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A sharp decrease in traffic is always an alarming signal for the site owner. Especially if a lot of effort and money was invested in the development of the resource. The reasons for this drop may vary, from seasonal fluctuations to changes in search engines. It is impossible to miss such a phenomenon, but finding the true cause can be difficult. Let's look at what to do if you are faced with a sharp decrease in traffic.
Before looking for the reasons for the decline, you need to make sure that the statistics are collected correctly. Even if no changes have been made to the site, breakdowns of meters are still possible. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
The tracking code installed for analytics systems such as Metrica or Google Analytics may become corrupted after updating plugins. If work has been done on the site, the likelihood that some of the code will be removed or changed increases. To check this, check the counters on all indexed pages and make sure they remain active. To do this, you can use specialized crawling software, such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider, and then match the list of indexed pages with those that should have a counter.
In Yandex Metrica, you can check the operation of the counter through the “My Counters” menu and see its status. If the indicator is green, the meter is working normally. In Google Analytics, verification is performed through the “Tracking Code” item in the “Administrator” menu. Here you can find out when the information was updated.
Do not forget that the demand for goods and services can greatly depend on the time of year. Seasonal traffic fluctuations are normal and there is nothing you can do about it. These changes are part of the natural market cycle. To track seasonality for key queries, you can use various services, such as Yandex.Wordstat. For example, products that are in demand only during certain months of the year will always have a characteristic “wave” traffic pattern.
In the event of serious search engine sanctions, your site may disappear from search results for important queries, which will lead to a sharp drop in traffic.
First, you should check the site in Yandex Webmaster for violations. Go to the “Security and Violations” section and crawl the pages. If the system reports that “Domain is prohibited for indexing,” this is a clear sign that the site has come under sanctions.
To check in Google, use the command “site:yourdomain”. If your site's pages don't show up in search results, that's bad news.
Traffic problems can be caused by changes in search engine algorithms. Systems often make adjustments without always publishing official announcements about them. This makes it difficult to track changes, but professionals can track such jumps on thematic forums. If a decrease is observed not only for your site, but also for competitors, this is most likely due to adjustments in search results.
It is also important to follow the official news from Yandex and Google. Major updates are announced in advance, and developers often hold conferences where they explain what changes in algorithms may affect the site.
Traffic may also decrease due to changes that have been made to the site. Here are some examples of what can affect positions:
This list can be continued, but the point is the same: even small changes on the site can cause serious fluctuations in positions. If your page has consistently been in the TOP, we strongly do not recommend making changes to it unnecessarily. For example, moving content or changing the layout of blocks can worsen behavioral factors, since users may not find familiar information in place.
If your site ranks well for certain queries, it will always take into account what your competitors are doing, especially if they have started to improve their resources or change strategies. In this case, your site may lose ranking as competitors begin to receive more traffic due to improvements.
The search engine responds flexibly to changes in user behavior, and, for example, a site that was not previously filtered may be blocked in one region, but continue to work in another, as happens with spam filters.
Result:
A drop in traffic can be caused by many factors. It is important to conduct a detailed diagnosis to accurately determine the cause. Using the right tools and monitoring changes will help you avoid losses and restore traffic faster.
If you have any questions about reducing traffic or want to consult on other issues, write to the SEO studio "SEO COMPUTER" by email info@seo.computer.
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