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# Inside Huffington Post's traffic machine: the algorithm that's killing traditional media
- URL: https://werd.io/inside-huffington-posts-traffic-machine-the-algorithm-thats-killing-traditional-media/
- Published: 2012-07-09T18:34:10.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-12T11:00:40.000Z
- Author: Ben Werdmuller
- Tags: Web, #ben-684a32da145d7d001be71dae, aggregators, deliberate pastiche, huffington post, news, seo, #Migrated-1749693130536, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-06-11 21:52

Frédéric Filloux has written [a great analysis of the Huffington Post's SEO techniques](http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/07/08/transfer-of-value/), and is uncompromising about the implications:

> I’m afraid they are wrong. Lethally so.

Frédéric goes into some detail about the way sites like the HuffPo find original journalism and re-wrap it with catchy headlines, quick links, some fine-tuned social engagement tools and a bunch of content straight from the article itself. In particular, he notes that a particular article on the New York Daily News received 2 comments, 1 tweet and 1 Facebook share, while the corresponding Huffington Post version managed 4601 comments, 79 tweets and 155 Facebook shares. And presumably, a whole bunch more advertising revenue.

In other words, because traditional media is failing to adopt new media techniques, sites like the HuffPo are eating its lunch.

> The essence of what we’re seeing here is a transfer of value. Original stories are getting very little traffic due to the poor marketing tactics of old-fashion publishers. But once they are swallowed by the HuffPo’s clever traffic-generation machine, the same journalistic item will make tens or hundred times better traffic-wise. Who is right? Who can look to the better future in the digital world? Is it the virtuous author carving language-smart headlines or the aggregator generating eye-gobbling phrases thanks to high tech tools? Your guess. Maybe it’s time to wake-up.

Maybe - but the traditional media orgs that manage to turn this around and adapt to the 21st century (think: the Guardian) will win the day. Original content *and* the smarts to market it? Now we're talking.