If you’re wondering why your website traffic is going down, and no one seems to be visiting or staying on your website, there are a couple of things that could be to blame. We explore some of the top reasons your website traffic dropped and how to fix them.
First Things First: Web Traffic Meaning
Website traffic refers to the number of visitors coming to your website. It goes without saying that higher traffic is better for your business because more people have eyes on your brand. Just like a brick-and-mortar store’s location in a town will influence how much foot traffic passes and, therefore, how many people will see the store, a similar concept is true online.
If you notice viewer visitors coming to your website, it could be that traffic dropped due to your ranking dropping on Google. In other words, when someone searches for your business or related keywords, your business’s website is not popping up on that first search results page.
Why My Web Traffic Dropped
If you’re asking yourself: “why is my website losing traffic?” you first need to look at your website from a user’s as well as Google’s perspective.
Here are some of the key reasons you could be losing visitors.
1. Your Website Speed is Slow
Website viewers have short attention spans and expect your website to load almost instantly. They will simply leave if anything is hindering their purpose of coming to your website. Often, your website speed is to blame if you see a really high bounce rate on your website.
How to Fix it
First, check your website speed online. One way to fix this is to ensure images are resized and your cache is cleared. You can see more tips for improving your website speed here.
2. Your SEO is Not Set Up Properly
SEO, short for Search Engine Optimisation, is not a point-in-time exercise. It’s something that you should nurture and continually pay attention to. If customers can’t find you online, they won’t visit your website.
How to Fix it
It’s a good idea to do a website audit to see whether you’re tracking the right keywords, which ones you can still implement, and where you’re losing traffic. Or, if managing your SEO is a headache, outsource it to an experienced agency. It will save you a lot of time and frustration, and you’re more likely to see your SEO improve faster.
3. Check Your Links
If your website traffic is going down, it could be due to broken or lost links. Check that all your internal and outbound links are working.
How to Fix it
You have different software that can help you sweep and check for broken or lost links to repair. If you can’t repair the links, update them with working links instead.
4. Broken 301 Redirects During a Website Transition
Whether you’re launching a new site or moving to a new server, it can sometimes cause broken redirects. What is a 301 redirect? Well, it’s like changing your address and sending a notification to Google and other search engines that the new address is where to find you going forward.
How to Fix it
If you’re redirecting using a 301 redirect, you have to check that all your canonical tags, XML sitemaps and links are also updated.
5. Check That Google is Not Unhappy
Yes, Google could penalise you without you even realising it! A quick way to check this is to see whether your traffic is also dropping on other search engines like Bing or Yahoo. If not, it could be that Google is penalising you for something.
How to Fix it
Check for any alert notifications on your Google Search Console and how to fix them. This generally happens if you’re not compliant with one of their guidelines.
6. Updates to Google’s Algorithm
Yes, just like with social media, Google is constantly updating its algorithm, which can directly affect where you’re ranking.
How to Fix it
Keep an eye on any updates from the company to ensure you comply and adapt to new changes.
7. Your Website is Not HTTPS
When it comes to online security, you must ensure your website address starts with HTTPS, not HTTP. The ‘S’ stands for ‘security’ and is trusted more by Google. Perhaps you’ve noticed an alert when trying to visit a website that says, ‘Your connection is not private?’. We bet you probably left that website and clicked ‘Back to safety’. Well, your visitors will do the same.
How to Fix it
You will have to get HTTPS for your website. First, you have to get a dedicated IP address if you don’t already have one, then buy an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate, which could take a couple of days. After that, you must activate it with your website host and install it on your domain.
8. Competitors Are Overtaking You
SEO is a bit like a race, and sometimes your competitors will overtake you. However, you can’t know this and do something about it if you’re not keeping an eye on them.
How to Fix it
Keep track of competitors by analysing their online activity, which keywords they’re targeting and ranking for, and how their performance compares to yours. You can also check their backlinks, as they might be running a backlink strategy. Use these insights to adapt your strategy accordingly.
9. Duplicate Content
Google hates duplication. Always ensure that all content on your website is 100% unique.
How to Fix it
You can check this by running your content through plagiarism detection software before uploading it to your website.
Need Help Boosting Your Website Traffic?
As your go-to digital growth agency in Perth, we can help you streamline your SEO so that you can start outranking your competition and make more sales. Contact us today, and let’s get started!
