What to Do When Blog Traffic is Dropping

Thirfty Hustler‘s traffic had been on a continuous rise starting mid-2020 and it continued to do so until May this year. There were some minor drops in some of the months but not as drastic as what happened in June 2021. As I investigate the reason for the blog traffic drop, I figured that I might as well share my learning in case you’re also wondering what to do when your blog traffic is dropping.

Some Reasons for Sudden Blog Traffic Drop

There are various reasons why blog traffic drops and this may include (but not limited to):

Google Updates

Google Algorithm changes from time to time and sometimes, an algorithm update causes sudden massive drops or spikes in a website’s traffic. When your blog traffic suddenly experiences a massive drop, make a quick Google search to see if there has been any recent Google Algorithm Update that has been implemented.

If there is one, read through the update to see if there’s anything that you have to change on your website in order to stay compliant with Google.

Tracking Errors

Check your Google Analytics and Search Console also if there are any tracking errors. If you have updated your website prior to the sudden drop in traffic, check if your sitemap is still working, if you’re not blocking bot crawlers, etc.

Manual Actions and Penalties

You can see on your Google Search Console if you have received any penalties from Google or if there are any manual actions required to be done. Usually, penalties are due to being non-compliant with Google’s policies.

This is why it’s important to read Google’s policy updates once they become available.

Change in SERP Ranking

A change in SERP ranking is one of the main reasons for my blog’s traffic drop and it’s due to the increasing competition in the keywords that I’m targeting.

You can easily spot this by Googling the keywords that you’re targetting.

In my case, a lot of the articles that I used to see on top of the first page are now below the first page and some are even doing worst as they are now in the succeeding pages of Google.

As we all know, the majority of traffic is generated if you’re on top of the first page of Google as most users click on that link. That’s why it’s the most coveted spot in Google SERP.

Change in Search Volume

Sometimes, you will notice that there really is no error and you’re still outranking your competition but the traffic is still dropping. This is because the search volume just became lower.

Let’s take this for example.

One of my articles that used to do well in the SERP is this – CIMB Bank Philippines Review – Updated 2021.

However, as time goes by, the search volume gradually decreases mainly because it’s not the only digital bank available in the Philippines anymore. It now has a lot more competition in the country. So in essence, people who are looking for digital banks are also now searching for other digital banks instead of just searching for CIMB.

You can use Google Trends to see this data and then compare it to your Google Analytics.

As you can see, this one article used to produced hundreds of pageviews in a day and it’s now less than 50. This is the main reason for the huge drop in my blog traffic.

 

What to Do When Blog Traffic is Dropping

Investigate the Possible Causes

Before you start changing anything on your blog, you have to understand first what’s causing the drop in traffic. The best way to address any issues is, of course, to find out the root of the problem first.

You can use free tools to do this such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google Trends.

Address the Issues Based on Priority

If you’re a full-time blogger with staff at your command then you can of course address most of the issues right away while you and the rest of your team continuously produce new content.

However, most bloggers that I know including myself are just a one-man team with other responsibilities in life such as employment, taking care of family, and/or full-time or part-time businesses to manage.

In my case, I’m a full-time online seller and I consider myself a part-time blogger and can’t spend the whole day on the blog.

The best option is to prioritize the actions that need to be taken based on their severity.

Most reasons for the drop especially if they’re errors with tracking can easily be fixed. Tutorials on how to fix errors are also available online.

However, if the issue is a change in SERP ranking, then it might take some time because it’s due to a lot of factors.

In my case, the main issue is a drop in search volume and as well as a change in SERP ranking. It’ll probably take time to recover my ranking as I have to improve the article that lost its ranking and improve its SEO in order to outrank my competition.

Monitor the Actions Taken

Once you have taken the necessary steps to address the issues that you’ve found, you have to monitor if it will improve your traffic. Sadly, I can’t give you a specific timeframe on when it will take effect especially if the issue is a change in SERP ranking.

The best step to take is to continuously monitor the situation and to continuously write high-quality and SEO-optimized articles in order to help pull your overall blog traffic.

In my case, I am slowly updating all of my blog articles to keep them relevant in the eyes of Google and my readers.

I am also continuously writing new content so I can generate additional traffic for my blog.

Moving Forward – Diversify

When you check your Google Analytics consistently, you will know your blog’s top-ranking articles by heart. And at the same time, you will easily notice if their traffic is changing (upward or downward).

Always relying on your top ten articles and your main source of traffic (in my case Google Search) can be a scary thing as you can easily be outranked by anyone.

My solution for this is to keep on writing new articles. The goal is to consistently write new articles that will help grow my overall blog traffic.

Another solution is to also find other sources of traffic. Some people found success in social media and some via their email subscribers. You can also explore this option in the future.

 

Final Thoughts

Blogging is easy but generating traffic consistently is difficult because you are constantly competing with existing and new bloggers on a daily basis.  And as we all know, new blogs are being created on a daily basis around the world. Plus you also have to deal with the frequent updates of the ever-changing internet world.

However, don’t be disheartened because there’s always a space for everyone in the blogging world. You just have to keep your focus on creating high-quality and SEO-optimized content and surely, the traffic will follow.

Have you experienced a huge drop in your blog traffic? What was the reason and what steps are you taking to help pull the traffic back up again?

What to Do When Blog Traffic is Dropping Click To Tweet