Why Has My Traffic Dropped?

Traffic drops are common — here's how to diagnose them

Google algorithm update

Google updates its algorithm thousands of times per year, with major core updates a few times annually. If your traffic dropped suddenly around a known update date, this is likely the cause. Recovery usually requires improving content quality and relevance.

Seasonal patterns

Many industries have predictable seasonal traffic patterns. A drop in January for a wedding business isn't alarming — it's expected. We compare year-on-year rather than month-on-month to account for this.

Technical issues

A misconfigured robots.txt, a noindex tag accidentally applied to key pages, or a site migration handled incorrectly can all cause sudden traffic drops. These are urgent to fix and usually detectable quickly in Google Search Console.

Tracking issues

Sometimes the traffic hasn't dropped — the tracking has broken. Always check Search Console alongside GA4.

What to do

Contact your account manager immediately, including the date the drop started.