Opening Google Analytics and seeing the web traffic go down is a nightmare. However, panicking over the issue is not needed since websites and the methods of acquiring traffic, both have become more complex than ever. Finding out the source of the problem and resolving it can uplift the traffic again. Below are the major areas you should investigate when having such issues.
Look Closely at Traffic Source Changes
When you first see a downfall in traffic, go to Acquisition > overview and recheck all the traffic sources. A downfall in Organic Search indicates SEO problems. If there’s a lot of referral traffic from various websites and social media and if it is currently down, then ensure the continuity of running ads and links.
Examine On-Page Elements
In these cut-throat times for high traffic, a slight change in the optimized title tag can drag a page or the whole website down in search rankings. Ensure that the title tag remains as it is and that the meta information is correct. Make sure that all inner pages are not marked as ‘nofollow’, otherwise Google bots will not be able to follow the links and it will cause a downfall in rankings. H1 & H2 are extremely crucial and only removing a target keyword can make your website miserable.
Google Webmaster Tools to your Rescue
Be on the alert mode, always! Because Google penalties do not come with warnings. So login to webmasters tools and check all messages.
If you see a downfall in the index section of the webmaster tool, it means that Google is not able to index your website due to some reason. Find out the problem!
Crawl errors – 404 annoys Google as much as the users. Too many 404 errors will not only make your website inferior to Google but also to the users. Maybe they will never come back! So check the issue and fix it ASAP.
Not setting up Robots.txt file properly will lead to major problems. Use tester tools to allow Google bots to crawl the right pages and sections of your website.
Recheck Page Redirects
For all your redirected pages ensure that 301s are still in place. Removed and broken 301 will direct all your traffic to a 404 Error page, and we all know that Google hates 404. Too many of them will compel it to penalize your site.
Conclusion
Above are some of the main things one can do when they see a downfall in traffic. However, there are still many other things like canonical tag issues and broken navigation links which cause websites to crash and affect the traffic. If your website is still failing to lift up after many attempts, write your specific problem to sales@ebrandz.com or call 1-888-545-0616 (Toll-Free) for assistance.
