A sharp/gradual drop in organic traffic is no joke for website owners, digital marketers, and/or SEO pros. Organic traffic is a crucial metric that directly affects brand visibility, lead generation, and ultimate conversions.
Identifying the culprits that caused the decline is obligatory for finding the right solutions. Else, recovering the lost traffic may become impossible. This article briefly looks into all the common causes of organic traffic drops/decreases.
01. Google Algorithm Updates
Google Inc. frequently updates its search algorithms to improve user experience. The algorithms ensure relevant content ranks higher. Such an update can significantly impact search rankings to initiate a drop.
You must monitor SEO news as well as updates on Google’s official channels. Employ tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and/or SEMrush to analyze keyword rankings before and after the update. Always keep up with the best SEO practices and Google’s guidelines.
Update old content and improve E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) for countermeasures. Don’t forget to optimize technical SEO, webpage speed, and user experience.
02. Technical SEO Issues
Technical problems can prevent Google from properly crawling, indexing, or ranking your pages. Some common technical SEO issues are –
- Broken links and 404 errors.
- Noindex tags or robots.txt blocking.
- Slow site/page speed.
- Mobile usability issues.
Use Google Search Console to find crawl errors and fix them. Audit your site using Screaming Frog to detect indexing issues. Optimize page speed with caching, image compression, and minimized CSS/JavaScript.
03. Competitor Improvements
Keeping an eye on your competitors is also an important task. Enhanced content and SEO can outrank you easily and cause a decline in organic traffic.
Employ tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to compare your SEO with competitors. Also, check whether new competitors are ranking for your primary keywords.
Always try to improve content quality, add fresh insights, and update outdated info. Better strengthen the backlink profile and optimize for featured snippets.
04. Decline in Keyword Rankings
Losing rankings for high-traffic keywords can significantly impact organic traffic. The key reasons behind such keyword ranking drops include Google’s algorithm changes, competitor improvements, declining search volume for target KWs, etc.
Start by identifying lost keyword rankings using Google Search Console or SEMrush. Refresh all existing content with updated statistics and trends. Also, focus on optimizing on-page SEO elements like meta tags, headings, and internal linking.
05. Content Quality and Relevance
Outdated, low-quality, or shallow content may lose rankings in favor of better alternatives. You can confirm through signs of poor content –
- High bounce rates and low engagement.
- Thin/minimalistic content with minimal value.
- Lack of structured data and multimedia elements.
You’re to update and expand content with fresh info regularly. Always include engaging visuals, videos, and infographics. Keep content answers search-oriented and provide comprehensive solutions.
06. Google Penalties (Manual/Algorithmic)
Google penalizes websites that violate its guidelines, often leading to a massive drop in organic traffic. Some of the most common penalty reasons involve –
- Spammy backlinks or unnatural link-building.
- Duplicate or plagiarized content.
- Keyword stuffing and over-optimization.
Familiarize yourself with Google Search Console’s Manual Actions section. Always discard toxic backlinks with Google’s Disavow Tool. Keep the content unique, valuable, and aligned with the best SEO practices.
07. Seasonal Traffic Decline
Certain industries experience seasonal fluctuations, causing temporary drops. Employ Google Analytics to compare traffic trends from previous years. Also, check Google Trends to see whether and/or how the search demand for your industry fluctuates.
You better adjust the overall content strategy to match seasonal trends. Run targeted PPC campaigns to compensate for organic traffic loss from time to time. Consider offering some seasonal promotions to maintain client engagement and conversions.
08. Website Migration or Redesign Issues
Improperly executed site migrations, redesigns, or domain changes can disrupt SEO to initiate organic traffic losses. Common issues associated with this one are –
- Missing or incorrect 301 redirects.
- URL structure changes without proper mapping.
- Loss of metadata (title tags, meta descriptions, canonical tags).
Implementing 301 redirects can preserve the SEO value. Never skip the sitemap submission in Google Search Console. Also, the website’s performance after migration should be tested using SEO tools.
09. Core Web Vitals and User Experience Factors
Google prioritizes websites that offer better user experience (UX) and Core Web Vitals performance. Some noteworthy issues that affect UX include –
- Slow page load times.
- Intrusive pop-ups or ads.
- Poor mobile experience.
Likewise, optimize page speed using tools like PageSpeed Insights. Ensure mobile responsiveness and easy navigation. Reduce pop-ups to a reasonable extent to avoid negative UX.
Pumping up the organic traffic to your website can make everything better. However, a noticeable drop over several reasons can turn all those things upside down. You’ll have to keep up with the reasons and start planning recovery through proper analysis and implementation.
Contact Tectera a SEO company in Sri Lanka for more details.
