For many businesses, an algorithm update is the most common culprit of lower website traffic.
Search engines like Google and Bing aren't slacking off. They're always looking for ways to improve the search experience because a better search experience means happier users, and satisfied users means increased loyalty and market share.
That's why it's common for search engines to update their algorithms regularly. However, an updated algorithm can change your website's ranking in search results.
You can improve your ranking or decrease it, which affects your site traffic.
If a search engine like Google, for example, updates its algorithm and that egypt telegram lead your website to drop from page one to page two for a competitive keyword , it can substantially reduce your site’s traffic. That’s because only 25 percent of users see the second page of search results .
While your business can't do anything to make search engines improve their algorithms, you can adapt your online strategy to take these updates into account. A cross media marketing strategy , for example, can help your business get website traffic from multiple sources.
Some examples include:
Paid Ads
Social networks
Email
If your website traffic drops due to an algorithm update, it's also worth investigating the update. While search engines like Google rarely comment on algorithm changes, experts often compile research that highlights what the update includes.
This information can help your team audit your site and make potential fixes to improve your rankings.
google penalties in seo5. You were penalized by Panda or Penguin
The average webmaster or blogger may not be aware of Panda or Penguin and how these algorithmic changes affect the ranking position and traffic a website can receive from Google.
If this is the first time you've heard these words, I suggest you read these two quick guides from Wikipedia: Panda and Penguin
In terms of traffic, if you were penalized by Panda or Penguin or any other algorithmic change, then you will see traffic to your site drop dramatically overnight.
You can open your Google Analytics report and find out the actual date when your traffic changed and compare it to this page which shows the dates when Google changed its ranking algorithm.
If there is a matching date and depending on the changes, you may need to take several actions to recover traffic.
I wasn't Panda or Penguin, but I still don't have enough traffic, why?
If you find yourself in a situation where your website never managed to get a significant amount of visitors, it may be because:
There is still little time left (less than 6 months)
You don't have much content.
You don't use social media to promote your website.
You are making some of these SEO mistakes
You focus solely on getting traffic from search engines without looking for alternative sources of traffic .
web design near tenerife6. Your website designer forgot about SEO
A web designer who doesn't consider SEO can cause devastating damage to your website traffic.
THE PROBLEM
Redesigning your website is a great decision, especially if you have an older site. An updated website looks modern and professional, and provides a better user experience, which can boost your bottom line.
The problem, however, is that many companies forget about SEO when designing their site.
Even web design agencies make this mistake. While they understand design and how to create an attractive and intuitive website, they fail to recognize the relationship between web design and SEO, and how a redesigned (or newly designed) website can rack up traffic.
Some ways a website redesign can hurt your SEO and traffic include:
Replace page content, including title tags and meta descriptions, with unoptimized content
Creating new pages for existing pages, without setting up a 301 redirect
Changing the structure of the site, without updating the sitemap
Redesign the website without including your Google Analytics tracking code
In comparison, a site’s design can prevent it from reaching the traffic levels of your dreams. This is because without SEO, your site will struggle to appear in search results related to your industry, products or services.
Since your website design affects the entire site, it's critical to fix this issue immediately.
THE SOLUTION
Businesses can address a drop in traffic after a site redesign in several ways, including:
Restore your old website from backups
Optimizing your new content and website
Update your sitemap
Setting up 301 redirects
Depending on the redesign, the fix may take a significant amount of time.
For example, if your business needs to reboot its SEO strategy, it will take time to rank in search results and get the kind of traffic your website had. In comparison, creating 301 redirects requires less work, although it will likely take a few weeks or months for traffic levels to recover.
If your original web design isn't driving traffic, your team will need to take a similar approach. While you may not need to set up redirects, you will need to create content that's optimized for your website and audience.
Your company can also work with a full-service digital marketing expert who specializes in web design and SEO , such as Lorenzo Gonzalez .