Why has my site traffic decreased?

Melanie Robin
November 29, 2023
6:28 p.m.
0 comments

Updated January 19, 2024

You own a website, but you notice a decrease in the number of Internet users viewing your pages? You don't know how to explain this drop in web traffic? Indeed, the loss of qualified visitors to a site can be a legitimate source of concern, because your turnover certainly depends on it! Understanding the source of this drop in popularity will allow you to implement corrective actions. Let's now discover the different indices to take into account.

Analyze the conversion rate during a drop in traffic

Let's be honest, the first thing that alarms you is the drop in your conversions. This shows that something is happening, but what? You will then need to analyze the conversion rate. However, this is not the only criterion to take into account, it is also necessary analyze your overall traffic, there duration of sessions and the number of leads generated.

For example, if your conversion rate drops quickly, but your traffic remains constant — no significant variations over a period of time — it probably means you don't not targeting the right audience (unqualified traffic). It will therefore be necessary rework your buyer persona (ideal customer) and update all necessary information. You can also rethink ergonomics of your site as well as the purchasing journey. Check that the calls to action are visible and well positioned, that the pages load quickly, that the content is of good quality, etc.

Examine the visit curve in the event of loss of traffic

The most obvious way to analyze a loss of popularity is to inspect the traffic curve for your website. Observe whether it is an ascending or descending curve, look for the number of leads generated over the week or month and compare your figures with previous months.

Various explanations can be given for a drop in traffic. Decryption!

Your site contains outdated content

Your content may be out of date, in fact, you should know that search engine algorithms take into account the age of the content. Just as if they are perceived as low quality, visitors will lose interest. So remember to update them, but not just any way! Conduct competitive intelligence on the same type of content as you. Take into account the angles approached, if your content is similar, modify your angle of approach and bring added value to your target audience.

Note: write articles that will be valid over time. You will be able to recycle your content and reuse it in different formats and in different places (site, social networks, blog). This content will maintain its quality and thus its SEO. Perform regular content audits.

The customer journey is complex

The customer journey represents the points of contact with a brand, from first interest to purchase. But when the latter proves too complicated, it can lead to a drop in traffic due to:

the difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified web traffic;
poor user experience (lack of personalization);
the loss of visibility, because like everyone else, Google & Co. prefer simplicity.

Imagine yourself in the shoes of the Internet user and experience the customer journey on your site. Is it intuitive enough?

User search behavior is changing

Know that the trends and habits of online users are evolving. If your site cannot adapt to these changes or meet the needs of its target audience (search intentions in SEO), it may lose traffic because of this.

The competition is ahead of you

Traffic to your website is decreasing simply because your competitors have gotten a head start. The reasons ? There are many of them, such as: more relevant content, a more pleasant and faster visiting experience, a better reputation, a more active presence on social networks, a more effective SEO strategy, etc.

Your site has bad backlinks

The principle of backlinks is to gain popularity and improve its SEO positioning. However, regular monitoring must be in place to inspect them. Indeed, some of your links may be down (redirecting to an error page) or simply of poor quality.

Note: You have the option to view your incoming links.

Your site is experiencing technical problems

Technical issues such as slow loading times, 404 errors, mobile accessibility issues, security vulnerabilities, server errors, crawling or indexing issues can lead to a drop in traffic. I recommend that you perform a technical audit of your site in order to identify possible blockages that could affect the performance of your site.

Search engine algorithms fluctuate

There SEO monitoring (Search Engine Optimization) is an essential practice for staying informed of developments in the field of natural referencing and for maintaining or improving the visibility of a website on the SERP (results page). For example, updating search engine algorithms, such as those of Google, can impact your site's ranking. Thus, if the latter does not comply with the new requirements, its web traffic may decrease.

Your SEO strategy is not working

You notice that the efforts made do not produce the expected results. Internet users struggle to find your site when searching online. The equation is simple: no visits, no traffic, no conversions. Start by knowing your target audience well, monitor your keywords and target others if they are no longer as sought after! You can also request an SEO professional to accompany you.

Your site has been penalized by search engines

Some websites may be subject to sanctions from search engines. There are two types of penalties in SEO:

THE manual penalties inflicted by human examiners;
THE algorithmic penalties triggered by automated search engine algorithm updates.

The two main penalties are Google Penguin, which targets unnatural link building, and Google Panda, which focuses on content quality. As you will have understood, it becomes essential to follow the rules laid down by search engines to avoid these sanctions.

Your site depends on seasonality

Certain times of the year can naturally attract more or less traffic to your site (end of year holidays, Easter, summer period, etc.). Indeed, if your business depends on a specific season such as the sale of swimsuits, it is very likely that you will experience a drop in traffic in winter.

My advice: nothing is lost! You can mitigate the effects of seasonality by adapting how you create content and conduct marketing activities. The key ? Find new angles to satisfy the needs of your target audience.

Your site is the subject of a negative SEO attack

Anyone with unscrupulous practices (malicious competitors, hackers, etc.) can potentially harm your site by using negative SEO techniques (negative SEO). In other words, seeking to cause harm to you online. Malicious actions take different forms: creating low-quality links, copying content to publish on other sites, negative comments, etc.

Note: Monitor the health of your site regularly with a comprehensive audit. It's never too late to put security measures in place to prevent SEO attacks.

Measure and analyze the bounce rate of your site

Analyzing bounce rate is essential to understanding visitor behavior on your site and its impact on traffic. Your rebound rate is higher than before? Who is guilty ? Mostly your content! Indeed, the bounce rate is one of the key indicators to attest to a sign of weakness in your editorial strategy. To resolve this problem, put yourself in the shoes of your Internet users. Ask yourself the same questions and ask yourself if your content answers them. If this is not the case, you will need to modify your content with these actions:

create added value, offer high-quality content answering Internet users' questions. To do this, analyze the most searched keywords;
improve ergonomics and design of your site. Also consider improving the content structure, writing, tone or infographics. Test several changes and analyze the impact on web traffic;
call on professionals such as a professional web editor for optimizing your content, a web developer to reduce the loading time of your pages or a web designer to modify the design of your site.

Evaluate advertising campaigns if traffic drops

THE advertising campaigns can quickly show you a drop in popularity of your content. The dashboard can show you, among other things, the volume of your web traffic, CPC (cost per click), CPA (cost per purchase) and the amount spent for each of your ads. If you notice that the predefined budget has not been spent, this means either that you have allocated the bad hearing to your content or whether your content is not relevant. You can therefore make the modifications that we have previously discussed on your content and modify your target, if it still does not work.

Note: feel free to use theA/B testing, propose different modifications to different audiences and analyze the most profitable ones. And especially, stand out from the competition by monitoring social media ads and paid ads visible on the SERP.

Receive a free SEO pre-audit

Finally, examine social media interaction

Social media engagement can have a significant impact on a site's traffic. Analyze your social media posts. If your content has fewer and fewer reactions, it means that your content is no longer as relevant or adequate as before. It will then be necessary find the origin of this drop in popularity. To do this, nothing could be simpler: analyze the publications losing interactions and compare them with your most popular publications.

THE choice of publication formats can explain this loss of interest, analyze the interactions with the videos, THE pictures where the infographics For example. People like interactivity within posts, so add GIFs, more videos, or more engaging text. Add call-to-action encouraging the Internet user to take an action, such as visiting your site! You can also rework your communication strategy and test new approaches, a more personalized tone, etc.

What you must remember

The sustainability of your online business requires constant vigilance. There are many reasons that can lead to a drop in traffic to your website. To identify the causes, a proactive approach should be taken: