November 7, 2025
Why Your Website Traffic Has Dropped (And What To Do About It)
Causes for a Gradual Drop in Website Traffic
Changing Search Behaviours
If your traffic is dropping but rankings look solid, the cause might not be technical—it could be a shift in user behaviour.
The biggest driver is generative AI. More people are turning to tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity for quick answers, especially for broad, informational queries. These platforms provide instant responses without sending users to external websites.
Even on Google, AI Overviews now appear above organic results, leading to more zero-click searches and fewer site visits.
But this doesn’t mean your traffic is doomed. It means you need to add Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) to your strategy. GEO involves optimising your content so AI platforms can easily understand, surface, and cite it. This includes:
· Structuring content with clear headings and concise answers
· Using schema markup to help AI understand your content
· Building authority through quality backlinks and citations
· Creating content that answers specific questions directly
GEO helps your brand appear in AI-generated responses—even when users aren’t clicking through. You may lose some top-of-funnel traffic, but the trade-off is visibility with users closer to taking action.
SEO Neglect
Letting your SEO slide doesn’t always have instant consequences, but over time, it chips away at your visibility.
Google releases over 300 algorithm updates a year. Whilst most are small, they add up. Content that previously performed well can suddenly fall out of favour.
The second issue is making no changes to your website at all. No new blog posts, no landing page refreshes, no re-optimising service pages. This makes your site look abandoned, and Google won’t send users to websites that appear neglected.
To avoid this, keep your website active and aligned with your SEO strategy. Regularly review and improve content, update key pages, optimise metadata, and strengthen internal linking.
Not sure where to start? Our
free marketing review identifies what’s holding your site back and what will push it forward.
Seasonal Trends
Not all traffic drops are cause for concern. In industries like retail, hospitality, or events, seasonal trends heavily influence when people search.
Use Google Search Console and GA4 to compare year-on-year performance and look for consistent patterns. Most B2B sites see a drop mid-December through early January. It’s predictable.
If the data suggests a seasonal dip, use the quieter period to refresh outdated content, build backlinks, or optimise landing pages so you’re ready to capitalise on the next traffic surge.
Increased Competition
There’s always a chance you’re losing traffic to someone else. A competitor might have launched a more optimised site, published a stand-out blog series, or doubled down on link-building.

Work out what the competition is doing. Are they doing SEO and you’re not? Are they better priced? Have they rebuilt their site?
From there, revise your strategy with the new information factored in. This could mean expanding topic clusters, improving page speed, or adding more visual content. But don’t just copy what they’re doing—one-up them.
Sudden Drops in Website Traffic
Algorithm Updates
Most Google algorithm updates are small, but some cause dramatic spikes or drops in traffic.
If your traffic drops post-update, stay calm. It takes around two weeks for a broad core update to fully roll out, and you’ll see fluctuation afterwards. Spikes and drops during this time don’t always stick.
But if you’ve waited and the change hasn’t reversed, it’s time to act:
· Identify which pages lost visibility
· Review the content on those pages
· Compare your content to what’s now ranking
· Look for gaps in quality, depth, or user intent
· Make targeted improvements
Core updates reward helpful content. If your site delivers genuine value to users, you’re more likely to bounce back.
You’re checking Google Analytics and something’s off. Your website traffic has dipped, and you’re not sure what’s changed.

A drop in website traffic can happen suddenly or creep in over time. Either way, the impact is the same: less traffic means fewer leads and fewer sales.
Let’s break down the most common causes and what you can do to fix them.
There’s always a chance you’re losing traffic to someone else. A competitor might have launched a more optimised site, published a stand-out blog series, or doubled down on link-building.

Work out what the competition is doing. Are they doing SEO and you’re not? Are they better priced? Have they rebuilt their site?
From there, revise your strategy with the new information factored in. This could mean expanding topic clusters, improving page speed, or adding more visual content. But don’t just copy what they’re doing—one-up them.
Manual Penalty
A Manual Penalty is a direct action taken by a human reviewer at Google, typically when a website violates Google’s Search Essentials. This can include black hat SEO tactics like spammy backlinks or keyword stuffing.
If you get a manual penalty, Google will tell you. Check the messages tab in your Google Search Console.
From there:

· Identify the issue
· Fix it
· Submit a reconsideration request
Recovery can take time. Even after it’s lifted, it may take several weeks for your rankings and traffic to stabilise.
