Sudden Drop in Website Traffic - Reason & Solution

Website traffic can decline for a number of reasons which can sometimes be due to tracking issues, SEO problems, seasonal reasons, ‌competition, etc. Ideally, there will always be fluctuations in website traffic, but your target is to have a gradual growth of website traffic or keep it stable.

The first step is always to identify if traffic is really down or if it is a tracking issue. You can confirm the drop in traffic with the help of Google Analytics or other website analytics tools. Once you have confirmed that traffic is down you can help initiate remedial steps.

Here are some of the steps that you can take:

Identify the traffic source

With multiple types of website traffic such as email, organic, paid, social media, etc, it is not enough to just know that traffic is declining. You need to identify the traffic source that is reducing so you can concentrate your efforts specifically.

Check the latest changes made

Usually, traffic drop happens as a result of multiple factors that could mostly be due to some recent additions or changes that you might have implemented. For instance, if you notice one medium, in particular, contributing to the drop, then do an analysis of all the processes and workflow gaps that were recently done pertaining to that one medium to identify and rectify the problem.

Analyze your competitors

If a competitor has managed to secure the SEO market for your industry or has implemented a new marketing technique to target customers better, this could lead to your traffic also dropping. One way to check this is to search your website’s primary keywords in Google and see if your competitor's name pops up first. If yes, then you can try and implement the ways to boost website traffic mentioned above.

Keep your website conditions optimal

Website conditions can also impact your SERP ranking and reduce traffic. If your webpage is slow to load, or any images and videos are not functioning properly, then search engines will drop your ranking. Do a thorough check of your website and make sure that all links, images, and templates are loading properly.

Website traffic drops happen either slowly and steadily or suddenly and substantially. Either way, they mean fewer visitors to your website. Identify the source, then find the potential causes for that specific medium.

Finally, take steps to rectify the issues or boost your specific traffic. In no time, your website traffic should rise again.