4 Reasons for Search Engine Traffic Drops

The Digital Essentials, Part 3

Developing a robust digital strategy is both a challenge and an opportunity. Part 3 of the Digital Essentials guide series explores five of the essential technology-driven experiences customers expect, which you may be missing or not fully utilizing.

Get the Guide

Did your search traffic volume drop recently? Don’t Panic! When we see any type of traffic drop we immediately think “GOOGLE PENALTY”, but the truth is that there are other reasons for changes in search traffic.

Seasonality and Search Volume
Just like a business is affected by seasonality, the amount of search volume a keyword receives changes too. Check Google Trends to understand how your top keywords’ search volume changes throughout time. Additionally, keep up with your customers’ search behavior: is your site still targeting old keywords that are no longer used?
Static Site
Having a static website that is not constantly offering fresh content to both search engines and customers will likely lose keyword rankings and search traffic. Blog posts, articles, newsletters, new product and services pages, and social media are great sources of fresh content and natural link building.
Competitors Improved their SEO
If your competitors are investing time in optimizing their pages, improving their user experience, and increasing the amount of thought leadership (blogs, articles, case studies, etc.), their website authority will likely increase which will be reflected on your competitor’s keyword rankings. As competitor’s rankings increase your rankings and search volume could decrease.
Change in Algorithm
As search engines change their algorithm the importance of SEO factors changes, which means that if the focus of your SEO strategy has been on old tactics, such as unnatural link building, your website likely lost rankings on search engines due to the devaluation of those low quality backlinks. Keep up with SEO news and updates, and always optimize thinking about the long run consequences and opportunities.
None of the Above?
If you truly believe the reasons listed above don’t apply to your website’s drop in search traffic, then it’s time to consider the possibility that your site has been penalized. For more tips on this, read the 6 Ways to Check if Google Penalized Your Site.