HubSpot’s SEO Collapse: What We Can Learn & Fix For The Future

Hubspot, a leader in inbound marketing is going through a rough patch with a significant decline in organic traffic over the past few months. According to recent reports, Hubspot experienced a 36%  decline in organic traffic with numbers dropping from 13.5 million in November 2024 to 8.6 million visitors in 2024. 

The sharp decline in their organic search performance has sparked concerns among marketers, underscoring the risks of prioritizing content volume over strategic relevance in an unpredictable SEO landscape.

For years, Hubspot’s strategy relied on producing content on various topics, quotes, and productivity hacks to rank up on Google. However, with the latest Google algorithms, it now focuses on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) to redefine how content ranks on the search results. This approach has penalized websites that lack subject matter or produce thin content, making content quality a major factor for better ranking. 

Understanding The Downfall

HubSpot’s drop in organic traffic has taken centre stage in a lively debate among SEO experts and online marketers. Some of the main reasons that led to this content dilution include: 

Reason 1: Algorithm Updates of Google: 

Google’s latest SPAM and CORE updates now prioritize unique and authentic content in its domain of ranking content. All the websites that used to produce content outside their expertise, focusing more on targeted ranking rather than providing quality have been hit by these new algorithmic updates of Google. 

Reason 2: Concentration on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness): 

The intention of Google’s strong approach to E-E-A-T has caused a wide rethinking of the whole quality evaluation of the content. Lack of authentic content is no longer likely to rank well and might have been among the reasons leading to the fall of HubSpot’s traffic.

For example: Hubspot mainly focuses on producing shorter articles with relevant keywords to rank up. However, search engines mostly prioritize in-depth content and long-form content which is another reason for Hubspot’s sudden decline. 

• Author Byline & Credentials: Introducing subject-matter experts in the articles lends credence to the text.
• In-Depth Research & Unique Insights: These all together lead towards enriching content when claims are backed up with valid case studies and industry reports.
• User Engagement Signals: The time spent on a page, bounce rates, and social shares send signals to Google regarding the effectiveness of the content.

Reason 3: Rise Of  AI-Powered Searching (AI Overviews)

The rise of AI-powered Searches like Google AI Overviews that provide instant answers to user queries with link sources is another factor that eliminates the necessity to visit outside sites. You might not know but approx 60% of the top-ranked results appear in AI overviews. This reduces organic traffic towards regular content providers like HubSpot. Moreover 

Preventing SEO Declines: Learnings and Actionable Fixes 

As businesses mainly depend on data strategies driven by SEO such downtimes and failure to meet search engine algorithms can be alarming. Let’s discuss some of the main SEO issues that can be pinpointed, and plausible measures can be put in place to improve and maintain the search engine ranking.

1.  Publishing Irrelevant Content

One of the core reasons behind Hubspot’s SEO decline was the dilution of topical authority mainly caused by unrelated topics and content. Over a while, this misstrategy led to a huge gap between HubSpot’s core expert areas – marketing, sales, and CRM software – and the produced content.

For example HubSpot’s Content Expansion Beyond its Core Niche

To develop more visibility and gain traffic, HubSpot ventured into producing content such as the following:

• “Famous Quotes“. Broad and out-of-context topics that have very little direct bearing on inbound marketing.
• “Best Examples Cover Letters” – this topic is related to business but is mainstream HR or job search rather than a forward-thinking marketing website.

Although those articles generated short-lived surges of traffic, it brought little value to HubSpot’s marketed audience, which consisted of marketers and salespeople.

• Loss of Topical Authority: Google rates websites depending on their subject-matter expertise. The more content outside the main domain, the more likely the SEO feels compelled to take the site as a generalist and not a very niche expert.
• Reduced Rate of User Engagement: HubSpot’s visitors were probably generalists, who had nothing to do with the site, but on average the bounce rates and session durations would be much worse than if the average indexed visitor were there, negative markers for SEO.

FIX: Focus On Authority Building and Expertise

• Cluster Content Around Expertise: Implement topic clusters so that all content circulates around any of the core themes (for example, inbound marketing, SEO, and CRM strategies).
• Showcase Industry Expertise: Articles should include contributions from recognized experts in the field with author bylines and credentials to heighten credibility.
• Deep-Dive Content vs. Short-Form: Leave short keyword-dense posts behind. Focused, long-form research-built content is more likely to produce insights for the users.

With this in place and by developing content strategies that cater to Google’s E-E-A-T principles, businesses are well on their way to safeguarding themselves from SEO downturns and ultimately improving their search performance over the years. 

 2. Producing Thin or Low-Quality Content

Another primary reason for the fall of HubSpot in its SEO was shallow, short-form content. Google optimizes content with depth research that offers value. Therefore, if your content lacks the necessary detail, user interaction decreases which ultimately leads to lower rankings on SERP:

For example: 

Taking the definition of content quality being solely under Google’s control, Becker outright rejects it in a LinkedIn post, stating:

Becker strikes an important distinction:

“There’s a difference between ‘quality’ and ‘the most helpful answer’ to a given search term. I think Google consistently focuses on the latter, despite not always being clear about that.”

This gives away an important truth concerning SEO,—Google favors content clearly fitting user intent over conventional standards of quality. Good content based on thorough research could find it impossible to rank if it did not provide the most relevant answer to search queries.

