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Organic Traffic Decreased? A set of tools on what to do in the event of a traffic downturn.

In a recent event for us, a customer saw a downturn in organic traffic and with some simple steps highlighted beautifully by Google’s Search Central we managed to identify the cause and propose a solution. As a result we wanted to use this platform to bring this to the surface through a few points.

Mapping Technical Issues & Releases, Content Changes, Seasonality and Vertical Trends and finally when Google makes changes to it’s Search Algorithm. On a few occasions we’ve seen that core changes have had an impact on a sites traffic so Google Search’s Core Update page is firmly in our bookmarks.

Researching and mapping out the above is a great first step in understanding what changes may have lead to the drop off.

Complete a basic SEO Audit

Search Results Pages, like any technology, are ever changing and growing more competitive. As a result it’s important to formulate a plan to stay ahead of your search competition. Firstly, by providing the most relevant content for the keywords and content you’re targeting, and secondly providing a measurably better on-page experience with speed being the most important factor. To make sure your content and SEO strategy is effective, it’s vital to keep a clear view of all SEO aspects; there are a number of SEO Tools available like SEMRush and AHREFs that can help you do this. If you’re new to SEO, or haven’t regularly checked in on your SEO strategy, a great resource is SEMRush’s SEO Checklist – a cheat sheet for making sure you’ve got SEO covered.

When to bring in the SEO Experts

The above can be time consuming, however it is highly important, as an inactive content plan or poor SEO implementation can be damaging to a site’s traffic. Many SEO agencies offer services in the following areas to support you:

  • Review content and structure of the site.
  • Offer technical advice on how to approach things like redirects, error pages, hosting, and site speed.
  • Create Content Plans.
  • Perform keyword research.
  • Provide SEO Training.

Next Steps

Search is highly competitive, and standing still from a content and technology perspective leaves you at significant risk of being left behind by online competitors offering richer more up to date content through better online experiences.

If you’re looking to audit how your site’s performing, follow the steps above, and if you’d like support in getting an SEO Audit or plan in place, get in touch, and we’ll be delighted to discuss how we can help improve your SEO.

About the author

Matt Potter

Matt is our Business Development Manager at C3. Demonstrably tenacious, Matt has been evolving tech businesses and delivering digital products for over 14 years.