What to do when your Google search traffic declines: Bottle's top tips for marketers
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Has your website’s organic traffic declined? There could be several reasons why this has happened
Website changes, Google algorithm updates and competitor activity can all impact your Google search traffic
Understanding Google updates can also help you prepare for potential traffic changes
The best method for maintaining organic traffic throughout algorithm changes is to build a diverse content strategy and invest in white hat SEO
Your organic search traffic has suddenly declined. What now?
Well, there may be a whole host of reasons why this has happened. It could even be a change you have made - or something completely outside of your control. How can you work out what prompted the drop, and fix it? In this article, we’ll help you work out what may be causing a traffic drop and devise a strategy to get things back on track.
So, let’s take a look at what could be at play.
Why is my traffic declining?
1. You’ve made changes to your website content or URLs
The first thing you need to check is if there are any changes to your website. You or a colleague could have deleted important website content or pages from your CMS (content management system). Or perhaps someone altered a URL? Both of these could contribute to a loss of organic traffic as you’ve essentially removed pages from Google’s index.
In this case, you may need to reverse what you have done or seek advice from an experienced SEO team to steer you in the right direction to regain lost traffic. Some fixes can be simple, but some are best left to the experts to ensure you don’t do more damage to your website. Fortunately, SEO is our forte and we’re here to help if you encounter this problem.
2. Are you accounting for seasonal traffic changes?
Just like offline sales, seasonal interests play a huge role in consumer behaviour. You wouldn’t do your Christmas shopping in March - and people don’t Google festive recipes at the same time of year. So, you can’t expect your customers to be visiting seasonal pages when the interest just isn’t there.
The best way you can monitor success in SEO is looking at like-for-like comparisons, such as year-on-year comparison which look at the same months of the year.
3. Have you looked at the competition?
It’s good practice to keep an eye on your competitors online as you would do offline. Having an SEO agency is super useful here as agencies like ours can keep you posted with updates on your competition’s strategy and tactics.
You might have lost Google search traffic because your competitors have given their content a huge overhaul, helping them to outrank you in the SERPs. Where agencies like ours can really help is by identifying competitor changes early, allowing us to pivot your SEO and content strategy early to combat competitor gains.
4. Has there been a Google algorithm update?
Google works on an algorithm (more on this later), which dictates where your website pages appear to users searching the web. When this algorithm changes it can cause volatility in your page rankings, which can cause loss of organic traffic as a result.
Google updates its algorithm fairly regularly. In fact, you can check their Search Status Dashboard for their history of recent updates.
Dealing with algorithm changes is really complicated to understand and manage, which is why having an experienced digital agency can help you navigate Google algorithm rollouts.
What are Google algorithm updates?
Here comes the technical bit. If you are familiar at all with search engines you’ll know that they operate using their own algorithms. This means Google’s algorithms are unique.
Algorithms are a series of rules or instructions which search engines live by to determine website content value and relevance. These algorithms help search engines rank pages of websites to determine where to list them to appear in search engine ranking positions (SERPs). The algorithms for search engines like Google are made up of several different ranking factors.
So all we need to do is figure out Google’s algorithm and we can make any website rank on page one right? If only things were that easy. Unfortunately for us in the world of SEO, Google makes regular changes to its algorithm to keep us on our toes, meaning just when marketers have an inkling of what is working to improve rankings, everything can be turned on its head again. A seasoned SEO professional will keep up to date with changes to algorithms and be able to advise you on what current strategies work.
If you take a look at the Search Status Dashboard, you’ll see ‘core update’ listed here. This is when Google makes a significant change to their core search algorithm. You’ll see it happens fairly frequently.
Why does Google change its algorithm?
Google updates its algorithm frequently for many reasons, but there are two key rationales to take note of when it comes to SEO.
The first is that Google aims to be continuously growing and improving its understanding of user behaviour, with that improving the quality of search results users are presented with. As Google themselves explain, the point of Google Core updates is to make search results more relevant, useful, and trustworthy.
The second reason is to tackle any spammy or “black hat” tactics which unscrupulous marketers may adopt to try and game the system to put their websites top of search engine rankings.
How often do algorithm updates happen?
It would be great to say that we in the SEO world know when these updates will happen, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. Google algorithm updates used to be more predictable and less frequent a few years back. SEOs previously may have had some warning and would prepare for any knock-on effects which could come from changes to algorithms, however, this is no longer the case.
In recent years, Google has gotten into the habit of releasing core updates way more often. Google doesn’t just change its algorithm during the ‘core updates’; algorithm updates can now occur thousands of times per year. Even the major updates hit every few months.
Never before has it been so important to invest in a seasoned SEO team to help you navigate these constant changes. Drop us a message if this is something you need help with for your business.
So what can you do to safeguard your Google search traffic?
