CNET's Future Under Ziff Davis: Challenges and Google Opportunities/Difficulties Post-Sale

Red Ventures recently sold CNET to Ziff Davis for around $100 million, a significant loss from the $500 million purchase price. Despite Red Ventures' strong SEO and digital product expertise, CNET struggled due to aggressive content strategies and controversies over AI-generated content. CNET, once a trusted tech review site, saw its reputation and traffic decline. Factors like Google's increased emphasis on shopping ads and affiliate revenue pressures contributed to CNET's struggles. The sale to Ziff Davis is viewed as a positive move, but the site's recovery remains uncertain and tracking whether CNET can recover in the SERPS is worth following to see if a well managed, strong domain with good content can overcome Google’s algorithmic whims.
The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.
Ep 169 Near Memo 02