Observed Signal · Feb 4, 2026 · Earnings Report · Source: Feedspot/RSS · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
People Inc. Thrives Despite Google Traffic Drop
People Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith) told investors during IAC’s Q4 earnings call that Google search referrals have declined sharply — roughly 50% over the past two years — reducing Google’s share of People Inc.’s traffic from about 70% five years ago to roughly 30% today. The traffic decline contributed to a 13% year‑over‑year drop in core sessions in Q4, but the publisher’s digital revenue grew 14% YoY to $355 million. People Inc. attributes the revenue growth to off‑platform audience initiatives (mobile app, social integrations, Apple News), a near doubling of off‑platform views over two years and growth in non‑session revenue (up 37% YoY to $137 million). Its D/Cipher contextual targeting platform — opened to third‑party publishers — is expanding to CTV and the open web (D/Cipher+) and is expected to add 2–3% to revenue outlook by 2026. The company plans roughly $15 million in Google litigation spend this year while pursuing substantial damages.
Quarterly earnings reveal a major publisher’s adaptation to declining Google search referrals, growth in off‑platform and contextual revenue streams, and the opening of a contextual targeting product to third parties — trends that affect publisher monetization, advertiser channel mix, CTV/open-web targeting, and competition with Google.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- People Inc. lost about 50% of its Google search traffic over the last two years.
- Google accounted for roughly 70% of People Inc.’s traffic five years ago and about 30% today.
- People Inc.’s core sessions declined 13% YoY in Q4, while digital revenue rose 14% YoY to $355 million in Q4.
- Non‑session revenue grew 37% YoY in Q4 to $137 million and now represents 38% of People Inc.’s total digital revenue.
- People Inc.’s D/Cipher contextual targeting platform was launched in May 2023, opened to non‑People Inc. publishers in February, and D/Cipher+ expansion into CTV/open web is forecast to add 2–3% to revenue by 2026.
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People Inc. Reorganizes as Google Referrals Plunge
People Inc. (the IAC unit rebranding to People Inc.) told investors on its Q1 2026 earnings call that it has lost roughly two‑thirds of its Google referral traffic and is reorganizing to be less dependent on search and social platforms. The company is growing off‑platform audiences via syndication (Apple News+), generative‑AI licensing deals (OpenAI, Microsoft) and its D/Cipher+ contextual targeting product. People Inc. reported $253 million in digital publishing revenue for Q1, an 8% digital revenue increase for the publishing unit and 27% year‑over‑year growth in off‑platform audiences. Management signaled a strategic pivot toward licensing, ecommerce and branded products, scaled back M&A prioritization, and plans to spend up to $15 million on litigation tied to its antitrust suit against Google.
People Inc. Programmatic Revenues Rise Despite Traffic Decline
People Inc., the US publishing group behind People, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle and Travel + Leisure, reported a sharp decline in search-driven traffic after Google introduced AI overviews: core sessions fell 22% year‑on‑year and Google Search referrals dropped 40%, reducing Google’s share of traffic from around two-thirds to 21%. Despite that, digital revenues grew 6% in the quarter and overall advertising revenue was flat versus Q2 2025. Programmatic revenues from open marketplaces increased year‑on‑year. CFO Tim Quinn attributed resilience to bundling session‑based inventory with non‑session assets (social, live events, licensing) and a “flight to quality” that is driving up prices for scarce high‑quality inventory. CEO Neil Vogel said People Inc. can block most AI crawlers via Cloudflare tools but cannot separately block Google’s AI crawler without losing Search presence, and the company may reconsider that tradeoff if economics change.
People Inc. Won't Block Google AI Crawlers Yet
People Inc. CEO Neil Vogel said the publisher will not currently block Google’s crawlers because the company still relies on Google search referral traffic. About 21% of People Inc.’s traffic comes from Google search (down from 25% last quarter), and the company reported a 22% year-over-year decline in core sessions, including a 40% YoY drop in Google search traffic. Executives said higher ad rates and growth in non-session-based revenue are helping reduce dependence on search: non-session-based digital revenue grew 16% year over year in Q2 and rose from $108 million in Q2 2025 to $125 million in Q2 2026 (39% to 43% of digital revenue). Management described blocking crawlers as a lever to negotiate better economics but said scale currently favors maintaining access.
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