Member Avatar for AntiQuark

The following google analytics daily unique visitor traffic graph is backed up by server traffic data and google webmasters clicks to site data.
Image of Graph:

Most traffic comes from google:

Before Oct 1st traffic was rising steadily with no problems.
No changes where made before the peak rise in traffic and during or after the massive drop.

The bumps in traffic happen when I change something e.g
Change paramaters that are ignored on google webmaster
Or redesign some pages on my website.
(But evidently the traffic then subsides)

My site offers original, non-commercial and keyword specific information:
<plugs snipped>

I have just submitted my second reconsideration request to google.
Traffic from Bing, Yahoo, other reffering sites and direct traffic has been rising.
(But since a lot of my traffic came from google anyway im missing out on a lot)
Google Adsense revenue is down a lot and I am hardly breaking even on costs
Submitted to google webmaster help about why links to my site skyrocketed just before traffic dropped.

Any help?

Edited by Dani because: Links to your website snipped per forum policy
  • 3 Contributors
  • 8 Replies
  • 179 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by AntiQuark

Dani AI

Generated

This thread describes a sudden Google-driven traffic spike followed by a large drop in October, with brief recoveries after site edits. confirmed analytics, server logs and Webmaster data point to the same pattern; suggested an algorithm/manual-change explanation, and advised cross-checking analytics. The pattern (spike → collapse, domain moves, occasional lifts after edits) narrows likely troubleshooting paths to technical/migration errors, manual action or quality/backlink problems. The checklist below prioritizes tests that give concrete, verifiable answers.

  • Check Search Console (Webmaster Tools) for Manual Actions and Messages. If a manual action exists, document the exact reason and follow the cleanup steps before submitting another reconsideration request.
  • Compare organic landing pages and queries across date ranges in Analytics. Identify which pages lost most organic clicks and treat those pages first.
  • Audit migrations and redirects: verify every old URL has a proper 301 to the correct new URL; confirm canonical tags point to the intended URL; ensure sitemap is updated and resubmitted.
  • Confirm no accidental blocks: review robots.txt, meta robots (noindex), and server logs for spikes in 4xx/5xx or crawling failures. Check domain canonicalization (http vs https, www vs non-www).
  • Inspect inbound links for sudden spikes or low-quality link patterns. Export link data from Search Console and third-party tools, request removals where appropriate, and keep receipts/screenshots for a reconsideration file (use the Disavow tool only after documented removal attempts).
  • Evaluate content quality: thin, duplicate or doorway-like pages get devalued. Consolidate low-value pages, improve core pages, and add unique user-focused content.
  • Make changes one at a time and monitor for 2–4 weeks; avoid rapid, repeated site-wide edits that can obscure cause/effect.

Immediate stabilizers are: restore proper 301s, remove unintended noindex rules, resubmit XML sitemap, and prioritize fixes on pages that lost the most traffic. Diversify traffic sources so a single search-engine shift is less damaging. ’s algorithm-change suggestion is plausible, but verification via the technical and manual-action checks above should come first; ’s advice to cross-check analytics is validated by the consistent signals reported by .

Recommended Answers

All 8 Replies

Member Avatar for Dani

The links to the graphs are broken.

Member Avatar for AntiQuark

The problem has been solved.
Sorry about that ;)

Member Avatar for Dani

No worries. But mind sharing so that you could help other members of the community?

Member Avatar for AntiQuark

I ment the links to the graphs.
The 'main' problem hasn't been solved.
:(

Member Avatar for Dani

Hey there,

I'm sorry this happened to you. An explanation for the spike right before the huge dip might be that in October you implemented an SEO technique that Google's algorithm favored. However, Google then manually changed their algorithm in such a way that the technique hurt you instead of helped you.

Member Avatar for AntiQuark

No changes where made before the peak rise in traffic and during or after the massive drop.

Before the massive drop in october traffic was on a constant rise.

The current domain reached a year old on oct 18th but the actual site has moved domains a few times.
Amongst other forums I have read that certain sites experiance drops after 4, 6 or 12 months, would that account for such a huge drop.

The website (not counting the forums which has a active community) hadn't been updated as often as before starting around November, maybe this would have had a effect and explain the periodic boosts in traffic when changes are made to the site?

Just some thoughts.

Edited by AntiQuark because: n/a
Member Avatar for mascot

It is best to use multiple analytics so that you can compare statistics to ensure that everything is correct.

Never rely on 1 analytic statistics.

Member Avatar for AntiQuark

It is best to use multiple analytics so that you can compare statistics to ensure that everything is correct.

Never rely on 1 analytic statistics.

Read the first sentence in my post.
Thanks for the input though :)

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.