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From SEO Bottlenecks to Google Discover Success: Why GPBlog Left Their Custom CMS for Newsifier
“Before Newsifier, our tech was getting in the way. Now we can finally focus on growing traffic again.”
One of Europe’s Top F1 Sites, Limited by Legacy Tech
GPBlog is one of the largest Formula 1 news platforms in the world, serving over 6 million readers monthly in multiple languages. With a loyal audience and real-time news demands, GPBlog had big ambitions — but was being held back by its tech stack.
As part of a larger publishing group, the GPBlog team had no control over development. Every change — even simple SEO updates — required waiting in line behind other brands. Core Web Vitals were always failing. Google Discover traffic dried up.
Sebastiaan Bakker, the founder of GPBlog, knew something had to change. Fast.
“We had clear SEO advice from experts like Barry Adams — but the CMS couldn’t keep up. Discover traffic collapsed. And we were stuck.”
That’s when they turned to Newsifier.
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The Challenges: Tech Bottlenecks and Traffic Loss
“Our Google Discover traffic dropped to zero. It was painful. But it showed us how urgent the situation was.”
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Development Bottlenecks in a Shared System
GPBlog relied on a custom CMS built by their parent publishing house. But in reality, it felt anything but custom. Every change — even small ones — required a long wait.
“We asked for a basic Discover update. It took over a year to implement.”
They couldn’t act on Google algorithm changes. Couldn’t fix performance issues. Couldn’t move fast.
A Broken SEO Foundation
GPBlog worked closely with top SEO experts, including Barry Adams, but their tech stack made it impossible to implement key improvements.
“Core Web Vitals were always failing. And no matter how many times we flagged it — nothing changed.”
When Google started prioritizing fast, mobile-friendly sites, GPBlog couldn’t keep up.
Discover Traffic Collapsed
The result? Their visibility in Google Discover vanished. And with it, millions of potential pageviews.
“Our Google Discover traffic dropped to zero. It was painful. But it showed us how urgent the situation was.”
Editors Felt Powerless
The editorial team couldn’t quickly update stories or respond to breaking news. They lacked the tools to enrich articles or move with the moment.
“As a news publisher, that’s not sustainable. You have to act in real-time — and we just couldn’t.”
The Solution: A Fast, SEO-Smart CMS Built for Publishers
GPBlog didn’t just want a CMS that worked — they needed a partner that understood news publishing. That’s what they found in Newsifier.
A Visual Editor That Speeds Up Publishing
The switch to Newsifier gave their team an intuitive, fast editor with rich formatting, inline images, polls, and “read more” blocks.
“Adding images to articles is now so easy — that alone makes our content look 10x better.”
Real-Time Analytics to Guide Editorial
Newsifier’s built-in real-time analytics gave them instant insight into what was performing — and where it was coming from.
“We’re using the real-time analytics 24/7. It’s the nerve center of our newsroom.”
They’re even exploring how real-time data can help dynamically update “read more” blocks and surface trending articles automatically.
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SEO-Optimized by Default and big increase in Google Discover traffic.
With Newsifier, GPBlog no longer needs to beg for basic SEO fixes. The platform is optimized out-of-the-box — passing all Core Web Vitals with PageSpeed scores over 95, which led to a big growth in Google Discover traffic.
“We used to fail every audit. Now we pass all of them. The difference is night and day. Our Google Discover traffic has grown spectacularly."
And the structured data for live blogs has a great effect.
“That liveblog structured data is gold. Traffic is spiking for liveblogs”
A Partner That Moves Fast
Sebastiaan says it best:
“What makes Newsifier unique is they actually understand SEO — and they act on it. Fast.”
Before the migration, the GPBlog team even considered building a new custom CMS. But after working with Newsifier, they no longer see the need.
“We’re not even thinking about going custom anymore. That says it all.”
Smooth Migration from a Custom CMS to Newsifier
When GPBlog decided to leave their custom CMS they knew time wasn’t on their side. The goal was clear: migrate an 8-year-old, high-traffic, multilingual news platform to Newsifier in just six weeks, without losing SEO visibility, content, or editorial control.
“I didn’t sleep for months leading up to it. When you’ve been on one system for eight years, everything feels risky. But Newsifier pulled it off,” says Sebastiaan.
In under 45 days, the Newsifier team successfully migrated thousands of articles, images, user comments, author data, and content in seven languages — while also rebuilding templates, mapping redirects, and preserving years of SEO value. What’s more, they did it under intense time pressure and close collaboration with the GPBlog team and SEO consultant Barry Adams.
“Even our SEO consultant Barry Adams said this was one of the smoothest high-stakes migrations he’s seen.”
Even before the dust had settled, results were visible: Google Discover visibility returned within two weeks of launch, Core Web Vitals passed for the first time ever, and PageSpeed jumped to 95+.
“Most migrations cause SEO chaos. Ours delivered SEO gains — and that’s all thanks to the way Newsifier handled it.”
Migration Highlights
The Results: Discover Recovered, Workflow Transformed
A Future-Proof CMS for Serious Publishers
For GPBlog, switching to Newsifier wasn’t just about fixing old problems — it was about building a future-ready foundation.
With a faster workflow, better SEO, and a team that delivers, GPBlog is once again growing across all its editions. And they’re finally free to focus on what matters most: publishing great stories, at speed.
“Newsifier is a total solution. It helps publishers focus on creating content — and makes sure that content reaches the right people.”
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