Why is my website traffic down?

1. Recent changes to website

You might expect a website redesign to immediately boost results, but one of the most common responses to the "why is my website down?" query is recent changes to the site itself.

Why? Here are three reasons, courtesy of Linchpin SEO:

• Redirects: One of the most important things to consider when redesigning a website because they send users to the new improved page and tell search engines to rank the new page in the place of the old one. When 301 redirects are not put in place, Google will reset the value on the new pages that were created (the old pages will 404 and drop out of the rankings), and in many cases, this will result in a loss in rankings and traffic

• Website changes: When a website changes how it is organized, it can cause some pages to have fewer internal links, or be linked to pages that have less value to pass. The new organization causes pages to receive less value, which in turn lowers the score of the page, dropping them below the threshold needed to rank within the search results.

• Copy changes: This causes Google to re-evaluate the relevancy of the page for the targeted topic. If priority keywords are removed from the key areas (title tag, header tags, body copy, alt text), the relevancy score will drop, and thus, rankings and traffic will follow suit.

A website redesign can greatly reduce traffic in the early stages of the launch.

2. Technical issues

Technical issues can also be a reason why your website traffic may be down. Andy Etemadi from Eyemagine gives some helpful tips for addressing technical issues:

"Use the simple publicly available tools to find technical problems: Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, Google's Mobile-Friendly Test, Alexa, Moz, YSlow, and more. Fix the simple things first: 404 errors, long page load times, missing/incorrect on-page SEO (search engine optimization) elements, etc. Move onto more philosophical issues: performance optimization, A/B testing, user experience (UX), heat-mapping, etc."

3. Missing meta data

This is where Google pulls keyword information from your website in order to rank you. The first thing you should do is check to see if someone has removed the meta information:

• Title Tag - The title meta tag is the most important element in the site optimization process. Many search engines pay particular attention to keywords that occur in the title tag. As well, search engines generally display the title tag's contents in their site listings.
• Description Tag - The description meta tag defines site information a search engine displays when it lists the site. The description meta tag should concisely explain the nature and contents of the page.
• Keywords Tag - The keywords meta tag lists the search keywords for a site. The keywords entered here should reflect any words or phrases Internet users might use to search for the site. Although many search engines have ceased to incorporate this tag into their ranking procedures, it's still a good idea to add this tag before submitting a page.
  (Source: GoDaddy)

Meta information is key to boosting website traffic.

4. Website is slow to load

In this day and age, nobody wants to wait even a few seconds for a website to lead. Therefore, if your website is too slow, you will lose traffic. This is a common symptom of updates to your website or the launch of a new design. If elements like photos, videos, and other items with big files aren’t optimized, they can slow down your page.

5. Lack of backlinks

According to WebFX, "Backlinks are a crucial part of SEO. You need to earn backlinks to boost your website’s ranking and reach more credible leads. If you aren’t currently earning backlinks, it may explain the drop-in traffic."

Backlinks bring in new traffic for your site by driving leads that are interested in your products or services. This isn’t a "one and done" task; you need to constantly earn backlinks. You may see a decrease in website traffic if you aren’t earning backlinks, but your competitors are. If that's the case, they will rank higher than you and take some of your traffic.

Backlinks play a major role in website traffic.

6. Change in user behaviour

This one is tough because it's out of your hands, especially if you're a business owner who offers seasonal products and services. 

Some changes are predictable (seasonal changes), while others may be the result of evolving. The best thing you can do is monitor the situation, using a tool such as Google Trends.

Again, it's hard to control how users will behave and how trends will change. The best you can do is try to stay on top of it and adapt accordingly.

7. Failure to invest in SEO services

If you're asking "why is my website traffic down?" and you haven't invested in SEO services, you've answered your own question. In today's market, if you are looking to grow website traffic, sales leads, and ultimately revenue, solid search engine optimization of your company website is essential for success.

Why Is SEO Important?

• SEO consistently ranks as the 2nd highest return on investment marketing channels, next only to referrals¹
• On average SEO generates an ROI of 275%²
• 70% of the links users click on are organic not paid ads³
• 70-80% of users don't look at the paid ads⁴
• According to a case study done by Marketing Sherpa, "Overall content marketing strategy leads to 2,000% lift in blog traffic, 40% boost in revenue⁵
• 75% of search engine users never scroll past the first page⁶

Profitworks is composed of a hard working, diligent team of SEO experts whose passion is to help businesses become the leader in their market. Contact us today to get started!

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