In 2009, I wrote about using Web 2.0 sites as part of an article marketing strategy. The specific platforms I recommended, Squidoo, HubPages, WetPaint, and Zimbio, are either gone or completely different. But the core idea, leveraging third-party platforms with existing authority to distribute your content and build your audience, is the foundation of modern content marketing.

What Web 2.0 Content Strategy Looked Like in 2009

The term “Web 2.0” referred to platforms built on user-generated content. The strategy was straightforward: create content on these high-authority sites, include links back to your website, and benefit from both the referral traffic and the SEO value of those backlinks. Sites like Squidoo and HubPages had enormous domain authority, so content published there could rank in Google faster and higher than content on your own new website.

The approach had real risks. I warned readers in 2009 to create multiple accounts because platforms could shut you down without warning if they decided your content violated their terms of service. Competitors could report your pages. All your work could vanish overnight if your account got closed. That warning turned out to be prophetic when Squidoo itself shut down entirely in 2014.

Why This Strategy Died

Google's algorithm updates between 2011 and 2013 devastated these platforms. Panda targeted the thin, low-quality content that dominated sites like HubPages and Squidoo. Penguin devalued the manipulative backlinks people built through Web 2.0 properties. The platforms that survived had to dramatically raise their content standards, and most of the people using them for link building moved on.

Building your business on rented land, platforms you do not control, was always risky. The Web 2.0 era proved it conclusively.

The Modern Version: Platform Content Strategy

The underlying principle of publishing content where audiences already exist is more powerful than ever. The platforms are just different, and the approach is more sophisticated.

LinkedIn. For B2B content, LinkedIn is the platform with the most organic reach in 2026. Articles and posts can reach thousands of professionals in your industry. Unlike Squidoo, LinkedIn has a sustainable business model and is not going anywhere.

Medium. Medium offers built-in distribution to readers interested in your topics. The Partner Program pays for popular content. It is essentially what HubPages aspired to be, but with better content standards and a real audience.

YouTube. Video content on YouTube has the longest shelf life of any platform. A well-optimized video can generate traffic for years, much like the article marketing dream, but on a platform with billions of users and Google's full backing.

Substack and newsletters. Email newsletters give you direct access to your audience without algorithmic gatekeeping. Substack, ConvertKit, and Beehiiv make it easy to build a newsletter audience and own that relationship.

Podcasting. Podcast content lives across multiple platforms simultaneously: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and your own website. It builds deeper audience relationships than any written content because people hear your voice for 30 to 60 minutes at a time.

The Lesson That Survives

The smartest approach to platform content has always been the same: use third-party platforms to reach new audiences, but always drive people back to something you own, your email list, your website, your own platform. The Web 2.0 era taught us the hard way what happens when you build exclusively on platforms you do not control.

Create content on the platforms where your audience lives. But make sure your business does not depend on any single platform's continued existence or favorable algorithm. That lesson from 2009 cost a lot of people a lot of work to learn. You can learn it for free.