Why Has My Website Traffic Dropped?
If your website traffic has suddenly dropped, it can be worrying — especially if your business relies on regular visits from search engines. Whether you run an online shop, blog, or service site, a drop in traffic means fewer people are seeing what you offer. At Perpetual10, we know how important it is to stay visible in search results, which is why we've created this guide to help you find out what's gone wrong and what to do about it.
There are many possible reasons why your traffic has dropped. Some are small and easy to fix, while others may need a deeper look into your website and online strategy. The key is not to panic. Instead, take a clear and step-by-step approach to finding the real cause.
Is It a Real Drop or Just a Data Problem?
Before you make any significant changes to your site or SEO strategy, it’s essential to check if the drop is real. Sometimes, what looks like a sudden drop in website traffic is actually caused by errors in your data or tracking setup.
Start by checking your analytics tools. If you use Google Analytics or another platform, make sure the tracking code is still installed on every page of your website. Even a small change to your website layout or content management system (CMS) can remove or break the tracking code.
You should also check if your tracking tool settings have changed. Using Google Tag Manager or a cookie consent banner can sometimes block tracking without you realising it.
It’s helpful to compare data from different analytics tools to see if the drop is real. If traffic is still coming in but just not being tracked correctly, you may not need to fix anything else.
What Kind of Drop Is It?
Once you’ve confirmed the data is correct, the next step is to understand the type of drop you’re dealing with. Was it sudden, or did it happen slowly over time? Did the whole site lose traffic, or just a specific section or page?
A sudden drop in traffic could point to a bigger problem, like a manual penalty, technical issues, or a change in Google’s algorithm. A slow, steady decline might mean your content needs updating or your competitors are outranking you in search results.
Check Google Search Console to see which pages are affected. The URL inspection tool can help you find out if a specific affected page is still indexed if it’s blocked, or if there are crawl errors.
It’s also worth looking at whether the drop could be seasonal. Use Google Trends to see if fewer people are searching for your main keywords. If demand has fallen across the whole market, your site might not be at fault.
What Causes a Drop in Organic Traffic?
There are many reasons why your site might have lost traffic from search engines. Some are technical, while others relate to your content, competition, or even changes in how search engines display results.
Technical Issues and Crawl Errors
One of the most common causes of a traffic drop is technical problems with your website. If search engines can’t access or understand your pages, they won’t show them in search results.
Use Google Search Console to check for crawl errors or warnings. These can include broken links, server issues, or pages being blocked by mistake using robots.txt or noindex tags.
Other technical issues, such as a slow site or pages that don’t work well on mobile devices, can also hurt your rankings. Google now uses Core Web Vitals to help decide which pages to show in search results, so it’s important to keep your site fast and user-friendly.
Algorithm Update Impacts
Google often updates its search algorithm. These updates can change how sites are ranked, and even a small change in how Google works can lead to a drop in organic traffic.
If your site lost traffic around the same time as an algorithm update, it could be a sign that your site’s content or structure needs improvement. Use SEO news sites to check for recent updates and compare how other websites in your industry were affected.
Manual Action Penalties
A manual action is a penalty applied by Google when your site breaks its rules. This is less common than an algorithm update but can cause a sudden and serious drop in traffic.
You can check for penalties by looking at the manual action report in Google Search Console. If you have received one, Google will explain what caused it and how to fix it. Common reasons include spammy links, hidden content, or trying to trick search engines.
Loss of Backlinks
Backlinks — links from other websites to yours — are important for SEO. If you suddenly lose many high-quality links, your rankings may drop, leading to lower search traffic.
Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to track your backlinks. If you’ve lost links from strong sites, try to reach out and get them replaced. Backlink building is a long-term strategy, but it’s essential for keeping your site trusted by search engines.
Content Problems
Outdated, thin, or poorly written content can cause rankings to slip over time. Google prefers up-to-date pages that answer user questions clearly and fully.
