What Do Different Kinds of Organic Traffic Drops Look Like?

For many website owners, organic traffic drops are a scary prospect. SEO is a complex game, and falling numbers of users are obviously worrying from a business perspective.

Afterall, fewer users means less revenue.

While some kinds of drops in traffic can indicate a serious problem, others can be explained by things as simple as the weather, or the time of year. So how do you know when it’s time to panic?

There are a number of ways to go about this, including full-blown technical SEO audits, or deep dives into your Google Search Console data. However, these are time consuming, and complex processes.

As such, it’s helpful if you have a broad idea of what the problem is before you start digging deeper.

The key here is understanding the different kinds of traffic drop graphs.

Decoding the Mystery Behind Declining Search Engine Traffic

Have you ever stared at your website analytics, only to see a chilling sight: your organic traffic plummeting faster than a meteor through the atmosphere? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Organic traffic drops are a frequent foe in the web’s ever-shifting landscape, sending shivers down the spines of even the most seasoned digital warriors.

But before we grab our torches and pitchforks, let’s demystify this digital beast.

A. Defining the Decline:

A drop in organic traffic refers to a notable and prolonged decrease in the number of visitors your website attracts from search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. In contrast to paid traffic sources like advertisements, organic traffic occurs naturally, with users discovering your site through search results influenced by engaging content and pertinent keywords.

B. The Chilling Importance:

So, why should a drop in these organic “guests” matter? It’s like discovering a leak in your boat – a small dip might be manageable, but a sustained decline can sink your entire digital voyage. Here’s why:

• Revenue Erosion: Organic traffic is often a key driver of leads, sales, and ultimately, revenue. A drop can translate to fewer conversions, missed opportunities, and a shrinking bottom line.
• Brand Visibility Erosion: Your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) is directly linked to organic traffic. A drop can mean you’re fading into the abyss of internet obscurity, where potential customers struggle to find you.
• SEO Confidence Blow: Organic traffic is a marker of your website’s health and SEO standing. A drop raises red flags, eroding confidence in your digital strategy and leaving you scrambling for answers.

But remember, panic is not a winning strategy. By understanding the reasons behind the drop and employing the right tactics, you can transform it from a terrifying shipwreck into a thrilling treasure hunt, uncovering areas for improvement and propelling your website back to the top of the SERPs.

So, grab your navigational tools, fellow adventurer. In the upcoming sections, we’ll dive deep into the causes of organic traffic drops, unveil practical solutions, and equip you with the knowledge to chart a course towards a thriving online presence. Are you ready to turn the tide and reclaim your web dominion?

Traffic Drop Graphs

When you notice your traffic figures sliding, your first port of call is assessing the shape of the curve. Surprisingly, this can tell us a lot about what’s going on with a site. Helpfully, Google has placed these into four categories for us:

• Site Level Issues & Manual Actions – Where your traffic takes a sudden dive and stays down.
• Seasonality – Where your organic traffic drops and rises over a given time period,
• Page Level Issues, Algorithm Changes and Disruption – Where traffic drops significantly, but in a less straightforward pattern,
• Reporting Glitches – Where there is a sudden drop which quickly recovers.

Helpfully, Google has even provided a few diagram to help illustrate this point:

Of course, these are illustrative examples. In the real world, things aren’t quite so clear cut. Still, this is a useful resource for deciding what the most likely culprit behind organic traffic drops is.

Diagnosing Factors Behind Diminishing Website Visitors

To give more context to what each of these traffic trends means, let’s take a look at some of the likely causes for each of the main kinds of organic traffic drops.

Site Level Issues

Site level issues are problems which prevent Google from ranking your entire site highly. These can be crawlability issues like broken links and improper sitemaps, or they might be a result of penalties incurred for blackhat SEO strategies.

Page Level Issues

This is something which is wrong with a specific page or a number of pages, which causes them not to be ranked correctly. Examples include under optimisation issues, broken media, such as image files, or poor load speeds on individual pages.

Algorithm Changes

Algorithm changes are very hard to pin down these days, as Google is constantly tweaking its formulae. Still, this can have a major impact on your traffic, so when you notice a drop, it’s worth reading up on recent algorithm changes.

Seasonality

This is a case of supply and demand. For example, if you sell Christmas trees, you’re almost certainly going to notice a drop in traffic around the start of the year.

Disruption and External Factors

Typically, this means that you’ve been bested by your competitors, and lost rankings. Assess your Search Console data, or a traffic analysis tool like Semrush to see if you’ve begun slipping in the rankings, and then figure out what competitors are doing that you’re not.

Reporting Glitches

Sometimes Google Analytics just gets things wrong. If your traffic drops or spikes suddenly, and then returns to normal, there probably isn’t anything to worry about.