• Low Search Ranking: According to Backlinko, pages that rank in the first three search results have an average of 1,447 words. Shallow content usually does not meet the best criteria to rank higher in Google.
• Lesser Time Spent on Page: Visitors no longer access content that lacks depth which increases depth which bounce rates and reduces time on site. If users exit seconds later because of worthlessness, Google considers this bad for the page and downgrades its ranking.

FIX:To reverse the damage of thin content, businesses need to focus on:

• Creating Detailed Guides: Short posts stuffed with keywords are not going to cut it anymore. Comprehensive research articles that thoroughly address user queries instead will do.
• Use of Data & Case Studies: Content with real-world stats, surveys, and expert opinions perform phenomenally better in SERP. 
• Improving Readability & Structure: Employ bullet points, tables, and subheadings to enable better user engagement. 
• Constant Content Update: Change older content with new stats, examples, and recent trends to maintain search visibility. Google gives importance to freshness in its ranking algorithm.

Also Read: 5 Tips For Making Your Localized Content More Relevant In SERPs

Take a look at the example where Hubspot is found promoting irrelevant content by posting 44 articles on Call To Action promoting almost the same intent.  

3. Overlooking Algorithm Updates

Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, and businesses that fail to adapt to these updates risk losing their rankings. HubSpot’s significant traffic drop can be partially attributed to its inability to align its content strategy with Google’s latest algorithmic changes.

• Updates on the March Core 2024: This was all about targeting low-quality content and sites that are best described as keyword stuffing with little regard to providing valuable, unique insights.
• October 2024 Spam Update: Websites producing AI-generated content with minimal human involvement were penalized in rank.
• December 2024 Helpful Content Update: Google has refined its evaluation of content/article publishing, focusing more on originality, expertise, and user intent.

Fix: Keeping Ahead of Algorithm Dynamics

Businesses, in order to avoid this kind of decline in SEO, have to:

• Keep track of Google’s Algorithm Updates – Keeping regular visits to the Google Search Central Blog and insights from SEO experts will help you to stay informed.
•  Transform Content Strategy – From keyword-heavy brief content, now turn dovetailed in well-researched user-centric articles.

Through continuous research on the dynamics of the SEO industry and reforming the approach to content, organic traffic is secured, thus keeping up with the competition in the rankings.

4. Never Force The SEO Process

SEO is a never-ending process, just keep updating yourself to keep pace in the long run. Pruning content and optimizing for E-E-A-T were widely suggested reasons following HubSpot’s SEO decision. 

However, for a brand of HubSpot’s scale, these are not quick fixes but major undertakings.

As Bianca Anderson, HubSpot’s former SEO strategist (now Manager of Organic Growth at Hims & Hers), explained in a LinkedIn post:

Anderson emphasized that resolving such issues isn’t an overnight process. It’s not as simple as mass redirects—proper execution can take years.

FIX: 

• Balance Internal Links and Authority – Post-pruning, broken links should be tracked and cleared using Screaming Frog. High authority pages should smart redirect so as not to lose link equity.
• User Intent and EEAT Optimization – Adding expertise, case studies, and structured data as opposed to keyword stuffing opens the way towards topical authority building.
• Monitor Algorithms Updates and Contend with Strategy Competitors – Using SEMrush Sensor & MozCast, monitoring Google updates and analyzing competitors’ ranking factors may be beneficial for continuous improvements.

 5. Traffic Is Not Only Metrics For Success

When HubSpot fell off the SEO cliff, it was not just a case of losing traffic; it was about not converting that traffic into meaningful engagement and business results. 

Modern SEO does not only concern clicks but how a website meets and exceeds the user’s intent, engagement, and content quality as these evolve with Google’s algorithms. 

For instance,

• If users enter a web page only to find that it is not worth of their time and bounce back to the SERPs, that page loses credence and lowers in ranking. This is why even after building credible authority to the domain, HubSpot has suffered a search visibility decline.

Fix: Produce Authoritative Long-Form Content

• Post things beyond 10,000+ words such as guides, case studies, and whitepapers.

Focus on UX and Technical SEO

• Page speed is fast / meets Core Web Vitals standards.
• Good mobile usability and effective internal linking can develop crawlability.

Omnichannel Marketing

• It is never just about going organic; it should be for example by using email, PPC, social media, etc.
• There should be retargeting ads on Google and Meta Organics traffic that do not convert.

The best example is Hubspot where we saw how traffic hiked up, only to drop immediately afterwards on Site, showing that SEO had a whole bigger marketing strategy.

Peter Rota, manager at Hub International in one of his posts made a few statements regarding Hubspots SEO collapse:

Conclusion

Hubspot’s SEO decline is an example of other businesses that mostly rely on organic traffic for their SEO. The shift in Google’s algorithms from just ranking the content or optimizing E-E-A-T for user intent shows the importance of producing high-quality and relevant content. From creating topical authorized content to prioritizing user intent, businesses must optimize their strategies as per the latest search engine standards.

Remember SEO is an ongoing process that requires authenticity, engagement continuous monitoring of the latest SEO trends. That’s why partnering with the best SEO agency like ResultFirst becomes very crucial to push your SEO efforts in the right direction. We are a team of SEO specialists who have expertise in following the latest SEO practices to rank you up on the SERP.

Don’t make SEO mistakes, be the master of it. Choose Result First and see your website topping the charts.

Statistical References:
https://searchengineland.com/hubspot-seo-organic-traffic-drop-451096, https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-overviews-organic-rankings-volatile-452255, https://backlinko.com/search-engine-ranking, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/braden-becker_i-know-im-not-the-only-ex-hubspotter-whos-activity-7289356927430533121-cSZy/