To help our clients, we have a handy checklist of must-dos to cover, which should help you get to the bottom of any traffic losses. We also share useful tips in our newsletter, which you can sign up to here.
Our essential 12 step plan for tackling organic traffic drops
Step 1: Don’t panic
As mentioned, check whether traffic dips could be seasonal or related to something else. Then you should check online to see whether competitors or other sites seem to be having trouble too. Then check online to see if there’s been a major Google algorithm update.
Step 2: Analyse traffic data
Use Google Analytics and Search Console to identify which pages have lost traffic and if the drop correlates with the timing of the core update. You can also check if any changes have been made to these pages and use Google Search Console to see if they are listed in Google’s index. Using GSC, you can request pages to be indexed as a first point of call.
Step 3: Review quality guidelines
Do a topline check to ensure that your site adheres to Google’s quality guidelines. Focus on ranking factors such as E-E-A-T, making sure content demonstrates Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. These are signals that help boost your page rankings. Also review the user experience of your pages.
Step 4: Evaluate content quality
Assess the overall quality of your content. Ensure it provides value, is well-researched, and relevant to your audience. Update or improve low-performing content. You may need help here, so get in touch if you’re interested in receiving a detailed content audit.
Step 5: Assess your backlink profile
Links can have a huge impact on website page rankings. Look for lost high-quality links or an influx of low-quality links. If you’re seeing declines, you might need help from our experienced digital PR team to give things a boost!
Step 6: Optimise technical SEO
Enlist a knowledgeable team like ours to perform a technical audit of your website to ensure there are no underlying issues such as slow loading times, crawl errors or mobile usability problems.
Step 7: Check your site’s structure and internal linking
A clear site structure and effective internal linking can improve user experience and help search engines understand the hierarchy and importance of your content. A technical SEO can help get this on track.
Step 8: Monitor competitors
Analyse your competitors who may have benefited from Google core updates or made changes that have pushed them ahead of your website. Assess their content, strategies and any changes that could explain their improved rankings. Again, this is where a digital agency like Bottle can really provide valuable insights and actionable advice.
Step 9: Gather feedback and user insights
Use Google Analytics to look at user journeys and behaviours. Next, you can collect feedback from users to identify areas for improvement. Consider conducting surveys, monitoring comments and analysing engagement metrics to get valuable insights into your audience’s interests and behaviour.
Step 10: Make necessary changes
If you’ve not got an organic strategy, it might be time to consider investing into digital PR, content marketing and technical SEO. We’ve helped dozens of brands build a pipeline of prospective customers organically and we can do the same for you. By putting the work into these three areas you will be able to increase Google search traffic to your site.
Step 11: Be patient
Once you’ve done the work you might need to wait several weeks to monitor green shoots of progress. In the case of recovery from a core update, this can sometimes take time. The same goes for adding new content or changes to your site structure. You should continue to implement improvements and monitor changes in traffic over the following months.
Step 12: Stay informed
Following newsletters like ours will ensure you keep in the loop of any major changes that have the potential to disrupt your site’s traffic.
Keep the tips we’ve shared in mind and regularly update your content, follow SEO best practices and enhance user experience to be resilient to future changes. You can also monitor announcements from Google about core updates. Follow trusted SEO news sources to understand what the update entails and how it may impact rankings.
How do you know these tactics work?
As specialists in all things SEO, we have years of experience putting these measures into practice and proving to our clients that they work.
Jem Leslie, Digital Marketing Manager at Bottle explains:
“Being in the business and having the opportunity to put our knowledge to good use means we know how algorithm updates and website changes can have a significant effect on your organic traffic. By making a few small tweaks you can see big changes, getting your website back on track after a decline.
“It’s important to look at the whole picture when it comes to SEO. It isn’t just about links or content in isolation. You need all cogs of the machine working together to move the needle and see clear signs of growth.”
To show you how traffic losses can be turned around, we have a perfect example of how using the above advice can reverse penalisation from algorithm updates. Take a look at the below case study to show our advice in action.
Example: recovering our client from a Google Core update
One Bottle client - and their entire competitor set - were punished by a Google Core update. We refined their strategy, and they recovered head and shoulders above the others.
We took the steps mentioned above, and fuelled them with high-quality helpful content, based on what we were seeing the newly updated algorithm prioritising. We secured high-quality, relevant backlinks, and reaped organic performance – and financial - rewards.
In 6 months, the brand saw:
· +49% organic clicks
· +44% organic impressions YOY
· +14% revenue via organic YOY
An algorithm update doesn’t have to be a disaster - if you’re in safe hands, it can be an opportunity to get out ahead of the competition.
Talk to us if you’re unsure
If you're having a problem with a traffic drop or you are generally looking to improve your Google search traffic, we know it can be difficult to know where to start. If that sounds like you, get in touch. We'll talk you through how to set up an organic marketing strategy and provide actionable insights that will turn your website around in no time.
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