Every business wants to be the most profitable it can be for the least amount of money. For this reason, business owners invest in search engine optimization or SEO strategies that can vastly increase their visibility on search engines. Given the complexity of SEO and the ever-changing algorithms, showing up immediately on the search results page is a long process that involves careful planning and tweaking. That means it’s essential to refresh your strategy every so often to make sure you stay on top of all the algorithm and policy changes.
If you haven’t been experiencing the traffic you were hoping to achieve, it may be time to update your strategy or try new techniques. Here are six warning signs you need to overhaul your SEO plan:
1. Your Website Traffic Decreased By More Than 20 Percent
The goal of every SEO strategy is to improve your visibility and hike up your organic rankings over a period, typically months or years. However, if your website traffic and organic rankings have sunk more than 20 percent over six months, there’s something wrong with your strategy. Be sure to review your website analytics to find out how low your rankings have slipped, which will tell you whether or not your plan needs an update.
2. Your Organic Rankings Have Dipped
If your website has noticeably tumbled down the rankings on Google or other search engines, getting buried well past the first page over the past six months, your strategy is performing poorly. It’s important to note that a dismal performance can be attributed to many different factors, like changes to algorithms by search engines or increased competition. Be sure to check the amount of traffic you receive from people clicking through search engine results pages (SERPs). If you observe a sharp decrease in click-through rates, you’ll need to revamp your SEO strategy to make sure you rank higher in search results.
3. Your Competitors Rank Higher
The last thing any business wants is for their competitors to rank higher on a search engine. It’s typically rare to see numerous companies with the same products jostling for the same position on the page, mainly if they’re located near each other. If this is the case, it’s worth contacting an SEO agency to figure out what’s going on with your strategy.
4. You Aren’t Ranking for Industry Keywords
A solid SEO strategy will help you rank for different keywords related to your field or industry. However, if your plan stops working as intended, your rankings will slip through the cracks, making you harder to find on a SERP. Suppose this is a new development, making it an anomaly. In that case, you should review the quality of the content on your website, especially the inbound links that point towards pages from different websites.
5. Your Conversion Rate is Stale
The objective of every SEO strategy is to attract more leads and boost a business’s visibility. If the number of leads you’ve generated has started to decrease over time, that means your SEO campaign has stopped working effectively. It is crucial to track conversions because they offer valuable insights into your marketing campaign, telling you whether they work. If you aren’t generating good leads or customers through organic search traffic, it’s time to upgrade your current approach.
6. You’ve Been Using the Same Strategy for Years
Lastly, if you’ve been sticking to the same SEO strategy for many years, then it’s high time for an overhaul. The digital marketing landscape looks different from five years ago, so what works then certainly won’t work now. Given the constant updates to algorithms and policies, your five-year-old strategy is certainly outdated by now. It’s time to review your website, update yourself on the implemented changes, and change your plan accordingly.
Conclusion
SEO strategies take a lot of work to be effective. Changing your site regularly to stand up to current trends and best practices is the optimal way to stay competitive and relevant, especially in search results. If any of these warning signs resonate with you, be sure to reach out to an SEO agency right away.
Akby is a full-service marketing agency offering content creation, paid advertising, search engine optimization, website creation and development, and lead generation in New Jersey. We can help you breathe life into your SEO and attract the organic traffic your business deserves. Contact us today to find out more about what we can do for you!
