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Imagine your business thriving, fueled by growing website traffic, only for disaster to strike: search traffic plummets by 85%. Sales nosedive, customers vanish, and your dreams of expansion crumble.
A sudden drop in Google rankings can feel catastrophic, but identifying and addressing the cause is critical to recovery.
While ordering a professional SEO audit is a smart move, you can start investigating the issue yourself by asking six key questions.
This article outlines those questions and actionable steps to help you restore your site’s traffic.
Question 1: Is the Statistics Service Code Installed Correctly?
A malfunctioning Google Analytics tracking code can distort your traffic data, making it seem like traffic has dropped when it hasn’t. Use tools like Google Tag Assistant or Chrome’s Developer Tools to verify that the tracking code is correctly implemented across all page types. If the code is missing or broken on certain pages, restore it manually or through your content management system (CMS). Ensuring accurate tracking is the first step to confirming a genuine traffic drop.
Question 2: Have You Changed Anything on the Site Lately?
Recent site changes, such as a redesign, content removal, or altered page hierarchy, can disrupt search rankings. For example, improper redirects during a redesign can lead to broken links or lost rankings. Similarly, deleting high-performing content or restructuring URLs without proper 301 redirects can confuse search engines.
Action Steps:
- Use Google Analytics to analyze page popularity and identify sections where traffic has dropped due to removed or less relevant content.
- Review site logs to pinpoint changes made just before the traffic decline.
- Reverse problematic changes, restore valuable content, or implement correct redirects to recover lost rankings.
Question 3: Has Your Site Been Hacked?
Hackers often operate stealthily, adding malicious content to new or hidden sections of your site without disrupting the main pages. Search engines like Google penalize sites with dangerous content by lowering rankings to protect users from cyber risks.
Action Steps:
- Use Google Search Console to check for security issues or warnings about malicious content.
- Search “links:yourdomain.com” in Google to detect broken pages or suspicious meta descriptions in search snippets.
- Restore your site from a recent backup, update administrator and database passwords, and scan for vulnerabilities.
- Implement preventive measures: keep your CMS updated, use strong passwords, enable automatic backups, and regularly monitor site status via Google Search Console.
Once the malicious content is removed, search engines will typically restore your rankings, boosting traffic.
Question 4: Is the Traffic Drop Related to a Search Engine Algorithm Update?
Google frequently updates its algorithms, and these changes can cause significant traffic fluctuations. Check webmaster forums, SEO blogs, or Google’s official blog for recent announcements about algorithm updates. If other sites in your niche report similar traffic drops, an algorithm change is likely the culprit.
Action Steps:
- Hire a reputable SEO company with a track record of navigating algorithm updates.
- Focus on comprehensive site improvements, such as creating high-quality content, earning natural backlinks, and optimizing on-page elements, to align with Google’s updated ranking factors.
Recovering from an algorithm update often requires long-term SEO strategies, so professional expertise is invaluable.
Question 5: Is Your Site Under Search Engine Sanctions?
If no recent algorithm updates explain the drop, your site may be facing penalties for violating search engine guidelines. Sanctions typically affect non-branded queries (those not including your company name or exclusive products), causing a sharp decline in rankings. Common triggers include spam content, malicious code, or low-quality backlinks, especially since Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithms cracked down on such practices.
Action Steps:
- Check Google Search Console for manual action notifications.
- Conduct an SEO audit to identify and remove spammy content or low-quality links, such as those purchased through link aggregators.
- Work with an SEO specialist to optimize on-page elements and rebuild your site’s credibility.
Addressing sanctions promptly can restore rankings and traffic over time.
Question 6: Has Your Site Been Targeted by Competitors?
Competitors may engage in negative SEO tactics, such as purchasing spammy backlinks from low-quality sites to point to your domain. Search engines may interpret this as manipulation, lowering your rankings.
Action Steps:
- Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to audit your backlink profile and identify suspicious links.
- Leverage Google’s Disavow Tool or Bing’s Disavow Links Tool (via Bing Webmaster Tools) to neutralize the impact of toxic links.
- Monitor your backlink profile regularly to prevent future attacks.
Disavowing harmful links signals to search engines that you’re addressing the issue, helping to recover your rankings.
Conclusion
A sudden 85% drop in search traffic is a crisis, but systematically addressing these six questions can help you identify and resolve the issue. Start by verifying your analytics setup, reviewing recent site changes, checking for hacks, investigating algorithm updates, assessing potential sanctions, and monitoring for competitor interference. If the cause remains elusive or the fixes are complex, don’t hesitate to enlist professional SEO services. Acting swiftly and strategically will minimize damage and set your site on the path to recovery, restoring traffic and safeguarding your business’s future.
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