Hello BHW, I work for a website which is very popular. Back in 2014-15, website daily traffic was 200k. Now, it has slipped down to 150k and sometime even 120k. Google Analytics used to show Real Time Right Now Users of 1600-2000. Now it shows in 1000-1400. Website is very popular (No doubt in it. Even org, gov, edu sites refer to mine), however its Alexa Rank seems going higher (FYI its 2.7k) My competitors are improving their site (Going low on Alexa Rank). What might be the issue if I had that much traffic back then and diminishing now? PS : No Black Hat techniques were used or will be used. Site is purely white hat.
Check the SERPs... anything messing up CTR? did your rankings change? has average time on site changed? bounce rate? Are you actively growing your user base. Visitor bases go stale. You have to keep replacing and growing your audience. Have efforts changed on that front? Are you neglecting mobile and social... that has caused similar effects for lots of businesses. Need to know more about your specific situation to really help.
Check the SERPs... anything messing up CTR? ==>No, Site is always on first page and among top 7 in google. did your rankings change? ==>No Rankings are same as they were on 2015. has average time on site changed? ==>Yeah. Site average time is now 2.5 minutes. Earlier it was 5. bounce rate? ==>72% Are you actively growing your user base. Visitor bases go stale. You have to keep replacing and growing your audience. Have efforts changed on that front? ==>Site analytics says that it has more new users than returning ones. Are you neglecting mobile and social... that has caused similar effects for lots of businesses. ==>No. Infact we introduced WAP and AMP version too. Need to know more about your specific situation to really help. ==>One thing I can say is, this is a news website. And we are going paid version now. Is this the reason for this fall?
Could be... if you are telling people their free news is going away they might look for it elsewhere. Marketing message is crucial there... many news providers have taken the approach of telling their visitors that everything they are used to is staying the same, but premium content is now available to the patrons who help support the site. If you went the other way and told visitors they have to pay soon then that would cause a mass exit of all the people who can't or are undecided if they want to yet. Also check your seasonality... do you typically have a dip this time of year?
My advise would be to implement a feature that would make your visitors stay longer on your page, and using a feed system so your reader can subscribe and get email updates when you post . Just like what Youtube does. I recently did that for one of my viral sites. The Results are stunning. Advertisers pay ALOT more when you have automatic post notification.
Is your site mobile friendly? Is it adaptive? When was the last time you redesigned the site? If its a site built several years ago people could be leaving it for a better user experience. I've dealt with similar situations before with clients. -ThopHayt
You can keep updating your blog with interesting posts and try to get the lot more social shares through your social accounts. Get the backlinks from top news magazines that will help you to get the traffic.
Just keep your site updated and create useful and well-written content. Make it even more beautiful, incorporate with good layout, make it easy to navigate and mobile friendly. Increase social shares and make your site responsive and try to reach out with your reader by responding to their comments and suggestions.
