Downside in Web Media Advertising Revenue Due to Changes in Search Engine Rankings
First written in FY2019-Q2. 9 of 18 entries say "Mitigated", first in FY2020. Latest entry: 2026-04-14.
Vector moved to the "Worse" side of this theme in 2018, 8 years before the typical company in this theme (2026).
The whole theme swung hardest in 2025: 10 of 27 companies on the "Worse" side.
10 other companies' latest entry also says "Worsened".
- 2026-04-14WorsenedFinancial Results Presentation
「As AI-generated search results, such as AI Overview, develop, opportunities to click on search-linked advertising are declining, making it difficult to maintain advertising effectiveness.」
The impact of AI Overview and similar developments on search-linked advertising was newly identified as a change in the search-engine environment. - FY2023MitigatedAnnual report
「The media CMS business operated by 株式会社スマートメディア restrained its acquisition of new tie-up projects contributing to advertising revenue from its own web media as it strengthened the owned-media business, including by reallocating personnel from the media business, to build a robust earnings base less susceptible to external conditions. Revenue edged up year on year, while operating profit turned positive from a loss in the previous fiscal year.」
The Company shifted its focus to the owned media business to address fluctuations in advertising revenue caused by external factors such as search engines, and operating profit turned from a loss into a profit of ¥3 million. - FY2023-Q3MitigatedAnnual report
「To build a robust earnings base less susceptible to external conditions, the media CMS business operated by 株式会社スマートメディア restrained its acquisition of new tie-up projects contributing to advertising revenue from its own web media, strengthened the owned-media business by reallocating personnel from the media business, and invested in development to enhance CMS functionality.」
The Company continued shifting to a business structure less affected by external factors such as search engines, narrowing the media CMS business's operating loss from ¥33 million in the same period of the previous year to ¥10 million. - FY2023-Q1MitigatedAnnual report
「To build a robust earnings base less susceptible to external conditions, the company restrained its acquisition of new tie-up projects contributing to advertising revenue from its own web media and strengthened the owned-media business by reallocating personnel from the media business, among other measures.」
To address fluctuations in advertising revenue caused by external factors such as search engines, the Company restrained its acquisition of tie-up projects and shifted personnel to the owned media business. However, business profit was ¥0 million. - FY2022-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「Although sales of owned media development services remained strong, 株式会社スマートメディア's media business generated an operating loss in the third quarter as the Company continued making upfront investments to expand the functionality of its SaaS-based CMS.」
As part of the shift to a business structure less affected by changes in search engine rankings and other factors, upfront investment in the SaaS-based CMS resulted in an operating loss during the third quarter. - FY2022-Q2WorsenedAnnual report
「Although sales of owned media development services remained strong, 株式会社スマートメディア's media business generated an operating loss in the second quarter as advertising revenue from its own web media fell short of expectations due to changes in search engine rankings and other factors, while the Company continued making upfront investments to expand the functionality of its SaaS-based CMS from the first quarter.」
Advertising revenue continued to fall short of expectations due to changes in search engine rankings, with the risk continuing and becoming evident in the operating loss during the second quarter. - FY2022-Q1MitigatedAnnual report
「Although 株式会社スマートメディア's media business made upfront investments to expand the functionality of its SaaS-based CMS, steady sales of owned media development services enabled it to remain profitable during the cumulative first quarter of the current fiscal year.」
The media business remained profitable by continuing to focus on owned media development services, which are less affected by changes in search engine rankings, and by expanding the functionality of its SaaS-based CMS. - FY2021MitigatedAnnual report
「The Company focused on areas in which it has strengths, such as owned media development services, in order to shift to a business structure less affected by external factors such as changes in search engine rankings. In addition, impairment of goodwill recognised in the previous fiscal year eliminated the burden of goodwill amortisation from the current fiscal year. As a result, the Company remained profitable in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, following the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year.」
The Company continued addressing the risk associated with changes in search engine rankings, and the media business generated full-year operating profit of ¥103 million, returning to profitability from an operating loss in the previous fiscal year. - FY2021-Q3MitigatedAnnual report
「The media business operated by 株式会社スマートメディア focused on areas of strength such as owned media development services to shift to a business structure less affected by external factors such as changes in search engine rankings. In addition, impairment losses on goodwill recognized in the previous fiscal year eliminated the burden of goodwill amortization from the current fiscal year. As a result, the business remained profitable from the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year through the third quarter.」
The media business remained profitable in the third quarter through the shift to a business structure less affected by changes in search engine rankings and a focus on owned media, with cumulative operating profit reaching ¥55 million. - FY2021-Q2MitigatedAnnual report
