"The company lost 50% of its Google search traffic over the last two years, as Google has embraced zero-click generative AI search, People Inc. CEO Neil Vogel told investors during parent company IAC's Q4 earnings call on Wednesday. He added that Google search accounted for about 70% of People Inc.'s traffic five years ago, but that percentage has dropped to about 30% today."
"No big deal, though, because People Inc.'s digital revenue grew by 14% YOY in the same quarter, to a total of $355 million. It was the company's highest digital growth rate in the last five quarters. Going off-platform Vogel attributed this revenue growth to People Inc.'s efforts to build its off-site presence, rather than relying on search to bring users to its network of sites, including Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Allrecipes and many other publications."
"The company is courting off-site audiences via new touch points like People's mobile app, which launched in April, as well as deeper integrations with social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok and news aggregation apps like Apple News. "We're going where the audiences are," Vogel said. As a result of these initiatives, People Inc.'s off-platform views have nearly doubled over the last two years and grew by 43% YOY in Q4."
Google's shift to zero-click generative AI search coincided with a 50% decline in People Inc.'s Google referral traffic over two years and a fall from about 70% to 30% of total traffic over five years. Core sessions declined 13% year-over-year in Q4. Digital revenue increased 14% year-over-year to $355 million, the highest growth in five quarters. Off-platform efforts including a mobile app, deeper Instagram and TikTok integrations, and distribution on Apple News nearly doubled off-platform views over two years and produced 43% year-over-year growth in Q4. Non-session revenue rose 37% to $137 million and now comprises 38% of digital revenue.
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