SEO Blog

Perhaps your rankings have plunged or maybe your site isn’t attracting the same amount of traffic as it did in previous months; what can you do? Well, as always, it’s best not to do anything too rash.

Even if you have an SEO consultant working on optimising it, negative results aren’t always indicative of poor workmanship. That may sound a little farfetched, but the Internet is a very different marketplace to the real world; anomalies to occur, natural dips can be unavoidable and people may just not want what you offer – at least not at the moment.

Sometimes we look for the simplest answer and end up with the exact opposite. Let’s start with a few questions you should be asking.

What reasons could there be for a drop in rankings?

Have you made some drastic changes, have you included some links from questionable sources or have you neglected to make any suggested site alterations for some time? All of these can lead to an immediate or gradual drop off in rankings.

However another thing to consider is that search engine algorithms are continually changing. As such they re-order websites to fit in with their new mathematical code. This means that you could find yourself slipping or rising for what is seemingly no inexplicable reason. There’s not a lot you can do to counteract this in the short-term, but in time you can prevent major shifts by continually strengthening and developing your site.

Why are customers staying away?

Again this may be due to a change in rankings, in which case you need to explore the issues mentioned above. However, if search engine positions aren’t an issue, perhaps it’s time to look at your site. Why are people not clicking on you? Are your Title tags and Meta (shown within SERPs) showing off your business enough? Are there just seasonal downturns across the industry? Don’t panic though, if your rankings are strong and your site is being developed, you should have no issue moving forwards.

All websites, just as with bricks and mortar business, have their fair share of ups and downs. Even after a prolonged period of turmoil and drop-offs across the board, the news may not be all bad. SEO doesn’t guarantee a top position and millions of visitors each and every month (if only!). What it does provide though is core strength for a site and a focus that will ensure you are targeting the phrases and audience that relate to your ethos.

Therefore the one question you should probably be asking is:

Is there anything more that I can be doing?

Well, the simple answer is always yes. No successful site sits on its laurels; there’s no room for websites that stagnate and assume they will remain popular by provenance. Even if your site looks and feels complete, there’s always plenty that can be done in the background. Your linking structure for example is one area that you should be continuously developing. Quality links will always provide a longstanding benefit, so keep sourcing them.

Content too is another area that can always use some improvements. If you have pages that either have no copy or text is very limited, see if you can develop it. When you produce new content there is a two-fold benefit; 1) you can provide more information to visitors and search engines, 2) you will have your pages re-indexed soon afterwards, offering an opportunity to increase your search engine rankings almost immediately.

Don’t give up on your website and don’t turn your back on SEO. Undulations are inevitable, but you have to be able to ride out the bad times and learn to appreciate the good ones too.