Top Possible Reasons For Why Your Site Traffic Dropped

Top Possible Reasons For Why Your Site Traffic Dropped



Is your website losing traffic or is your ranking down? Here are the most likely reasons why your search rankings and traffic dropped.

Visits to websites exist, but visits can be different things for different sites.

For media sites, for example, traffic from ads can be a source of revenue. Traffic for eCommerce retailers translates into direct sales.

Enough to count as a win if some sites may not sell anything or maybe sell a brand that has an eye on your content.

  • It doesn't matter what your site is, traffic = customers.
  • And in search engine terms, ranking = traffic = customers.
  • So when your search rankings go down - or your traffic goes down - that’s a problem.

Whether you are a digital marketer, SEO professional, webmaster, or some other stakeholder, it may be your responsibility to investigate the issue and find out how to get things back on track.

Here are 22 places to see if your traffic is down and you need a fix.


1. You are tracking the wrong sort

If your site has been online for many years, your keywords may not be relevant today. Think about your own search behavior and compare it to the keywords shown in your search console data.

ADVERTISEMENT

@

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Can you use industry or niche that might align with what your potential customers know?

Many people will search differently for the same question and are still unable to find an answer or solution to their problem.

Engineers at Google have greatly improved their natural language comprehension ability. People today can type in more natural language to find results. It's also easier to rank for things if you keep your content simple.

Search engines have also picked up on this phenomenon in recent years. Instead of relying on just a few keywords, they rank websites based on complete sentences and other elements of a more natural language.

View your keywords and keyword phrases. If you're using outdated or generic keywords, you're tracking the wrong sort and need to update your policy.


2. Lost Links

Another reason your search rankings and traffic dropped is that you lost links.

ADVERTISEMENT

@

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Check your site for lost links for the last 90 days using tools (e.g. Majestic, Ahrefs, Cognitive SEO).

If you've lost a lot of links, this may be the reason for your ranking.

You should also ask about the disadvantages of this link:

Is there a link drop on the site?

Missing links on the same pages of your site where rankings are declining?

Has your page ranking decreased in inbound links to lost pages?

Do you see page-down links on your website that link to other pages with lower rankings?

If your inbound links are broken or lost, you need to determine where those links came from and why they are broken.

You can then remove, replace, or retain it.

Each link should be checked separately to determine the next step:

If these links are removed intentionally, they may indicate that they are not natural links, and if they do not already exist, they may be flagged and penalized by Google. Let these links go.

Sometimes links break or change during site updates. In these cases, you may have the opportunity to persuade the site owner to restore it.

Internal Links You also have the option to link to a new source if the new links have changed to a different source.

Don't let ad fraud ruin your PPC.

Click bots knocking on your door? There doesn’t have to be a horrible story. Turn on your click guard and let us help you win in PPC in 2021.

ADVERTISEMENT

@

Remember, you can always replace the new ones with the old ones.

To prevent future lost links from affecting your rankings, it is worthwhile to try to invest in link monitoring software or programs to actively track lost links. You can get active and take corrective measures before you lose rankings.

3.Broken redirects

If you're launching a new website, migrating to a new server, or making some structural changes to your site, you're more likely to drop your rankings unless you have a proper 301 redirect plan.

Broken redirects are the worst nightmare of every SEO professional.

When using 301 redirects, you should make sure that the XML sitemap, canonical tags and links are also up to date.

A 301 redirect is like making a change in the address notification for the web. This notification tells search engines that a single page, multiple pages, or your entire website has been moved. You are asking that your website visitors be sent to your new address instead of your old one.

ADVERTISEMENT

@

CONTINUE READING BELOW

If done correctly, you will not lose your ranking or even be penalized for duplicate content because search engines are indexing both your old and new web address.


4. Manual Actions

If you notice a sudden and significant drop in your website rankings, this may indicate that Google is imposing a penalty on your site. Manual actions are applied manually as a result of algorithmic updates.

If your site continues to rank on other search engines like Yahoo or Bing, it is almost certain that you are suffering a Google penalty.

Whether your penalty is manual or automatic, we will resolve the issue and remove the penalty. The best way to get started is to look at suggestions from your Google Search Console account.

See the warning in the message menu and in the manual action section. Here, Google employees find that certain pages on your website do not comply with their guidelines.

Advertising

@

Continue reading below

You'll be able to find suggestions and information on how to fix the problem.


5. Algorithm Changes

Google is always looking for ways to improve its strategy and results by changing algorithms. Many of these sites have been hurt by these changes and have suffered from lower site rankings.

