Sitewide traffic drop more than 50%

[Maitrik_Kagda]

Yes, many sites saw similar drops after the Google March 2024 Core Update. A 50% decline usually means Google is reassessing content quality and intent match. Self-serving listicles can definitely be a factor if they feel low-value, repetitive, or overly promotional.

I’d suggest auditing those pages first, improve real value, add unique insights, and reduce fluff. Also check technical SEO, internal linking, and EEAT signals. Focus on helpful, user-first content instead of just ranking-focused pages.

[dannydip]

niche?

[Shot_Management_4192]

Google put out a warning in February that they’d be penalising those doing listicles on their own sites to self promote etc

[pingAbus3r]

Yeah, a lot of sites got hit around that timeframe, so you’re definitely not alone in seeing sharp drops after a core update.

A 50%+ drop usually isn’t caused by one small thing like a handful of listicles. Those could contribute if they’re thin, repetitive, or clearly “SEO-first,” but core updates tend to reassess site-level quality and topical authority more broadly.

What I’d look at first:
whether the pages that dropped were already borderline in intent match or depth, if competitors gained more comprehensive or updated content, and whether your strongest pages lost rankings or just lost CTR due to SERP changes.

Also check if the traffic loss is concentrated in certain content types or sections. That usually tells you more than overall numbers.

If the “self-serving listicles” are low-value compared to your main content, they might be part of a quality signal issue, but they’re rarely the sole cause of a sitewide drop.

Core updates tend to amplify existing weaknesses rather than create new ones.

[MikeAtmo]

A lot of use are seeing drops, unfortunately. This happened a couple years back too in beginning of 2024 I think

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