Almost anyone that runs a business will know the importance of having a website that is optimised for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). However, sometimes a growing site can experience issues with SEO performance.
It can take time to work out what is going wrong and how you can fix it. Here, then, are three possible reasons why your SEO performance may be dropping.
1 Drop in User Experience
Search engines like Google have developed a lot since they first started. Google in particular now uses complex and sophisticated AI and machine learning to better understand what its users want.
While this makes it a better experience for the user, it can affect the performance of a website if it isn’t meeting user demands. If your website hasn’t been updated in a while, it is a good idea to find an SEO consultant in Essex & London to help you resolve any issues that may have developed due to a change in the search engine requirements.
You may need to revamp your website to improve load speeds, optimise your images, add more white space to make your site easier to read, and have clear calls to action.
2 Poor Website Navigation
With user experience at the forefront of what search engines are looking for, it is vital that you have a website that provides a positive user experience. If any parts of your site are lacking in this respect, you will see your ranking drop.
Visitors to your website must be able to go from one area of your site to another logically and easily. Search engines such as Google will send out bots to crawl websites and see how they are created. The bots will be looking at best practices such as having the home page as a base and using breadcrumbs and a hierarchy.
If a website is lacking in these, or they are not correctly implemented, then it won’t rank as well in search results as another site that has good navigation.
3 Increased Effort From Competitors
Your competitors are always going to try and get the upper hand on your business to try and get more sales. One way that they can do this is by optimising their SEO strategy so that they can rank higher than you in search results.
It is always a good idea to regularly check where you are ranking compared to your competitors. If they are starting to rank higher than you, try to change your SEO strategy to help your site move up the search results.
Evaluate what your competitors are doing on their site that is working well. Perhaps they are adding different keywords, or maybe they have a faster-loading site than yours? Once you have identified the reason, you can try to find a solution that will help the site and your sales.
However, it isn’t only about the keywords or the loading time. Remember that the way your site behaves and how easy it is to navigate can be the difference between your site and that of a competitor.
One way you can gauge this is by looking at your site analytics to see how long each person stays on your site and where they go. If you are starting to see people spending less time on your site and visiting fewer pages, then maybe you need to revamp your website.
Other Explanations
Apart from these three examples, there are other reasons why your site performance might be dropping.
- Search engines such as Google regularly update their AI and bots along with changes to their algorithm. Sometimes these changes can affect how your website performs. Often you won’t need to do anything about it, and the numbers will return. However, specialist SEO companies will know how these changes affect your site and can give you advice.
- Seasonal behaviour can sometimes see a drop in visitors. If you sell products for a certain season or sport, then you may find less interaction when the sport isn’t running. In this situation, it is important to look at your analytics to see if there is a pattern happening at each time of the year. During these times, it can be a good idea to think about special offers or promotions that could entice people back.
Conclusion
SEO can be a challenging field, especially if you are new to the idea of optimising your business’s online presence. This is why it is important to find people who can take a look at your site and evaluate what needs to be done to make your site work effectively.
