Why Your Organic Traffic is Down and Strategies to Fix It


website owner panicking at declining organic web traffic

November 28, 2023

In today's digitally-driven world, web traffic is the lifeblood of any successful online business or website. The more visitors you have, the more opportunities you have to convert them into customers or subscribers.
 
While paid advertising can be an effective and fast way to drive traffic, organic web traffic is the holy grail of digital marketing because users are coming to your website naturally. Organic traffic is crucial to any online business as it can generate leads, increase brand visibility, and drive conversions.
 
However, there may be instances when organic traffic declines, leaving many website owners to wonder, "Why is my organic traffic down?" and "How can I increase my organic traffic?" Let's uncover common reasons why organic traffic declines and actionable tips to reverse course.

Algorithm Updates

One of the primary reasons for declining organic traffic is algorithm updates by search engines like Google. These updates often change how search results are displayed, affecting your website's visibility.

Stay Up-to-Date on Trends

To remedy this, stay updated with the latest algorithm changes and make necessary adjustments to your website's content and SEO strategies. Sign up for industry newsletters, follow informative websites like Search Engine Journal and Search Engine Watch, and set up Google Alerts for algorithm updates so you never miss a beat.

Technical Issues

Technical website issues can significantly impact your organic traffic because they can hurt the user experience (UX), a key ranking factor. Common problems include slow page loading speed, broken links, or incorrect implementation of SEO tags.

Fix Website Issues Promptly

Conduct regular website audits to identify and fix technical issues that negatively impact UX and hinder your website's visibility to search engines. Additionally, ensure your website is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and has a user-friendly design.

Poor Keyword Optimization

Keywords play a vital role in driving organic traffic to your website. If you're not effectively optimizing your content with relevant keywords, your website will struggle to rank well in search engine results and reach your target audience.

Find and Incorporate Relevant Keywords

Conduct keyword research to identify the terms, phrases, and questions your target audience is searching for. Then, incorporate those keywords naturally into your website’s content, meta tags, and headings to help boost rankings.

Lack of Quality Content

The quality and relevance of your content directly impacts your organic traffic. If your website lacks informative, engaging, and valuable content, search engines are more likely to prioritize websites that do in search results.

Produce Value-Driven Content

Create high-quality, relevant content that addresses the needs and queries of your target audience. Focus on providing value and establishing your website as a reliable source of information.

Inadequate Backlink Profile

Backlinks (i.e. links from other websites) are crucial in search engine rankings because links from reputable websites signal to search engines that your website is trustworthy and authoritative. Not only can quality backlinks improve rankings, but they also drive organic traffic from other websites.

Build Backlinks from Reputable Websites

To acquire backlinks, contact other website owners or bloggers in your industry and propose collaborations, guest posts, or partnerships. Additionally, create shareable content that others will naturally want to link to, such as infographics, research studies, or comprehensive guides.
 
Expand the reach of your content by promoting it across your channels like social media, blog, newsletter, etc.

Poor Mobile Responsiveness

With mobile search outpacing desktop, search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites. Your organic traffic may suffer if your website isn't mobile-friendly, takes too long to load, or is hard to navigate.

Optimize Mobile UX

Mobile responsiveness is crucial to boosting organic traffic. Ensure your website is responsive and provides an optimal UX across different devices. Google's PageSpeed Insights is a free tool to discover performance issues and opportunities for mobile optimization.

Outperforming Competitors

Competition in the organic search space is fierce. If you aren’t paying attention, competitors can swoop in with more effective strategies that improve their online visibility and rankings. As a result, your organic traffic and conversion rates can take a hit.

Perform Regular Competitor Analyses

Keep tabs on your competitors by monitoring their SEO strategies and content marketing efforts. Analyzing their website structure, keywords, backlinks, and other strategy elements can provide insights that help you stay ahead of the competition.
 
Furthermore, stay up-to-date with industry trends and news, like voice search, to ensure you’re not missing out on opportunities.

Reverse Your Organic Traffic Decline

A dip in organic traffic can be concerning, but it's not irreversible. By understanding the reasons behind the decline and implementing effective strategies, you can fix the issue and drive organic traffic back to your website. Stay proactive, adapt to changes, and consistently optimize your website and content to ensure sustained organic traffic growth.
 
Book a free 30-minute call with our web traffic experts to discover proven solutions and turn your declining traffic around!

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