SEO - Where my organic traffic went?

Experiencing a significant drop in organic traffic to your website can be worrying and confusing. Although this problem is not uncommon, understanding its possible causes and solutions is vital for recovery and future prevention.

Main SEO reasons for the decline in organic traffic:

Google algorithm updates:

Google's regular updates aim to improve user search experiences by affecting website traffic patterns. Although not all updates significantly affect all websites, the major ones can, especially if your site is not aligned with Google's evolving standards. It's crucial to stay informed about these updates and adapt your search engine strategies - SEO accordingly. Whenever you notice a breach, confirm in the Search Status Dashboard whether there has been an update on the same dates before drawing conclusions

Changes to the content or structure of the site:

Significant changes to your website, such as content updates or redesigns, can disrupt your search rankings if not handled correctly. Redesigns, migrations and rewrites can disrupt rankings if they are not accompanied by 301 redirects, internal linking review, canonicals and sitemaps. Make sure there are checklists and post-deployment validations; it's essential for maintaining traffic levels.

Increased competition:

The digital landscape is constantly evolving, with new competitors potentially affecting your traffic. To stay competitive, you need to monitor your competitors' strategies and adjust your SEO and content plans to stay ahead of the game.

Technical problems:

Ignoring technical aspects of SEO can have a negative impact on your site's visibility and user experience, leading to a reduction in organic traffic. Common problems include slow loading times, broken links and mobile usability issues. Regular audits can help identify and correct these problems.

Manual actions and penalties:

Google can impose penalties on sites that use unethical SEO tactics, resulting in drastic drops in traffic. These penalties are usually communicated via the Google Search Console and resolving the problems can help to recover your traffic levels.

Identification of specific causes:

Consola de pesquisa do Google:

Use this tool to identify indexing problems, manual actions and other notifications that could explain a decline in traffic. Resolving the flagged problems and sending a review can help restore your site's performance.

Google Analytics:

This platform allows you to track and analyse traffic patterns, helping to identify when and where drops occur. Analysing this data can identify specific areas for improvement.

Third-party SEO tools: Platforms such as Ahrefs or Semrush can help you understand which keywords or pages are losing traction, allowing for targeted optimisations..

Third-party SEO tools:

Ahrefs/Semrush for keyword/page trends and content gaps. Semrush and SISTRIX already come with modules for AI Overviews (AIO) - help you realise when your keywords display AIO and if your domain is mentioned.

Server logs & crawlers:

Analysing logs reveals how Googlebot really crawls the site (4xx/5xx errors, blocked resources, crawl patterns). Tools such as Screaming Frog Log File Analyser and cloud suites (JetOctopus/ OnCrawl) speed up this work.

Google Trends:

Take advantage of this tool to understand the broader industry trends that may be influencing your organic traffic, allowing you to adapt your content and SEO strategies effectively.

UX & Comportamento:

Microsoft Clarity (free) records sessions and creates heatmaps - great for spotting friction on landing pages that have lost CTR/conversion after changes..

Continuous monitoring:

Site monitoring services (e.g, ContentKing, Little Warden) alert you to critical changes: robots.txt, canonicals, redirects, certificates and expirations - reducing the likelihood of "invisible drops".

In conclusion, a drop in organic traffic can result from a number of factors, from algorithm updates to technical problems. By methodically investigating these potential causes and implementing specific solutions, you can overcome these challenges and improve organic traffic and the overall health of your website. Regular monitoring and adapting to the dynamic SEO landscape are key to maintaining and growing your online presence.

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