Action Plans to Address Declining Organic Website Traffic

With an understanding of the broad category of issue you’re looking for, it’s time to start identifying the more specific causes of your organic traffic drops. You can essentially do this in three steps.

1. Adjust Your Time Frame

Adjust your analytics to display data from as far back as possible and look for any seasonal trends. If you observe a decline in traffic at the same time each year or every month, it may indicate a reduced demand for your content.

If this is the case, you can start thinking about how to create more evergreen content. If not, carry on to step two.

2. Look for Site-Wide Issues

Next, it’s time to start looking for sitewide issues. First, check out your Google Search Console data, and see if you can identify any manual actions penalties or coverage issues. If these are detailed, then resolve them and verify in Search Console.

If not, move onto the next step.

3. Look for Page-Level Trends

If it doesn’t seem like the problem is site wide, head back to Google Analytics, and navigate to Acquisition>Landing Page. Start diving into each of your top landing pages to see where organic traffic drops have occurred.

The key here is to look for trends. For example, are they all pages in the same sub-folder, or pages which you have recently edited? Then, use a technical SEO audit tool to assess what specific problems might be undermining their ranking potential.

Pre-emptive Measures to Shield Your Organic Traffic

Imagine stepping onto a stormy sea, prepared with a sturdy vessel and a seasoned crew. That’s the essence of pre-emptive measures when it comes to organic traffic drops – proactive strategies to weather the digital storms and safeguard your website’s performance. So, let’s raise the sails and explore these proactive tactics:

1. Monitor the SEO Landscape:

• Stay informed: Actively follow SEO news and updates from Google and other search engines. Subscribe to industry blogs and publications to stay ahead of the curve.
• Track Competitor Strategies: Examine the organic traffic patterns, content changes, and backlink profiles of your competitors. Recognise and incorporate their effective strategies before they affect your own rankings.
• Utilise SEO Tools: Use web analytics tools such as Google Search Console and Ahrefs to assess your website’s performance, keyword standings, and backlink status. Continuously observe these metrics for early indications of possible problems.

2. Cultivate a Culture of Continuous Optimisation:

• Perform regular technical audits: Inspect your website for broken links, slow loading times, mobile-friendliness issues, and outdated content. Fix these issues before they become SEO red flags.
• Prioritise high-quality content: Create valuable, relevant, and engaging content that targets your audience’s search intent. Focus on long-form content, rich media, and internal linking to enhance user experience and search engine visibility.
• Embrace ongoing backlink building: Craft a natural backlink strategy through collaborations, guest blogging, and valuable resource creation. Avoid spammy link practices that could penalise your website.

3. Foster User-Centricity:

• Prioritise user experience: Ensure your website is easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and visually appealing. Focus on clear calls to action, intuitive design, and fast loading times to keep users engaged.
• Optimise for Local Search: If your business depends on local visitors, take ownership of your Google My Business listing and enhance it with pertinent keywords. Prioritise gathering positive user reviews and ensure your location information is precise.
• Engage with Your Audience: Build a sense of community around your website by promptly responding to comments, joining online communities, and developing interactive content.

4. Conduct Regular Performance Reviews:

• Schedule quarterly SEO audits: Analyse your website’s performance, backlink profiles, and content effectiveness at regular intervals. Identify areas for improvement and adapt your strategies accordingly.
• Track progress and celebrate wins: Keep yourself and your team motivated by monitoring the impact of your pre-emptive measures. Celebrate positive trends and share accomplishments to maintain a forward-thinking mindset.

Remember, pre-emptive measures are not foolproof shields, but they are your first line of defense against unexpected organic traffic drops. By incorporating these proactive strategies into your website maintenance routine, you’ll build a resilient online presence, ready to weather the digital storms and navigate towards sustained success.

Tailored Strategies for Managing Traffic Declines

While organic traffic drops can feel like universal storms, the reasons they rage often differ depending on the specific industry you sail in. Let’s explore some common culprits for different nautical landscapes:

E-commerce:

• Algorithm updates: Google’s focus on product reviews and core web vitals can impact product pages, especially for new websites or those with slow loading times.
• Seasonality: Be prepared for fluctuations in traffic based on holidays, sales periods, and changing consumer preferences.
• Competition: A surge in new online stores or aggressive marketing campaigns from established players can steal your anchor spot in search results.

SaaS:

• Free Trial Churn: Inability to transform trial users into paying customers can result in a continuous loss of traffic, even with initial interest.
• Feature Updates: Ineffectively communicated or disruptive feature changes can disaffect current users and push them toward rival platforms.
• Content Stagnation: Dull blog posts or outdated case studies may struggle to draw in new leads and maintain engagement from existing customers.

