GoKawiilWeird Gloop routes new Overwatch and Fortnite wikis around Google's indexing penalty
Weird Gloop migrated the Overwatch and Fortnite wikis off Fandom, but instead of giving them their own root domains as it did with other wikis like RuneScape and Minecraft, it launched them as subdomains of weirdgloop.org. The move is a workaround for a Google Search behavior since March 2024 where brand-new domains only get their homepage indexed, effectively hiding every other page from search results for months.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Since roughly 85% of video game wiki traffic comes from Google, losing indexing on anything but the homepage can gut a wiki's readership right when it needs visibility most. This pattern has hit dozens of independent wikis leaving Fandom, meaning Google's algorithm change is quietly shaping whether creators can realistically build competing sites outside big platforms.
- Weird Gloop hosted the Overwatch and Fortnite wikis as subdomains, not new root domains, to dodge a Google penalty.
- A March 2024 Google update appears to suppress all but the homepage of brand-new domains for months at a time.
- The issue has affected around 90% of new wiki domains Weird Gloop tracked, threatening independent alternatives to Fandom.
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Published there as: “There's a new "Google Jail" for independent wikis”
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