In order not to be crippled by Google's updates, use effective media cross-channel marketing and traffic strategies that include social media and other marketing channels.


6. Natural Changes in Search

There are times when your search engine rankings show that you are not affected by anything directly related to your website. Google has often made changes to the type of results based on user behavior.

For example, if there is a sudden increase in searches on a particular topic, Google may first bring in new results and push static content further down.

If your content falls into another category, you will see a loss in your rankings.

You can look at Google Trends to see if there are any changes that explain these discrepancies.

ADVERTISEMENT

@

CONTINUE READING BELOW


7. UX Changes in Google

Google sometimes changes the UX of a search page in such a way that clicks lead away.

This way traffic snippets featured on search results can pop up. Some search experiments may have affected the click-through rate.

Check which terms have fallen below and see if anything has changed.


8. Geolocation Discrepancies

Your ranking will vary depending on where the search was performed. If you check your rankings in one geographic area you need to check them in many other areas to get a more accurate and more accurate assessment of your ranking.

Have you noticed that the results of a particular search may be completely different from those of the other searcher?

Also, if you search while logging in to your Google Account and try again after logging out, you will get different results.

This is because Google will also see the sites you've visited before, where you are, and the devices you use before presenting them in your search results.

ADVERTISEMENT


CONTINUE READING BELOW

9. Competitor Improvements

It is possible that you are doing everything right but will still lose traffic and see a drop in your rankings. One reason for this may be that your competition is doing a good job.

Monitor your competitors by analyzing their social media activity, link building strategies and content marketing. You can use tools like a Wayback Machine or Versionista to see what your competitors have changed.

You can also use backlink tools to see if they have new backlinks; They may be running their own SEO campaigns.

Once you understand what your competition has done to enhance you, make some changes like that - just do it well.


10. Page Speed

How many loads your pages will have will affect not only your ranking but also the user experience of your website visitors. When pages take longer to load, bounce rates are higher because people don't want to wait to see your content.

Advertising

@

Continue reading below

To check your page speed, try Google's new and improved PageSpeed ​​tool. The tool was redesigned to include actual user data.

Pages are ranked based on how fast, fast, slow and average.


11. Server Issues

If there is a server problem with your site, it could be the result of a broken caching function or a blank markup provided on Googlebot. It is critical that you fix any server issues quickly.

View errors in your server logs and use Google's Receive and Render tool to check how a URL on your site is presented or crawled.


12. Other Web Vitals

Google says "UK signals and web vitals such as" cumulative layout shifts "can change how your site ranks.

  • What is the user experience on your page like?
  • Does the layout shift around a lot?
  • Are there lots of ads?

13. Internal Navigation

Your website navigation tells your visitors where to find information on your site.

Advertising

@

Continue reading below

Try to keep a flat, narrow structure with two or at most three layers for your internal navigation. If your visitors have to click too often to find what they are looking for, they are more likely to leave.

It is possible that search engines will stop crawling deep buried content on your website. This in turn will lower your rankings and get you less traffic in key content areas.

Internal link strategies are not only a part of good search optimization but also integral to your other customer retention strategies.

Making your internal links and navigation simple and logical improves client perception and drives other rank metrics like site over time. Using keyword-rich internal links will help search engines quickly determine what your site is about and whether your content is relevant to the query.


14. Bad Quality Link Penalties

Not all links are created equal.

If you use a dangerous, spammy or outdated link building strategy, Google will penalize your site.

Advertising

@

Continue reading below

Google makes it clear that the first paragraph of their Search Console Help section contains a low-quality link: called link schemes.

“Any links intended to alter PageRank or site rankings in Google search results may be considered part of the link scheme and in violation of Google's Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that handles links to your site or outgoing links to your site. "

Take the time to develop a high-quality link building strategy to avoid being penalized by Google and increasing your organic search traffic.

Some tips for creating good links:

Fix your broken links by making them new and valuable.

Use PR to cite online content or a news article.

Write exceptional content and advertise it vigorously on social media so that people can find it.

For other suggestions, read Sage's link building guide.


15. Recent Website Changes & Redesign

If you decide to redesign your website, the last thing you want to do is lose all the traffic and rankings you put into building it.

Advertising

@

Continue reading below

There are some steps you can take to begin the process of preparation for mediation

Make sure all 301 redirects are mapped accurately.

Check the link structure of your inbound links to make sure they are working properly on your new site.

