My Online Business Recovery Journey - Progress Update

byNewydd105

673 followers

3 weeks ago

It’s been a while since my last update, so I wanted to share some recent wins and a little of what’s been happening behind the scenes.

Background

In December 2023, I completely rebuilt my main website. Someone had been designing it for me, but when they were no longer available, I decided to go through the WA training and learn how to manage everything myself.

The original site was built with Elementor, and I didn’t like the structure. So I created a brand-new site in SiteRubix and transferred it over to the main domain.

What I didn’t realise was that Google would treat it as a brand-new website.

All the traffic I had built up — averaging 585 visits per day — disappeared overnight.

At the same time, Google started rolling out regular algorithm updates, and because my niche is Personal Finance and Investing (a highly regulated E-E-A-T niche), I got hit especially hard.

My site, which consistently ranked between positions 1–3, dropped all the way down to 74.

Every time I adjusted and the rankings started to recover… another update hit, and everything fell again.

This affected not just my main site, but my whole ecosystem:

• 3 websites
• my blogging platform
• my training platform
• and even my YouTube channel

(Google owns YouTube, so everything is interconnected.)

The Learning Curve

By October 2024, I had immersed myself in learning everything I could about:

• SEO
• GEO
• AEO
• LLM optimisation
• website architecture
• evergreen structures
• funnel alignment

I rebuilt each site with a specific purpose, interlinking them into a logical funnel that both Google and visitors could understand.

I refined content so it was evergreen, updated my shop, developed my own GPTs, and aligned everything with my membership system.

And I made one key decision:

No paid ads. Everything must grow organically.

But some days it felt like: one step forward, ten steps back.

AI to the Rescue

I had a long discussion with ChatGPT and Gemini about visibility, structure, and my goals as a solopreneur.

One exercise was eye-opening.

I asked Gemini:

“Who are the top 10 in my industry and what do I need to be in that list?”

Gemini replied with a list of things I needed… half of which I already had.

When I said, “But I already have all of those,” the response was:

“We don’t know about them. We can’t see them. You’re not in a category we know how to promote.”

That was the missing piece.

Between ChatGPT and Gemini, I rebuilt an ecosystem that search engines can interpret, showing how each of my websites relates to the others and why they exist.

The New Structure

Because Google prefers evergreen content — and much of my work deals with current economic events — I redesigned my entire system so each platform has a clear role:

• Blogging Platform - Current affairs / economic commentary
• Main Website - Business & Wealth Strategy (evergreen)
• Online Business Website - Evergreen AI-powered entrepreneurship content linking to courses & membership
• Training Hub Website - Business + investing → funnels into courses and memberships
• Training Platform - Hosting all courses & memberships
• Podcast - Tips + interviews linked to lead magnets and websites
• YouTube Channel - Videos, podcasts, posts, and now courses

It may seem like a lot, but every piece has a purpose. And importantly, Google now understands the entire infrastructure.

The Results (Finally!)

Website Rankings

Most key posts are now consistently ranking in positions 1–5. My main site has risen from #74 - #28.

YouTube - YouTube gave me a smiley face after hitting 10k views — today it’s already 13k+.

Podcast - Downloads are up across most platforms. YouTube views for the podcast are low, but improving.

Google Search

A recent image search showed:

• 3 out of 8 images on page 1 were mine
• 4 out of 8 images on page 2 were mine

And in the link results:

• 2 links on page 1
• 3 on page 2

I’m not top 10 in my industry yet, but I’m definitely climbing back.

My Philosophy

Most people want instant results but real, lasting results take time.

I’ve spent two years learning, refining, failing, adjusting, and learning again. And throughout it all, I held onto my personal philosophy:

Slow and Steady Wins — I call it Turtle Power.

Turtle Power has kept me focused, grounded, and rebuilding my online business step by step.

And now… it’s finally paying off.

Sorry if this was a long read, but I wanted to share this to encourage anyone going through setbacks.

If you:

• do the lessons
• apply what you learn
• keep refining
• stay consistent
• and use the tools available

…you can rebuild and/or grow your online business.

Oh, and the image above - Turtle Power created with WA image studio.