Website traffic is dropping? Possible causes and solutions

Website traffic (also referred to by some as website 'visitability') is one of the most popular ways to measure the effects of SEO. Why? Because it almost directly translates into the profits achieved by the site/company. But what exactly is traffic? It is the number of users who have visited your pages over a certain period of time. This means that every time someone hits your site, such an event is recorded. There are several sources of traffic, and the main division is between free and paid search results. By analysing the traffic, you get information about whether you have succeeded in attracting potential customers and thus fulfilling the objectives set in your Internet marketing strategy. In addition to this, traffic analytics allows you to detect sudden drops in traffic, which for both specialists SEOand site owners is a cause for concern. What to do in such a situation? What could be the reasons for a drop in website traffic and how to combat it? You will read about this in today's article.

How do you check your website traffic?

If you want to check your website traffic, you do not have to be an SEO specialist at all. The most commonly used tool for traffic analysis is Google Analytics. To start using it, you need to create a free account. After the initial set-up, press Get Tracking ID button and accept the conditions Google Analytics. You will then receive a unique tracking code, which you will need to embed on your website. If your sites are based on WordPress, you can use special plug-ins with which you can easily install the code. An example of such a plug-in is MonsterInsights or ExactMetrics - Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress. 

After entering the tracking code, Google Analytics will be able to collect and monitor all user behaviour on your pages. Interestingly and usefully, the tool has an alerts function, which will come in handy when you do not need to constantly monitor the site. Thanks to the alerts that can be activated in the administration panel, you will not miss a crisis. And while we are on the subject of crises, it is time to take a look at the most common causes of traffic decline that you may have observed on your sites.

The most common causes of traffic decline

A myriad of factors influence the entire process of SEO activities. Therefore, a drop in website traffic can occur whether you are working on it yourself or have outsourced the task to specialists. Of course, the key is to react to the problem. It is necessary to act quickly and effectivelyand, above all, verify what its source is. By getting to it, you will be able to improve the situation. And what are the most common reasons for a drop in website traffic? 

Declining positions for important phrases

Lowering your position in Google's search results for important phrases for your website can mess things up a lot. It's obvious, a lower position means less traffic from searches for those very phrases. The drop from TOP3 will be felt most. It will also contribute to a decrease in the click-through rate (CTR). How do you find out if your sites have declined? You can use the free platform Google Search Console (tab "Effectiveness"). OK, you already know that positions are going down, but what could be the reason for this? There is no single answer. A drop in positions may be due, for example, to the actions of competitors. That is why it is worth analysing them. Strengthen your pages with external links, e.g. by publishing valuable articles on important keywords.

Penalty from Google

Manually imposed filters are penalties for positioning activities that do not comply with Google's guidelines (Black Hat SEO). If imposed filter manual (by a Google employee - Search Quality Team), there will be information about it in Google Search Console and tips on how to "recover" from the penalty. On the other hand, when an algorithmic filter is imposed, there will be no information in Google Search Console, but you can infer this if you have noticed a drastic drop in positions or traffic.

The effect of a penalty from Google is to lower the position of the page in the SERPs (search results), which in most cases, is tantamount to a drop in traffic. How to deal with a filter imposed by Google? First of all, the problem with the site for which we have been penalised must be diagnosed and eliminated. Only then can you submit a remediation notification, which equates to a request to re-evaluate your site. If Google determines that it no longer violates the guidelines, the penalty will be removed.

URL change without redirection

Remember to change the address of an existing, already indexed page, create 301 redirect from old address to new address. Otherwise, Google will recognise that a new bookmark has been created and the old one deleted. Thus, you will lose all previous "achievements" of the site!

Algorithm update 

As site owners, you need to be aware that once in a while Google makes changes to its algorithms. Typically, these updates do not have a dramatic impact on page rankings. However, if this is not the case, Google notifies you in special statements. To keep up to date with these, it is best to follow Google on Twitter. 

Changes in search trends that you have not taken into account

If you are not up to date with search trends, you need to be aware that there may have been a change whereby traffic to the site starts to decline. Not only is the search engine itself evolving, its users and their needs are also changing.

Changes may also be related to the seasonality of searches. Perhaps your sites offer products or services for which demand falls as the summer season ends (for example, garden furniture). You therefore need to be aware that as the popularity of enquiries decreases, your website traffic will decrease.

How do you keep your hand in? Make friends with Google Trends. This tool will show you the popularity of your keywords over time. You will find out what trends and changes your phrases are undergoing.

Poor quality content on the website

Google evaluates a website by considering a myriad of factors. One of the most important is content. If the quality of your content declines and no longer meets the requirements of Google and your audience, the existing position of your website in the search results may deteriorate. Thus - your website traffic will decrease. How do you take care of the content? 

Before publishing any text, ask yourself whether:

• Is the text valuable and useful? Does it solve the pain points of my audience?
• the content is free of errors, written in accordance with formal requirements?
• will the recipient find the answers to their questions in my text?
• anyone searching for similar content?

Remember, too, that the time when it was enough to pack content with keywords to reach TOP3 of a search engine is definitely over. In 2011 Panda algorithm effectively cracked down on sites that treated optimisation in this way. Therefore, one of the ways you can influence an increase in website traffic is to invest in content marketing.

Failure to adapt the website to the requirements of mobile devices

Are you aware that, when creating rankings, Google takes into account the mobile version of a website? This is known as mobile first indexing, or mobile-optimised indexing. It was enabled as a default for all new pages on 1 July 2019. What does this mean? You may notice a drop in your pages in the SERPs in favour of those that are mobile-friendly. If you have focused too much on the desktop version, this may be the reason for low traffic to the website.

What then? Make sure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly. It must adapt to screens of different resolutions, allow simple navigation and not overwhelm with too many elements.

No movement, no movement at all? Summary

A website that enjoys popularity and visitor engagement is the goal of every owner. However, there are crisis situations when we observe a drop in the number of users hitting our sites. Sometimes these situations are caused by our mistakes, and sometimes they are beyond our control. In both cases, it is necessary to rapid response, which, however, requires at least basic knowledge of positioning. Act at the source, and for this you need an analysis of the state of the website. Remember not to panic. A drop in traffic can happen to any website. This is normal, because on positioning and movement are affected by a multitude of variables. In a situation where you are unable to deal with the problem yourself, contact SEOSki. Our agency will carry out an audit and make the necessary changes to get your sites crowded again.