How We Made Millions on Facebook Despite Every Algorithm Update
Facebook is, by far, the most powerful platform for publishers to make money.
Like any major platform, it will have major algorithm updates.
And yet, we still made millions and drove 100’s of millions of visitors to our websites over the years.
Here are the biggest algorithm updates of the last 10 years and how we navigated them.
1. Skill vs. Luck: What Really Drives Facebook Success
We were speaking to a very smart and experienced publisher the other day who was looking into getting into Facebook publishing via our elite consulting program.
Here’s what he said:
“One of my biggest concerns here is just trying to get an understanding of skill vs luck. I know for example, you gave the music case study example [pinned to our X profile] and mentioned how two of the pages didnt work out but one of them took off.
If they were applying the same concepts to all pages, then who is to say that it wasnt just being lucky in facebook’s eyes for one to work out.”
Our response:
“It’s more of a matter of skill than it is luck, as well as choosing the right niche in tandem with not making the niche too narrow.
Furthermore, all of The Music Man’s pages are very successful, and the main page wouldn’t have been such a huge home run had it not been for the other smaller pages – they all feed each other.
It’s called a Testing framework where one tests content on smaller pages then pushes it out on their larger pages, thus creating massive growth for the page that one chooses to ‘go to the moon.'”
2. Algorithm Fears: Why Facebook Is Different from Google
He then brought up a very valid concern that most publishers have who are considering pivoting to Facebook revenue generation:
“I think this just goes back to my hesitancy around algorithms and I am concerned about being put right in the same position as I was in with google.
I can learn all the concepts, put all the best practices in place, put in hours of work, and even if it is the exact type of content that works well with some pages, it doesnt mean its going to work for mine.”
To which we responded:
“Unlike Google, Facebook has proven over and over again that one can withstand and pivot after any algorithm change. Let me walk you through the biggest algorithm changes of the last 10 years…”
3. The 2022 Algorithm Shift That Changed Everything
The last major change before the recent February update happened in 2022, when web traffic for many publishers dropped significantly.
Why? Facebook introduced the Performance Bonus program (now known as the Content Monetization program). Publishers who relied exclusively on web traffic and refused to adapt were hit hard.
But here’s the important part: those who shifted their strategy to maximize reach and content monetization not only maintained their earnings — many actually made more money than ever before.
At the same time, Facebook rolled out higher RPM opportunities, which made the traffic coming from Facebook more valuable than before. As a result, web traffic (for those who stayed nimble) remained an excellent, steady, and scalable revenue source.
4. The 2019 Algorithm Change: End of the Golden Age
An even bigger algorithm change hit in 2019 during the first Trump administration, when Facebook introduced its fact-checking program for the very first time.
This update was a turning point — anyone posting fake news or overly sensational headlines saw their reach decimated overnight. Entire networks built on clickbait were wiped out.
But there was a silver lining: publishers producing higher-quality, credible content suddenly had the advantage. They got a larger slice of the pie and were able to stand out more easily in the feed.
At the same time, Facebook banned coordinated sharing networks (aka “share-for-share” deals) that many publishers relied on.
But they also released the cross-posting feature, which allowed publishers to collaborate “above board” — and this feature continues to be one of the most powerful tools for scaling reach today (we teach this inside our consulting program).
It’s worth noting that before 2019 was the true “Golden Age” of Facebook publishing — when publishers were making unbelievable amounts of money, sometimes millions per month, with very little friction.
5. The February 2024 Algorithm Shift: A Game-Changer for Publishers
Arguably one of the biggest algorithm changes ever — certainly in the top two — began rolling out in February 2024.
The most significant change? Facebook retired its old fact-checking program and replaced it with Community Notes. This is a huge win for publishers. The old system often penalized legitimate posts with false positives, and worse, a single violation could tank the reach of your entire page.
Under the new system, only the specific post that receives a Community Note has its reach throttled — meaning the rest of your content continues to perform normally.
Facebook has also shifted to a more libertarian-leaning content moderation model, closer to the “Golden Age” of Facebook but without the chaos. Importantly, political content is once again fully allowed — a niche that consistently drives massive reach and monetization potential.
Even better, this change comes at the same time as Facebook’s revenue share programs gaining traction. That means not only can you get more reach and traffic under the new algorithm, but you can also earn more money per impressionthan ever before.
For publishers, this update is a green light: it’s time to scale.
As you can see, pivots are very possible with Facebook as a result of algorithm changes, and some of the algorithm changes are actually positive or can be turned into a positive, and quickly at that.
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