Google’s March 2024 update hit travel bloggers harder than almost any other niche.

The industry called it “blogger carnage.”

If you’re a travel creator building income on any platform, this story matters. Because it reveals a fundamental problem with how most creators build their businesses.

The Numbers

One travel blogger watched daily Google sessions drop from 3,500 to 100. Overnight.

Another saw monthly pageviews fall from 37,000 to 12,000-14,000 after the August 2024 update.

Reports across the industry showed traffic losses between 40% and 90%. Years of content creation. Years of SEO work. Gone in a single algorithm change.

These weren’t small blogs. These weren’t people doing SEO wrong. These were established travel publishers who followed every guideline, built quality content, and watched Google reward them — until it didn’t.

Why Travel Got Hit So Hard

Google’s update prioritized “helpful content” and penalized what it perceived as content written primarily for search engines.

Travel content became a target because the format had become formulaic:

• “Best Things to Do in [City]” articles
• “Complete Guide to [Destination]” posts
• Affiliate-heavy listicles optimized for search intent

Many of these articles provided real value. Bloggers spent years researching, visiting destinations, and documenting everything. But the format triggered algorithmic penalties anyway.

The creators who built traffic-dependent businesses learned a painful lesson: Google owes you nothing.

This Isn’t a Google Problem

Here’s what most coverage misses: Google was never the real problem. Dependency was the problem.

Replace “Google” with any platform:

• Instagram changes its algorithm, your reach drops 50%
• TikTok promotes different content styles, your views crater
• YouTube adjusts recommendations, your channel flatlines

Every platform-dependent income stream carries the same risk. You’re building on land you don’t own. The landlord changes the rules whenever they want.

Travel bloggers who lost 90% of their traffic weren’t bad at SEO. They were good at building on someone else’s platform.

What Traffic-Dependent Income Looks Like

Most travel creator income models share a structure:

1. Create content
2. Drive traffic (via search, social, or both)
3. Monetize traffic (ads, affiliates, or brand deals)

Every step depends on the previous step. And step two — traffic — depends entirely on algorithms you don’t control.

Ad revenue requires pageviews. Pageviews require rankings. Rankings require Google’s approval.

Affiliate commissions require clicks. Clicks require reach. Reach requires the algorithm’s favor.

Brand deals require audience metrics. Metrics require consistent growth. Growth requires platform cooperation.

Pull out the traffic foundation and the whole structure collapses.

What Algorithm-Independent Income Looks Like

Compare this to a product-based model:

1. Create a product (once)
2. Build an audience (any size)
3. Sell directly to that audience

The key difference? Step three doesn’t require platform permission.

If you have 5,000 followers and sell a $29 guide to 50 of them, you’ve made $1,450. Google’s algorithm is irrelevant. Instagram’s reach changes don’t matter. TikTok’s trends don’t affect your revenue.

The transaction happens between you and your customer. No intermediary determines whether it’s allowed.

Owned Assets vs. Rented Reach

Think of the difference this way:

Rented reach: Blog traffic, social followers, search rankings. You build it on platforms you don’t own. The platform can take it away anytime.

Owned assets: Email lists, digital products, direct customer relationships. You control these regardless of what any platform does.

Travel bloggers who lost 90% of their traffic lost rented reach. If those same bloggers had email lists of 10,000 subscribers, they’d still have 10,000 ways to reach their audience. If they had digital products generating sales, those sales would continue.

The update would hurt. But it wouldn’t be catastrophic.

The Lesson Most Creators Miss

The Google update taught a lesson most creators ignore:

Your content is not your asset. Your relationship with your audience is your asset.

Blog posts, Instagram reels, TikTok videos — these attract audiences. They’re marketing. They’re not the business.

The business is what you sell to the audience you’ve built. Own that, and you’re protected from algorithm changes.

What to Build Instead

Diversification matters. But not all diversification is equal.

Being on Instagram AND TikTok AND a blog doesn’t protect you. All three depend on algorithms. When Instagram’s algorithm changes, your Instagram income drops. When TikTok’s algorithm changes, your TikTok income drops.

True diversification means building income streams that don’t depend on any single platform’s algorithmic favor:

Email lists: Platforms can’t take your subscriber list. Email delivery doesn’t depend on algorithmic reach.

Digital products: A travel guide sells whether or not Google ranks your blog. Customers buy directly from you.

Direct relationships: DMs, email conversations, and repeat customers exist independently of platform metrics.

The Travel Blogger Who Survives

Imagine two travel bloggers. Both lose 80% of their Google traffic.

Blogger A:

• 100% of income from ads and affiliates
• No email list
• No products
• Result: Income drops 80%

Blogger B:

• 30% of income from ads and affiliates
• 10,000 email subscribers
• Sells digital guides directly to audience
• Result: Ad income drops, but product sales continue. Total income drops maybe 25%.

Same traffic loss. Different outcomes. The difference? Owned assets.

Building Your Safety Net

You don’t need to abandon content creation. Content builds audiences. Audiences buy products.

But content alone isn’t a business. It’s audience-building. The business is what comes after.

Start here:

1. Build an email list alongside your social following
2. Create at least one digital product you own
3. Develop direct sales channels that don’t require algorithms

Tourli handles the third part for travel creators. Create a guide, sell it directly to your audience, keep the revenue regardless of what Google or Instagram does.

The next algorithm update is coming. Maybe next month. Maybe next year. The question is whether your income survives it.

Ready to build algorithm-proof income? Create your first guide on Tourli and start owning your revenue.