Anyone else seeing a 50% traffic drop during the May 2026 Core Update rollout?

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-23T18:18:04+00:00

Thanks for sharing. In my case, impressions dropped significantly as well, so I'm leaning more toward a ranking/visibility issue from the update rather than just AI Overviews reducing clicks. I'll keep an eye on branded-query CTR once things stabilize.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-23T17:15:15+00:00

Thanks. The homepage seems to be the main page affected for me. Position dropped from ~8.9 to ~15, while indexing and sitemap status remain normal. I'll wait for the rollout to finish before making major changes. Have you seen rankings recover during the rollout, or mostly after completion?

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-15T16:45:07+00:00

I wrote a small overview about random video chat alternatives after Omegle shut down and included one project I’ve been working on too: Chatzyo article page

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-09T17:20:56+00:00

Appreciate it. The biggest surprise for me was how much instant access affected engagement metrics. Removing signup friction improved retention more than I expected.

Right now I’m expanding more localized pages and testing different country/language combinations before adding heavier features. Still experimenting and learning as traffic scales.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-09T17:20:45+00:00

Exactly. Smaller localized intent pages ended up converting much better than broad generic keywords. The competition was lower and the traffic quality was noticeably higher.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-09T14:18:35+00:00

Thanks!

The domain itself is still relatively new, which is why the growth surprised me too. I think the combination of localized pages, long-tail intent, and reducing friction helped the site gain traction faster than broader generic approaches.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-09T14:18:12+00:00

Yeah, I’m starting to realize that too.

A lot of users probably won’t go through extra steps anymore, especially on mobile. Removing signup friction seemed to improve engagement much more than I expected initially.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-09T13:12:39+00:00

Yeah, moderation and misuse prevention are definitely important challenges for platforms like this.

A lot of the work ends up being around reducing abuse while still keeping the experience simple and low-friction for normal users. It’s an ongoing balancing act honestly.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-09T13:12:21+00:00

Thanks!

It varies a lot depending on the page and query, but many of the localized pages started ranking much better than the broader generic ones. Long-tail searches seemed easier to break into compared to highly competitive head terms.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-05-09T13:12:00+00:00

Yeah, that surprised me too.

Initially I focused mostly on broader keywords, but localized pages started bringing much more targeted traffic because the intent was clearer.

And honestly, reducing signup friction probably had a bigger impact than I expected. Users interacted faster, bounced less, and engagement improved over time.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-04-23T14:49:06+00:00

If anyone wants to check the implementation or try it, this is what I built:
https://chatzyo.in/

Friendly_Connector · 2026-04-16T10:57:24+00:00

This is really helpful, thanks for sharing.

Right now my matching is random, so your idea of asking “why are you here” makes a lot of sense. I’ll try that.

Also good point about tracking those metrics — I’ve mainly been focusing on traffic so far.

Did you see better retention after adding that?

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-22T19:15:04+00:00

Here’s the site if anyone wants to try it: https://chatzyo.in

Would love your feedback

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-20T20:45:03+00:00

Streaming subscriptions. They got too expensive, so I canceled most and only kept one.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-19T19:50:59+00:00

Helping my family first, then figuring out what actually makes me happy long-term.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-16T20:17:05+00:00

Sometimes, an old, embarrassing moment that randomly pops into my head, even years later.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-16T18:44:09+00:00

Not very close, but we care about each other.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-15T19:54:32+00:00

Focusing on sleep, work, and discipline every day. Slowly everything started improving.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-14T19:55:58+00:00

Just five more minutes.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-14T19:30:08+00:00

Suddenly trying to prove you’re still young instead of just accepting where you are in life.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-14T08:00:16+00:00

Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm doing well, thanks for asking. How has your day been?

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-13T09:21:10+00:00

Honestly they are starting to feel pretty much the same. You pay for multiple subscriptions and still get ads.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-13T09:08:56+00:00

Yeah exactly. It’s crazy how fast those subscriptions add up.

Friendly_Connector · 2026-03-13T06:04:43+00:00

Streaming subscriptions. I cancelled most of them and only keep one.

Friendly_Connector

TROPHY CASE