Local Businesses:

• Google My Business (GMB) neglect: Incomplete or inaccurate GMB listings can make you invisible to local searchers.
• Competition in your area: New local businesses or expanded services from existing ones can siphon off your local traffic.
• Lack of online presence: Relying solely on offline marketing might mean you’re missing out on a vast pool of potential customers online.

Travel & Tourism:

• Travel restrictions and economic downturns: Global events, economic fluctuations, and visa changes can cause dramatic shifts in travel patterns and impact tourism websites.
• Seasonality: Traffic to travel websites ebbs and flows depending on vacation seasons and popular destinations.
• Competition from OTAs: Booking platforms and aggregators can dominate search results, making it harder for individual travel companies to stand out.

Healthcare:

• Evolving regulations: Changes in HIPAA or other healthcare regulations can necessitate website updates that might temporarily disrupt traffic.
• Competition from larger hospitals or clinic chains: Smaller healthcare providers might need to focus on niche services and targeted SEO to compete effectively.
• Patient privacy concerns: Balancing SEO optimisation with patient privacy considerations requires careful strategising to avoid compromising sensitive information.

These are just a few examples, and the specific challenges will vary within each industry. By understanding the unique landscape you navigate, you can tailor your pre-emptive measures and recovery strategies to address the most likely culprits lurking in your waters.

Cutting-Edge Techniques for SEO Resilience

Conquered the basics? Prepare to dive into the ocean depths of SEO, where advanced strategies await to propel your website past the shallows and towards organic traffic dominance. Let’s arm ourselves with cutting-edge tactics:

Technical SEO Mastery:

• Schema markup magic: Implement structured data like Schema.org to enhance search engine understanding of your content, potentially earning rich snippets and boosting click-through rates.
• Mobile-first indexing: Ensure your website is mobile-optimised for lightning-fast loading times and intuitive user experience on all devices. Google prioritises mobile-friendliness, making it a crucial ranking factor.
• Core web vitals optimisation: Focus on metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) to ensure your website is fast, stable, and delivers a smooth user experience.

Competitor Analysis – Unmasking the Enemy:

• Keyword Gap Analysis: Discover the keywords that your competitors rank for but you do not. Incorporate these keywords into your content strategy to gain an advantage and broaden your audience.
• Backlink Profile Research: Examine your competitors’ backlink profiles to find valuable collaboration opportunities or identify broken links that you can take advantage of.
• Content Benchmarking: Assess the top-performing content of your competitors to understand what appeals to your target audience and gain insights from their achievements.

Content Alchemy – Transforming Lead into Gold:

• AI-powered content research: Leverage AI tools like Google Trends and Semrush to identify trending topics, analyse audience intent, and discover high-impact keyword opportunities.
• Interactive content creation: Go beyond text with quizzes, polls, calculators, and interactive elements to enhance user engagement and boost dwell time.
• Video optimisation: Optimise your videos for relevant keywords, utilise closed captions and transcripts, and promote them on social media platforms for additional traffic channels.

Data-Driven Decisions – Navigating by the Stars:

• Experimentation and A/B testing: Don’t just guess – test different headlines, page layouts, and calls to action to see what resonates best with your audience and optimise accordingly.
• Data visualisation and reporting: Utilise data dashboards and reports to track the impact of your advanced strategies, identify areas for improvement, and continually refine your approach.
• Advanced analytics: Look beyond basic traffic metrics. Deep dive into user behavior with tools like Google Analytics Attribution and User Explorer to understand how users interact with your website and optimise the conversion funnel.

Real-World Rescues: Case Studies of Organic Traffic Recovery

The internet is littered with horror stories of organic traffic drops, but it’s also a treasure trove of inspiring comeback tales. Let’s cast a lifeline to some businesses who weathered the storm and emerged stronger:

Case Study 1: The Content Comeback Kid – SaaS Company:

Challenge: A SaaS company saw a 40% drop in organic traffic after a website redesign. Users found the navigation confusing and content unengaging.

Solution: They conducted intensive user research, revamped the website with user-friendliness in mind, and launched a content strategy focused on in-depth guides, data-driven insights, and interactive tools.

Result: Within 6 months, organic traffic surpassed pre-redesign levels, with increased user engagement and a 20% conversion rate boost.

Key Learning: Prioritising user experience and creating valuable content can turn a traffic drop into a springboard for growth.

Case Study 2: The Backlink Bonanza – E-commerce Website:

Challenge: A newly launched e-commerce website faced difficulties competing against established competitors, leading to low organic visibility and stagnant traffic.