Get some baseline metrics reports like Rank Tracker, Site Audit, Traffic and Page URL Mapping before launching your new website.

By carefully planning and paying attention to the essential elements of your redesign project, you can avoid negative impacts on your SEO and rankings and also make improvements.


16. Simple Technical Issues

Technical SEO is the health solution to the technical foundation of your website. It refers to the SEO function that affects how search engines crawl and index your content.

Check out the most common technical SEO mistakes: How serious are they? For some common issues that may affect your website traffic and rankings. Being aware of technical SEO issues helps you take better care of your website and stay in your rankings.

Technical SEO issues are some of the baseline issues that can prevent you from ranking.

ADVERTISEMENT


CONTINUE READING BELOW

17. Server Overload

If your server is not set up or ready for a sudden increase in traffic, it can overload and crash. People on a shared server are more likely to go down because someone else on the same server sees a sudden increase in traffic.

If you exceed your bandwidth limit, many hosting packages will take your site down. This can happen if you manage to get your site featured on a popular site.

If your site experiences too much downtime, it will negatively affect your search rankings.


18. Meta Information

Meta information or meta tags are used to tell search engines what information your site provides.

One of the most important types of metadata that will help increase your SEO rankings is the title tag. Other types of meta information that can help your website rankings are headers and meta descriptions.

Avoid inconsistencies when providing your meta information.

For example, if you change the date of an article on your site, be sure to change it in the meta description as well. You want to avoid duplicating your meta information or using meaningless and generic titles like "home".


ADVERTISEMENT


CONTINUE READING BELOW

You should use more specific title tags that include your target keywords.

If you use the same title for multiple pages you will not only confuse your users but you will also compete with yourself in SERPs.


19. Source of Traffic

Your website traffic includes not only the number of visits to your site but also the number of pages clicked and how much time was spent on each page.

Traffic can come from many sources, including:

  • Email marketing
  • References
  • Direct traffic
  • Organic research
  • Paid search
  • Social media

Which is the best?

The answer is which source generated the most engagement, lowest bounce rate and highest conversions.

Organic search can reduce your traffic from outside sources. For example, if there has been a change in how Twitter or Facebook is treated with links.

When a person types your URL in the address bar, there is direct traffic.

ADVERTISEMENT


CONTINUE READING BELOW

This may not be important for ranking, but it is important because:

Visitors choose to return to your site because they already know you and want what you have to offer.

You are already known as an industry expert in your corner, so visitors come to your site because they know your brand.

Direct traffic is not affected by social media or Google changes and serves as a separate resource for visitors.

You can track your live traffic statistics on your Google Analytics dashboard. If you want to increase your direct traffic, focus on having a clear and memorable brand.

Consistently value and advise your website visitors and show that you are an expert in your industry.


20. Time on Site

User engagement can affect your search rankings. Bounce rate and average time spent on your webpages are two metrics that you can easily measure in Google Analytics.

These metrics are not a direct ranking factor, but they indicate whether you are providing a great experience for your users.

Want to lower the high bounce rate? Here are 20 proven tips that will reduce your high website bounce rate.

Advertising

@

Continue reading below

Do people want to spend more time searching for your content? Read 3 tips to increase people's time reading your content.


21. Duplicate Content

Google defines duplicate content as a block of content that appears within or within a domain that is significantly similar or completely identical to other content.

It is not always considered deceptive or malicious and does not always fall short in search engine rankings.

When content is deliberately duplicated to alter rankings and increase traffic, your site will be penalized. This could mean that your content competes for the same queries, and Google may penalize one of those pages when it thinks there should be more variety in the query.

Your rankings will suffer and in the worst case, your site may be completely removed from Google's index. It will no longer be found in search.


22. You’re Using Old Clickbait Techniques

Some ways to get users to your site - such as lists - still work but users get sick of this type of technique and avoid clicking on your links.

Advertising

@

Continue reading below

Does your title accurately describe the things on the page?

Are you avoiding gimmicks like “I can't predict what will happen next”?

Does your meta description get people stuck or send them away?

Try the A / B test meta descriptions and titles to see if there are fixes that could attract more people.

Protect your valuable search rankings and traffic

There are no shortcuts to increase your website traffic.

You need more time and effort if you want to gain more search engine visibility.

Don’t try to take shortcuts through sketch strategies, or you will suffer the negative consequences of poor search rankings and lost traffic.

Stay up to date with the latest updates and best practices to increase your online visibility and grow your business.