Google's May update explained: ClickOut Media on affiliate marketing resilience 

Affiliates have now had two months to digest the latest Google update, which caused a major stir when it arrived in May. 

This update was designed to reduce the impact of parasite SEO using manual penalties, primarily affecting websites that host paid content in specific directories labelled as “Sponsored,” “Partner” or “Brought to you by.” 

In contrast, websites that integrated sponsored content seamlessly within their regular news coverage remained largely unaffected.

While Google’s updates have consistently aimed to close new SEO exploits and loopholes, things were different this time. Even high-quality content was penalised simply due to its association with being sponsored. Many of the affected publishers already had stringent editorial standards in place for such content, but this still did not work as an adequate safeguard.

The May update negatively impacted affiliates across various niches, particularly those that did not employ churn-and-burn SEO tactics. It was especially challenging for companies that have invested significantly in long-term exclusive deals with major media outlets and top-tier news publishers. 

Fortunately, from an internal perspective, ClickOut Media benefited from this update, as many of our major global competitors faced manual penalties from Google.

Protection plans

With that in mind, there are specific ways that affiliates can protect themselves from headwinds as a result of future updates without being caught off guard. For example, affiliates should collaborate closely with the editorial teams of their external partners to build trust as this helps to seamlessly integrate their content. 

Ensuring the content appears organically editorial – rather than purely promotionally – is always a challenge, but at the same time, is absolutely crucial to avoiding damaging downgrades.

Google undertakes these actions because off-page factors at the domain level heavily influence search engine rankings and search engine results pages. Without getting too technical, Google’s algorithms are built to favour websites close to crawl seed, which is why this was a particularly challenging exploit for Google to clamp down on – until now. 

This clampdown is likely to become part of Google’s ranking algorithm sooner rather than later, so affiliates should adjust their long-term strategies accordingly to avoid a similarly disruptive experience. 

This update once again underscores the necessity for affiliates to prioritise quality over quantity in their content strategies. Building trust with editorial teams and ensuring content naturally fits within the broader narrative of partner sites will be key to navigating future changes. 

This approach not only aligns with Google’s guidelines, but also enhances the credibility and engagement of the content.

As Google continues to refine its algorithms, affiliates must remain agile and proactive. Staying informed about industry trends, maintaining robust relationships and continuously improving content integration practices will be essential to protecting the long-term sustainability of a business. 

Without this vigilant approach, everything has the possibility to change overnight. 

Neil Roarty is an experienced igaming professional and publishing executive and the current head of relations at ClickOut Media.

He has previously worked in leadership roles for major companies and brands including Bettingpro, Catena Media and Wedge Traffic.