Hi Hello Reader,

Thank you so much for being part of our community! I hope this holiday season brings your family peace and light.

With mixed emotions, I wanted to share some BIG news from my side of the internet. Unfortunately, Travel Car Seat Mom is no more... sort of.

As you can see from the new header on this email, I've changed the name of my website to Travel Car Seat Expert. It's still the same content and the same expertise you've come to rely on!

Back in fall 2023, Google introduced changes to its algorithm that flagged many great websites as being "unhelpful" and instead prioritized showing massive generic sites even if they have nothing to do with the topic at hand - we're talking about Sports Illustrated offering cookware recommendations and Forbes telling you what car seat to buy. Instead of rewarding depth and expertise, Google began rewarding the volume of content.

Over the last year there have been further hits to our website traffic thanks to AI summaries that steal good content, prioritization of ads in search results and more. The long and short is that my own search traffic has dropped by more than 99% in the last 15 months even though my articles are still just as helpful to readers.

Thousands of independent publishers like me have been wracking our collective brains since then to understand how we can salvage our websites, many of which rely on search engines to "meet" new readers". The only thing that has reliably worked for anyone is a complete rebrand.

To be clear, I loved my brand as Travel Car Seat Mom. It reflects who I am: a CPST and mom who is passionate about helping families travel safely. But without readers coming from Google, I can't afford to keep working on this website.

If you've read this far, thank you so much! Your support truly means the world to me. I love knowing that more than two million readers have already learned how to travel safely with their kids thanks to my website! With your help, hopefully we can reach millions more.

A lot of people have asked me what they can do in this era of anti-creator behavior by Google. Here are a few ways you can support me (or other independent writers you like):

1) Keep reading Travel Car Seat Expert! Even if you do nothing else, just reading earns valuable advertising revenue.

2) When you shop online, use the affiliate links you'll find throughout the website.

3) Join my Facebook group if you haven't already. It's the fastest way to get personalized advice for your needs.

4) Got a friend who's traveling with a little kid? Share my website or Facebook group with them!

5) Grab an electronic or physical copy of my book - it also makes a great baby shower gift.

6) Buy me a coffee. Seriously, I love coffee! I don't charge my local families for in-person car seat checks so they usually bring me a latte or a coffee gift card.

That's all for now! In the meantime, thank you for your continued support. Wishing you all the best during this holiday season.

Safe travels,

Melissa