What To Do When Your Website Traffic Falls Off a Cliff

Bloggers and webmasters alike rely on Google as a consistent source of traffic to their site, but Google is far from consistent. Sure, they have an algorithm that should put the same sites at the same ranking every time, but the algorithm is changed from time to time. This change can prevent a serious problems for people who rely on the web for a large part, or all of their income. The problem can occur with any search engine when your sites rank or position is changed for the worse.

Not everyone loses traffic when a search engine tweaks their system. Some sites never notice the change while others actually benefit by having their site’s ranking increased. This problem is not as rare as one might think but there are steps you can take to attempt to fix the problem

Give it time. Sometimes your worries are unnecessary. If your blog suddenly loses traffic wait a few days before taking “active” steps to correct the problem. Despite your urge to panic, some traffic problems are solved on their own by Google. Giving Google a few days to correct itself may solve your problems, but if your traffic hasn’t returned after a few days read on.

Wait, Wait, Wait Some More. So you’ve given it a few days and your traffic is still low. Is it panic time? No. Do not make and big site changes for at least a month or two. This advice does not mean to stop adding content to your blog. This will only make your situation worse. Continue to update your website or blog as you did previously and continue to wait.

Seek Help From Others. If your traffic dropped others are likely experiencing the same problems. Consider checking forums to find other users and the problems they are experiencing. You can also use these resources to see if anyone has seen their traffic return after giving Google some time.

Optimize Your Site. These situations make for a great situation to optimize your website or blog for search engines. Continue to add quality content to your site and stay active, the more popular your blog the quicker the traffic will return. You may also want to consider varying your sources of traffic by using other techniques such as commenting on other blogs and using pinging services such as Technorati. By diversifying your traffic you will be better prepared to handle future fluctuations of search engine traffic in the future. Some good optimizations include more posting of quality content, networking with other sites or blogs, change the design of your blog, and keep readers coming back.

Do the “New” Thing. If your still haven’t experienced a return of your missing traffic it is time for more drastic measures. There are many options to consider when it comes to “new” ideas but some good ideas include adding new blogs and websites to your portfolio, new income streams, and new offline ventures to cover your income.

In the end a traffic fluctuation may be a good thing for your blog. It not only opens your eyes to new sources of traffic but also to new ideas and ways of making money which, in the end, may actually increase the traffic and revenue you earn from your blog.

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