Debugging drops in Google Search traffic

1. Main Reasons for Traffic Drops #

A. Algorithmic Updates #

• Google regularly releases core and smaller updates.
  
• Check the Ranking Updates Page to see if an update matches the date of your drop.
  
• Small position drop (e.g., #2 → #4):
  
  • Normal fluctuation; usually avoid drastic changes.
    
• Large position drop (e.g., #4 → #29):
  
  • Reassess site for helpful, reliable, people-first content.
    
  • Improvements can take weeks to months to reflect.

B. Technical Issues #

• Can block crawling, indexing, or serving pages.
  
• Common causes:
  
  • Server downtime
    
  • Misconfigured robots.txt
    
  • Accidental noindex tags
    
  • 404/5xx errors
    
• Check in Search Console:
  
  • Crawl Stats Report
    
  • Page Indexing Report
    

C. Security Issues #

• Malware, phishing, or hacked content can cause warnings.
  
• Check Security Issues Report in Search Console.
  

D. Spam Issues #

• Violation of spam policies can lower or remove rankings.
  
• Check Manual Actions Report in Search Console.
  

E. Seasonality / Trends #

• Traffic can drop due to lower demand (holidays, trends shifting).
  
• Check affected queries in:
  
  • Performance Report (Search Console)
    
  • Google Trends (compare with global interest)
    

F. Site Moves / Migrations #

• URL changes (domain change, restructuring, HTTPS migration) can cause temporary dips.
  
• Ensure correct:
  
  • 301 redirects
    
  • Updated internal links
    
  • Canonical tags
    
• Check Site Move Troubleshooting if recovery stalls.
  

2. Quick Troubleshooting Checklist #

✅ Compare affected queries/pages in Performance Report
✅ Check Crawl stats, Indexing, and Security Issues in Search Console
✅ Review spam/manual actions
✅ Verify site health (no downtime, no blocking tags)
✅ Use Google Trends for demand changes
✅ For migrations: Check redirects, canonicals, sitemaps