Another issue is keyword cannibalisation, where multiple pages on your site compete for the same keywords. This can confuse search engines and reduce the visibility of your best content.
Make sure each page has a clear topic and purpose. Update old content and remove or merge pages that no longer perform well.
Changes to Search Results Layout
Even if your rankings haven’t changed, a drop in traffic can still happen if the search results page looks different. For example, if a featured snippet or image box that your site used to appear in has been replaced, you may get fewer clicks.
Check the search results for your main keywords and see if anything has changed. Google often adds new features that affect how users interact with search results.
Competitor Growth
Sometimes, your site doesn’t lose traffic — your competitors simply gain more. If others in your industry have improved their content, backlinks, or site speed, they may push you down the rankings.
Use SEO tools to see how your competitors are doing. Compare their content and structure with yours to spot opportunities for improvement.
Site Changes or Migrations
If you’ve recently changed your domain, updated your URL structure, or launched a new site design, this could explain the drop. If redirects aren’t done correctly, or if search engines can’t find your new pages, your traffic will suffer.
Make sure all old URLs redirect properly to the new ones using 301 redirects. Check the affected pages with the URL inspection tool in the Search Console to make sure they are being indexed correctly.
How to Investigate the Drop in Website Traffic
At Perpetual10, we follow a straightforward process to find out why a website has lost traffic. Here’s how you can do the same:
Check your analytics tools to confirm that tracking is working. Make sure your tracking code is installed and collecting accurate data.
Use Google Search Console to look for crawl errors, manual actions, or changes in search performance.
Inspect key pages with the URL inspection tool to check indexing status and any technical problems.
Check where the traffic drop happened — was it organic search traffic, direct, or referral?
Review recent site changes, including content updates or design edits.
Look into possible algorithm updates and see if the timeline matches your drop.
Examine your backlinks to see if you've lost valuable links or gained spammy ones.
Compare your site to your competitors to see who’s overtaken you and why.
How to Fix the Problem and Recover
Once you’ve found the cause of your traffic drop, you can take steps to fix it.
If technical issues are the problem, work on improving your site’s performance and fixing broken links. Submit your sitemap again and request indexing of key pages.
If your content is out of date, rewrite it to better match what users are searching for. Make sure it’s clear, helpful, and easy to read.
For lost backlinks, focus on backlink building through outreach, partnerships, or digital PR. You may also want to disavow harmful links if they’re hurting your SEO.
If the drop came after an algorithm update, improve your content quality, site speed, and overall user experience. A good SEO strategy looks at the bigger picture, not just minor fixes.
How Long Will Recovery Take?
The time it takes to recover depends on what caused the drop. Fixing technical errors or restoring a broken tracking code might show results in days. But if your site was affected by an algorithm update or penalty, it could take weeks or even months.
The most important thing is to act quickly and stay consistent. Regular checks, updates, and improvements will help your website traffic recover and grow over time.
How to Prevent Future Drops
To stop traffic drops from happening again, make site checks part of your routine. Always test big changes in a staging environment before going live. Keep regular backups of your content and monitor how your top pages are performing.
Use tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to run technical audits. Track your rankings and traffic weekly, not just monthly, and stay informed about search engine updates and trends in user behaviour.
At Perpetual10, we believe the best way to avoid sudden issues is to stay ahead with regular monitoring and updates.
When to Get Help
If you’ve followed all the steps but still can’t figure out why your website traffic is down, or if the fixes haven’t worked, it may be time to ask for expert help.
Whether it’s understanding an algorithm update, fixing technical problems, or improving your content strategy, an experienced SEO team can make a big difference. At Perpetual10, we’ve helped many businesses recover from search traffic issues and build long-term success.
Final Thoughts
A sudden drop in traffic can feel like a significant setback, but it’s often something that can be fixed. By following a clear plan and using the right tools, you can find out what went wrong and start making improvements. Whether the cause is technical, content-related, or linked to a search engine update, there’s always a path to recovery. If you need help, contact us today.