High-Quality Content Meets Modern SEO Demands – And Fails to Rise

EverymanSci.com was launched a year ago with the goal of bringing complex scientific ideas to a broader audience. With articles that break down scientific research, explain new discoveries, and analyze emerging tech trends, we strive to make science accessible for everyone—not just academics. However, this dedication to quality hasn’t translated into financial stability or significant growth in site traffic. In an average day, our site attracts around 30 visitors, a modest number considering our content depth and the labor involved.

Our content, written entirely by volunteers, aims to simplify science for the “everyman.” Yet, competing with established science magazines is difficult. Google’s algorithms are tough on newer, lesser-known websites, particularly those without a solid backlink profile. Building these backlinks is an uphill battle; larger magazines rarely link to smaller publications unless they are already well-established. SEO algorithms tend to reward already-recognized sites, making it difficult for newer players like EverymanSci to build initial visibility.

The Facebook Challenge: 12,000 Followers, 120 Impressions

Social media was initially expected to be a reliable traffic source. However, recent changes in Facebook’s algorithm have significantly limited our reach. Despite having 12,000 followers, posts on our page often see only around 120 impressions. This drastic decrease in visibility has made Facebook an ineffective promotional tool, especially when it comes to converting impressions to site visits. The irony? With 12,000 followers, we still struggle to attract even one visitor per post on average. This situation highlights how changes in platform algorithms can impact smaller sites, stifling their growth potential.

Sole Revenue Stream: Google Ads

Currently, our only monetization method is Google Ads. While ads do generate some revenue, it’s far from sufficient to support a paid content model. The revenue generated barely covers our hosting costs, making it challenging to invest in further site development or content marketing. Without a diversified income stream, we remain heavily reliant on organic traffic—an uphill struggle given the SEO challenges we face.

Our Plan to Boost Readership and Revenue

Given these challenges, we are exploring new ways to engage with our readers and generate revenue. Here are some of the ideas on our roadmap:

1. Monthly Newsletter: We are considering implementing a monthly newsletter that would provide subscribers with a roundup of the month’s best articles. By curating highlights, we hope to retain loyal readers and keep them engaged with new content.
2. Merchandise: To diversify revenue streams, we’re exploring the idea of offering EverymanSci-themed products, such as T-shirts with scientific graphics or witty designs. This would allow our audience to support our mission directly while wearing designs that reflect their love for science.
3. Call for Contributions: Since all our content is created by unpaid volunteers, we would like to reach out to our audience for article submissions. If you have a background in science or a passion for simplifying complex topics, we encourage you to contribute. While we’d love to offer payment, our current revenue simply doesn’t allow for it—yet.

Staying True to Our Mission

Despite these hurdles, our mission remains clear: to make scientific knowledge accessible and engaging for everyone. At EverymanSci, we believe in the importance of democratizing science and presenting research in a way that resonates beyond academic circles. With your support, we can continue this journey, find new ways to grow our loyal audience, and maybe one day achieve the resources needed to pay our contributors.

Join us in this mission, subscribe to our upoming newsletter, explore our upcoming merchandise, or reach out if you have a story to share. Together, we can help EverymanSci reach new heights.

Contact: electq@gmail.com

Jasper Reichardt

The post The Challenge of Modern SEO: Why EverymanSci’s Quality Content Struggles to Gain Traction appeared first on Everyman Science.

The post The Challenge of Modern SEO: Why EverymanSci’s Quality Content Struggles to Gain Traction appeared first on Everyman Science.

This is a major blow for Meta. Ever since Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations on US big tech aiding the NSA mass surveillance apparatus, Facebook (now Meta) has been facing litigation in Ireland. Despite this, Meta has failed to take any material precaution for ten years and simply ignored the European Court of Justice (CJEU) and the EDPB.

As a result, not only does Meta have to pay a record fine of €1.2 billion, but it must also return all personal data to its EU data centers.

Impact on Other Large US Cloud Providers

The current conflict between EU privacy laws and US surveillance laws is also a problem for other large US cloud providers such as Microsoft, Google or Amazon. The underlying US surveillance law (FISA 702) must be reauthorized by December 2023. This may encourage US big tech to push for material changes, now that there is the first major fine from EU data protection authorities. Several decisions from France, Italy and Austria have found the use of US services unlawful but did not include any major fines.

Meta will likely file an appeal with both the Irish and potentially European Courts; however, it is unlikely that this decision will be materially overturned due to two previous CJEU cases between 2007 and 2023 which found there was no valid legal basis for EU-US data transfers. There is also no option for any new deal to legalize past violations of the law.

Meta’s EU-US Data Transfer Deal

For future transfers, Meta hopes to switch to a new EU-US data transfer deal which has already faced harsh criticism from the European Parliament but will likely come into force after summer. However, it is not unlikely that this new deal will be invalidated by the CJEU with retroactive effect. Just like its predecessors “Privacy Shield” and “Safe Harbor”!

The Irish DPC’s role in this procedure has been exceptional. In 2013, it rejected Mr Schrems’ original complaint as “frivolous” requiring him to go all the way to the CJEU. Then took the view that it could not take action due to Meta making use of so-called “Standard Contractual Clauses” which was again rejected by the CJEU who told them they must take action. Finally, they tried to shield Meta from a fine and deletion of transferred data only to be overturned by the EDPB. These procedures have cost more than 10 million Euro. Though the fine will go to the Irish state.

Meta’s Future in Europe

Meta had previously spread rumors that it would stop providing services in Europe. However, this is highly unlikely given Europe’s status as their biggest source of income outside of the US. And their already established local data centers in the EU. A possible long term solution could be some form of ‘federated social network’ where most personal data would stay in the EU while only ‘necessary’ transfers would continue.

Meta has known about their legal situation for 10 years and was served with a draft decision in 2022. This makes it hard to argue ignorance or lack of preparation time. CJEU judgement allows users to claim emotional damages for smaller GDPR violations, like US mass surveillance, which could lead to larger penalties. The EU’s Collective Redress Directive will allow collective actions by European users for GDPR violations this summer; more litigation may follow.

admin

www.everymansci.com

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