Google traffic suddenly dropped by 70% — any idea why?

raagjattmusic

raagjattmusic

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I run a ringtone download website.

Initially, Google traffic dropped from 5k clicks/day to around 100. After 4–5 months, rankings started coming back and traffic reached 20k/day. Things were going well for 3–4 months, but since October 10, impressions have suddenly dropped by around 90%.

We went from 30k clicks/day to around 8k. The weird part is that average position improved from 7 to 3.

I haven’t done any spammy SEO or link building. I mainly upload new ringtones regularly.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Any idea what Google might be doing here?

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tiiberius said:
Major update foreplay.
Click to expand...
Do you think Google will recover the rankings, and how long could it take? I’m still consistently working on the website and uploading new ringtones. Have you seen sites recover from a drop like this?
 
raagjattmusic said:
Do you think Google will recover the rankings, and how long could it take? I’m still consistently working on the website and uploading new ringtones. Have you seen sites recover from a drop like this?
Click to expand...
If it's not an actual hit it can recover at any point.

But there are 3 most common points in time for recovery.
  • when actual update hits and is announced
  • during fix period that happens after official rollout
  • during next update
It might not be related to update at all.
Serious technical issue can cause this.
Since you deal with music, DMCA might be a possibility too.

-
 
tiiberius said:
If it's not an actual hit it can recover at any point.

But there are 3 most common points in time for recovery.
  • when actual update hits and is announced
  • during fix period that happens after official rollout
  • during next update
It might not be related to update at all.
Serious technical issue can cause this.
Since you deal with music, DMCA might be a possibility too.

-
Click to expand...
I do receive DMCA notices, and I remove the reported URLs whenever I get them. But my competitors in the same ringtone niche also receive DMCA notices, and their rankings haven’t dropped like mine. So I’m wondering if DMCA is really the reason for my traffic drop, or if something else is going on. What do you think?
 
Sounds like a shuffle. Most niche sites go through such phases
Not sure about your niche since there's no content involved
 
If you actually did nothing to trigger this drop, You have to continue your consistent postings. If its a Google thing, it will pick up in weeks to a month. Sometimes you really can't tell what google does with traffic
 
My first thought would be that Google is showing the site for fewer queries or demand has shifted rather than rankings simply getting worse. I’d break GSC data down by country and query then compare the dates against the previous period to see where the drop started.
 
My gut says this isn't a penalty. tiiberius's DMCA angle makes more sense for a ringtone site, since those notices hit music sites constantly.
 
raagjattmusic said:
I run a ringtone download website.

Initially, Google traffic dropped from 5k clicks/day to around 100. After 4–5 months, rankings started coming back and traffic reached 20k/day. Things were going well for 3–4 months, but since October 10, impressions have suddenly dropped by around 90%.

We went from 30k clicks/day to around 8k. The weird part is that average position improved from 7 to 3.

I haven’t done any spammy SEO or link building. I mainly upload new ringtones regularly.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Any idea what Google might be doing here?

View attachment 552661
Click to expand...
the drop is massive but the rise in the average position is something to consider. i would investigate to see whether u are ranking on fewer keywords or bcz there is reduced search volume. is the fall in impressions limited to specific ring tone cattegories?
 
First check GSC to see if clicks, impressions, or rankings dropped. If all three declined, it could be an algorithm update, indexing issue, or lost rankings. If impressions are stable but clicks dropped, check CTR and SERP changes. Don’t make major changes until you identify the cause.
 
it's a ringtone download site, so the first thing i'd check is google's transparency report and lumen for dmca complaints against the domain. sites like that tend to pile up rightsholder complaints, and once there are enough google demotes the whole site, not individual pages. if that's clean, then see whether the oct 10 drop lines up with an update
 
Ringtone sites get hit hard on core updates, and with that niche check for DMCA removals too, GSC won’t show those but lumen database will. see if the drop matches an update date first
 
raagjattmusic said:
I do receive DMCA notices, and I remove the reported URLs whenever I get them. But my competitors in the same ringtone niche also receive DMCA notices, and their rankings haven’t dropped like mine. So I’m wondering if DMCA is really the reason for my traffic drop, or if something else is going on. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Then it's most likely update.
AI content is being the focus once again it seems.

How are you doing now?
 
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