financial publication, has announced that it will be discontinuing the use of freelance writers for certain types of content, citing recent updates to Google's search policies.
According to a journalist who has written for the site, Forbes has informed its freelancers that it will no longer be hiring them to produce content for its product review section, Forbes Vetted. In a note shared with The Verge, a Forbes editor attributed this decision to Google's "site reputation abuse" policy.
The term "site reputation abuse" or "parasite SEO" refers to a practice where a website publishes a large volume of off-brand or irrelevant content in an attempt to take advantage of the main site's ranking power and reputation on Google Search. This type of content is often produced by third-party marketing firms and can be concealed from users browsing the website.
Google has recently tightened its rules around this practice, specifically targeting the "third-party" nature of such content. In a blog post, the company stated that "no amount of first-party involvement alters the fundamental third-party nature of the content or the unfair, exploitative nature of attempting to take advantage of the host's sites ranking signals."
This change has had a significant impact on Forbes, which has an extensive pool of outside contributors publishing to its site. While many of these writers are legitimate journalists, the Forbes contributor network also includes a large number of marketers, CEOs, and other experts who have been able to publish questionable content under the Forbes brand.
The pause in freelance work has affected writers who have previously produced high-quality, in-depth product reviews for Forbes Vetted. These writers describe a rigorous editorial process, involving product testing, multiple rounds of edits, and interviews with sources. However, Forbes has now informed some of these writers that their stories may need to be completely re-reported and re-published by an in-house staff member.
This decision by Forbes highlights the ongoing challenges that media outlets face in navigating the evolving landscape of search engine optimization and the need to maintain the integrity of their content and brand. As the industry continues to adapt to Google's changing policies, it will be interesting to see how other publications respond and what implications this may have for the future of freelance journalism.
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