Solution: They executed a targeted backlink strategy, partnering with relevant influencers and bloggers to obtain high-quality backlinks. Additionally, they enhanced product pages with targeted keywords and compelling product descriptions.

Result: Within a year, organic traffic increased by 80%, along with notable improvements in keyword rankings and product page views.

Key Learning: Developing a robust backlink profile and refining on-page content can significantly enhance organic traffic success.

Case Study 3: The Local SEO Leviathan – Restaurant:

Challenge: A family-owned restaurant saw a decline in foot traffic due to increased competition and poor online visibility.

Solution: They claimed and optimised their Google My Business listing, ensuring accurate information and enticing photos. They partnered with local food bloggers and ran targeted social media campaigns.

Result: Local search visibility skyrocketed, leading to a 30% increase in walk-in customers and reservations.

Key Learning: Leveraging local SEO strategies and engaging with the local community can attract a loyal customer base and boost organic traffic.

These are just a few examples, and the specific recovery strategies will vary depending on the industry and the cause of the drop. But they all share a common thread: proactive action, strategic planning, and a commitment to providing value to their audience.

Mobile-First Indexing and Its Effect on Organic Traffic

In the current digital environment, mobile devices have emerged as the main way to access the internet. Acknowledging this change, Google launched mobile-first indexing, which has significantly transformed the processes of crawling, indexing, and ranking websites. This transition carries important consequences for organic traffic and SEO strategies.

Mobile-first indexing indicates that Google primarily relies on the mobile version of a website’s content for indexing and ranking purposes. This strategy aligns with the fact that most users access Google Search via mobile devices. Consequently, for websites, optimising for mobile is now a necessity rather than a choice, crucial for sustaining and enhancing organic traffic.

Key factors in mobile SEO that impact organic traffic include:

1. Responsive design: Ensuring your website adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes.
2. Page speed: Mobile users expect fast-loading pages. Slow sites can lead to higher bounce rates and lower rankings.
3. User experience: Easy navigation, readable text, and touch-friendly elements are crucial.
4. Content parity: Mobile and desktop versions should have the same primary content.

To optimise for mobile-first indexing:

• Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to identify issues.
• Implement Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for faster loading.
• Ensure your robots.txt doesn’t block mobile content from being crawled.
• Optimise images and minimise code to improve load times.

By prioritising mobile optimisation, websites can improve their chances of ranking well in mobile search results, ultimately driving more organic traffic in an increasingly mobile-centric world.

FAQ: Charting Your Course Through Organic Traffic Drops

Q: My traffic dropped suddenly. What should I do first?

A: Stay calm and analyse the situation. Utilise tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs to identify potential causes, such as algorithm updates, technical issues, or competitor strategies. Don’t jump to conclusions or make hasty changes.

Q: How long will it take to recover my lost traffic?

A: Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Recovery time depends on the severity of the drop, the cause, and the effectiveness of your implemented solutions. Be patient, consistent, and data-driven in your approach.

Q: Can I fix an organic traffic drop on my own, or do I need help?

A: It depends on your comfort level and resources. If you’re tech-savvy and understand SEO basics, you can implement many recovery strategies yourself. However, if the situation is complex or you need advanced expertise, consider seeking help from SEO professionals like Profiletree.

Q: What are the biggest mistakes to avoid when dealing with a traffic drop?

A: Panic-driven decisions, ignoring data, neglecting user experience, and failing to analyse competitor strategies are common pitfalls. Stay focused, research before you act, and prioritise long-term solutions over quick fixes.

Q: Where can I find more resources and support for my organic traffic journey?

A: Utilise the tools and resources listed in this article, consider attending industry events or webinars, and join online communities of SEO professionals. Profiletree also offers valuable educational resources and dedicated services to help you navigate your organic traffic journey.

Conclusion: From Drop to Domination – Your Organic Traffic Odyssey Awaits

Organic traffic drops can be unsettling, but remember, they’re not insurmountable. By understanding the causes, employing actionable strategies, and leveraging the right tools and resources, you can transform your website from a sinking ship to a thriving vessel, sailing confidently towards organic traffic dominance.

Embrace the challenge, learn from the experience, and keep your eyes fixed on the horizon. With a data-driven approach, unwavering dedication, and the right tools in your arsenal, you can weather any storm and chart a course towards a sustainable online success powered by organic traffic.

Should You Worry About Organic Traffic Drops?

Organic traffic drops can indicate serious issues with your website, problems with individual pages, or simple changes in demand for your products and services. The key thing is to understand what each of these negative traffic trends actually looks like in your analytics tool.

Of course, the best cure is always prevention.

If you’d like to find out more about how to fortify your site against organic traffic drops, speak to our team today.