I really didn't want to post this, but I want to be transparent about a challenge I’m facing.
Despite being around for 25+ years, PatsFans.com
is increasingly being filtered out of news and search feeds, Google in Particular, in favor of massive corporate outlets. This isn't just specific to my site, but it's happening to other small independent publishers as well, and it's now pushing all of us to the brink.
To be honest, it’s frustrating to spend hours writing/transcribing things that get zero exposure outside of this community. Search traffic has dropped at a catastrophic rate largely due to AI, and unlike the large media-owned sites,
I'm just one person - I don’t have corporate partnerships to force our content out there.
These last 12 months have been brutal, and these last few months in particular. I'm reaching a point where, if things continue the way they are, the forum alone won't be able to support the site in the coming years, and I don't want to move us to a shared server. Advertisers pay for content views, not forum impressions. Right now, most "views" you might see are just bots scraping our data, not real people. I need to get the content on here seen again to keep this place solvent.
This was yesterday ... I'm beyond frustrated:
It's just ridiculous. And the fact that I've had to alter the titles to try to increase the click-through rate is also annoying. Traffic has never been outstanding, but it's been enough where it kept things afloat to where we could weather the offseason, and it was never a concern. Right now, it's becoming a serious problem.
Advertisers pay per thousand views. Not hundreds, or now - dozens.
I'm not saying that the guys and I are amazing. But I'd like to think we're on par enough to be somewhere in the middle. However, right now, we're 100% nowhere to be found, which is my issue. Not to mention, the social channels I have for the site are getting zero visibility.
I've obviously done other things to try and enhance things by adding a lot of resources here (stats, snaps, etc.), but they aren't seeing much traction outside here either. So I'm at the point where I'm now forced to ask for your help.
Here is the one easy, free way you can help me, and it would be huge if you could do it:
Please take a moment and
add the site as a "Preferred Source" on Google. This tells Google, "I want to see news from this site," and gives us a positive vote in their view that helps give us a bump and pushes us up where Google essentially sees positive "reviews" to boost us in their algorithm.
Here is all you need to do:
1) Click this link:
https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.patsfans.com
Check the box next to the site name.
Or if that link doesn’t work for you, you can do it this way:
2) Click this link:
Type "PatsFans" in the search box.
Check the box next to the site name.
That's it. But it's more helpful than you think.
Another way you can help:
FOR iPhone/iPad Users: If you read an article and you have an iPhone or an iPad,
click the "Follow Us" button for Apple News. That helps bump us there as well, which has been another similar situation where competing on that platform has been incredibly challenging. I don't run ads there, but it's more of having another avenue for exposure for people to find this place than anything else.
Why this matters:
You are effectively voting for an independent site over corporate national feeds. It’s a small step for you, but it makes a massive difference for this site’s future.
I can't beat this algorithm issue without you, so thank you all for your continued support. I’ve spent 25 years trying to maintain our corner of the internet, and I couldn’t have done it without you. With your help, I hope to be here for 25 more (Granted...I'll be 75 by then ... ). There aren't many of us from the late 90s left, and this is a big reason why.
For those who have donated,
your generosity means the world. I'm incredibly grateful, and it is a massive help. However, I also know that there are only a limited number of you who can do so, and so it's not a long-term solution. Plus, I don't want to ever reach a point where I have to start begging for donations to keep the lights on. I'm the type of person who has always enjoyed the grind it takes to keep us going, and I just need to stop, or at least slow down, this horrific slide we're currently on.
Again, sorry to bug you guys, but thank you to everyone who can take a moment to do this.
Ian