「The media business operated by 株式会社スマートメディア focused on areas of strength such as owned media development services to shift to a business structure less affected by external factors such as changes in search engine rankings. In addition, impairment losses on goodwill recognized in the previous fiscal year eliminated the burden of goodwill amortization from the current fiscal year. As a result, the business achieved profitability in the second quarter, following the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year and the first quarter.」
The media business remained profitable in the second quarter through the shift to a business structure less affected by changes in search engine rankings and a focus on owned media, while efforts to address the risk continued. - FY2021-Q1MitigatedAnnual report
「The Company focused on areas in which it has strengths, such as owned media development services, in order to shift to a business structure less affected by external factors such as changes in search engine rankings. In addition, impairment of goodwill recognised in the previous fiscal year eliminated the burden of goodwill amortisation from the current fiscal year. As a result, the Company achieved profitability in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, following the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year.」
The media business remained profitable in the first quarter through the shift to a business structure less affected by changes in search engine rankings and a focus on owned media, while efforts to address the impact continued. - FY2020MitigatedAnnual report
「These initiatives began to bear fruit, and the Company achieved quarterly profitability in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.」
Although the impact of changes in search engine rankings and other factors on the media business remained, the business returned to profitability in the fourth quarter through recovery efforts and a focus on owned media development services. The full-year operating loss also narrowed from ¥271 million in the previous fiscal year to ¥223 million. - FY2020-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「The media business operated by 株式会社スマートメディア and others was pursuing a recovery from weak performance caused by changes in search engine rankings and other factors during the first half of the previous fiscal year and was focusing on areas of strength, such as owned media development services. However, revenue and profit declined year on year due to lower profitability at some SEO media sites and upfront investment in new businesses to secure new sources of revenue.」
Despite the impact of changes in search engine rankings and other factors, lower profitability at some SEO media outlets and upfront investment in new businesses resulted in media business revenue declining 23.1% and an operating loss of ¥227 million. - FY2020-Q2WorsenedAnnual report
「The media business operated by 株式会社スマートメディア and others was pursuing a recovery from weak performance caused by changes in search engine rankings and other factors during the first half of the previous fiscal year and was focusing on areas of strength, such as owned media development services. However, revenue and profit declined year on year due to lower profitability at some SEO media sites and upfront investment in new businesses to secure new sources of revenue.」
Despite the impact of changes in search engine rankings and other factors, lower profitability at some SEO media outlets and upfront investment in new businesses resulted in lower revenue and profit in the media business. The operating loss widened from ¥84 million in the same period of the previous year to ¥180 million. - FY2020-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「Revenue in the media business was ¥254 million, down 15.4% year on year, and the operating loss was ¥39 million, compared with an operating loss of ¥2 million in the same period of the previous year.」
The impact of changes in search engine rankings and other factors on the web media business persisted, resulting in a 15.4% year-on-year decline in media business revenue and an operating loss of ¥39 million. Although the Company continued its recovery and restructuring efforts, the loss widened from ¥2 million in the same period of the previous year. - FY2019WorsenedAnnual report
「In the web media business, advertising revenue in particular fell short of expectations due to changes in search engine rankings and other factors during the first half.」
The impact of changes in search engine rankings and other factors resulted in advertising revenue falling short of expectations and PR business profit declining for the full year. Meanwhile, the Company stated that it would continue restructuring the web media business. - FY2019-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「In these relatively new web media business areas, advertising revenue in particular fell short of expectations due to changes in search engine rankings and other factors during the first half.」
The impact of changes in search engine rankings and other factors during the first half continued through the cumulative third quarter, resulting in web media advertising revenue falling short of expectations and PR business profit declining year on year. - FY2019-Q2MaterialisedAnnual report
「Advertising revenue from web media fell short of expectations due to changes in search engine rankings and other factors, resulting in operating profit for this segment during the cumulative second quarter of the current fiscal year being lower than in the previous fiscal year.」
Advertising revenue from web media fell short of expectations due to changes in search engine rankings and other factors, resulting in operating profit in the PR business segment being lower than in the same period of the previous year.