Any idea how to find out what happened to my visitors?

by CTHiker

Posted: 9 years ago 13 replies

Hi there,

I have a niche content site. On 23 Dec 2016 my visitor numbers dropped significantly.

As you can see from the graph, I was getting about 30 to 70 users per day. Then it dropped to only a couple per day.

I have tried to check if Google has blacklisted my site, but it does not seem to have done so. I still find my site for the keywords that I used to rank for.

Any advice on how to get to the bottom of my drop in traffic would be appreciated.

(I know it was only 50+ visitors per day, but I was getting good conversions, thats why I am keen to fix this)

NB - My site has nothing to do with Christmas!

#find #happened #idea #visitors

sahib1989 9 years ago

Have you recently checked the average searches for the keywords you were ranking for? If you really do have a niche website, chances are the keywords would be niche too. This means that their search volume could be less than most other keywords. I am not saying this is what happened but maybe the searches for those keywords decreased by a huge margin within last month.

I have a website offering E-Surveillance, which is a very niche topic. The keywords have hardly 10-100 monthly searches. So, the traffic is generally low and does fluctuate a lot. This might be what is happening here. Just maybe.
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- CTHiker 9 years ago
  
  Thank you very much for your reply. I have a strong feeling that there has not been a huge change in search volume. The site deals with a certain problem many people have, and people still have that problem
  
  Thanks again.
  
  Thanks
  
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MikeFriedman 9 years ago

Without seeing the site, anything anyone says is just going to be a guess.

Are you sure it was search engine traffic you lost?

Is Google Analytics working on all your pages? I've seen web developers make some changes and foul that all up before.

Are you certain your traffic was really coming from the keywords you checked and not other keywords that perhaps you didn't realize you were ranking for?

Did you make any significant changes to the site, such as changing from HTTP to HTTPS?
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- CTHiker 9 years ago
  
  Hi Mike,
  
  Yup it was google search traffic.
  
  I have just moved over to https in a hope that it will count in my favor.
  
  Cheers
  
  Thanks
  
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  MikeFriedman 9 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by CTHiker
  
  Hi Mike,
  
  Yup it was google search traffic.
  
  I have just moved over to https in a hope that it will count in my favor.
  
  Cheers
  
  HTTPS will make little to no difference.
  
  You made the change to HTTPS just recently or around the time when you saw the traffic drop?
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  CTHiker 9 years ago
  
  Hi there,
  
  The HTTPS was only added recently. Long after the drop in traffic.
  
  Thanks
  
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Jess Marsh 9 years ago

Were you logged in when you saw the higher numbers?
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- MikeFriedman 9 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Jess Marsh
  
  Were you logged in when you saw the higher numbers?
  
  WTF?
  
  Of course he was logged in. How the hell else do you access your Analytics account?
  
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  DABK 9 years ago
  
  Some people, Mike, are faster than a speeding bullet, can jump over the Sears Tower effortlessly, others can turn green and strong, others can fly, some can turn invisible, or become hotter than lava and not die. Why can't we have people who can see what's in their analytics without logging in?
  
  Originally Posted by MikeFriedman
  
  WTF?
  
  Of course he was logged in. How the hell else do you access your Analytics account?
  
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hsahadath 9 years ago

Sometimes it happens for different reasons. Continue your work, you will get back soon.
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CTHiker 9 years ago

I also checked my webmaster tools, and there is no notification about a Google penalty.
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Clint Butler 9 years ago

Honestly, that screams penalty or lost rankings on a traffic providing keyword. I'm leaning towards the latter assuming all the other information that you have provided is accurate.

Anything else is pure guessing without seeing the site and give it a quick audit.
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Health N Fitness Tips 9 years ago

I am too facing same kind of situation giving URL of blog for reference. Please help whats wrong with my site. Earlier the visitors were in 3 digits but suddenly now the hits has been gradually reduced to 2 digits.

Blog URL सेहतमंद स्वास्थ्य के फिटनेस टिप्स
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