Is there anything more frustrating for marketers than a mysterious drop in traffic? For B2B companies where a steady stream of inbound leads is the key driver of growth, a decline in traffic can deal a direct blow to the business.
Elephant Company’s clients also frequently experience traffic declines in various forms. We have observed situations where traffic to key pages drops for a variety of reasons, ranging from sharp declines caused by technical configuration errors to gradual declines resulting from content strategy issues or changes in the external search environment.
On top of that, a new variable has emerged since 2024. As the “zero-click” phenomenon—driven by the widespread adoption of AI search engines—has intensified, it has become increasingly difficult to secure sustainable traffic through traditional SEO strategies alone.
After analyzing various client cases, I’ve put together a checklist to help address traffic declines. Since many companies are likely facing similar challenges, I’d like to share it here.
Use this 5-point checklist of essential items to review when traffic drops to systematically assess and resolve issues—from technical diagnostics to new strategies tailored for the AI search era!
If Your Website Traffic Is Dropping, Start by Checking These 5 Things
A decline in traffic is rarely caused by a single factor; it’s often the result of a combination of factors. From technical issues to content strategy and changes in the external search landscape, go through the following five points in order to find a solution!
1. Have you made any changes to the page in the last two weeks?
It may take some time for the changes to appear in the search results.
The first thing to check is whether you’ve made any recent changes to your website’s content.
Search engines like Google and Naver use crawlers (bots) to collect content from websites online, creating an “index” for each page and storing it so it can be used in search results. However, crawlers do not detect changes to our website in real time; instead, they visit at regular intervals to crawl the content.
For this reason, it takes some time for changes to a website’s content to be reflected in search results. If the title, URL, or content of a page has changed significantly from its previous version, this may affect users’ search behavior, potentially leading to a decrease in search visibility or clicks.
2. Are there any technical issues with the website?
Websites with technical issues receive less visibility in search results.
If there were no changes to the content itself, it’s time to check the overall website settings.
Check for technical issues, such as whether search engine crawlers are being blocked from accessing your website, whether the site is too slow, and whether it functions properly on mobile devices. If technical elements are configured incorrectly, search engines may deem your website to be of low quality, which could result in a decrease in traffic.
When checking technical elements, we review the process by tracing back the steps a search engine takes to crawl and index our website.
① Is the page being properly "indexed"?
As we mentioned earlier, search engines create an “index” so they can include pages from our website in search results. If important pages aren’t indexed properly while unnecessary pages are, this can negatively impact the overall quality of the site, directly affecting search visibility and traffic.
🛠️ Check if indexing is working properly
1. Check the trend in indexed pages.
If the number of indexed pages is dropping sharply, this is a red flag. You should review your overall technical settings.
2. Check to see if any pages that should be indexed are not being indexed. Go to Search Console > Indexing > Pages (
) to identify any important pages that are not being indexed and determine the cause.
3. Check to see if any pages that should not be indexed are being exposed.
Please exclude pages with no content, pages that require a login to view content, and pages containing personal information so that they are not crawled or indexed.
② Is the search engine properly “crawling” our website?
If a particular page isn't being indexed at all, you should check whether it's being crawled properly. This is because the crawler needs to collect the website's content in order to index it.
Crawling is the process by which search engine robots (crawlers) visit a website to collect information about its pages. If crawlers cannot access our site or fail to discover important pages, the site will naturally not be indexed or appear in search results.
🛠️ Checking if crawling is working properly
1. robots.txt File Check robots.txtThis is a tag that tells crawlers, "Do not crawl this page." Please check to make sure you aren't blocking crawling of important pages or the entire site.
(User-agent: * Below Disallow: / (If it says this, it means the entire site is blocked!)
2. sitemap.xml File Check
A sitemap is like a map that tells crawlers, "Here are the pages on our site." Make sure your sitemap is up to date and properly submitted to Search Console.
3. Check to make sure your page content is displaying properly. If your site (
) loads too slowly or the content doesn’t display correctly on mobile devices, crawlers won’t be able to index your site’s content. (Crawlers primarily check the mobile view.) Furthermore, the more low-quality pages you have, the less search engines will trust your site as a whole.
4. Check your crawl budget.
Search engine crawlers are busy crawling not only our website but every website on the internet. If there are many error pages or duplicate pages, the crawler won’t be able to properly crawl the pages that actually matter.
3. Has traffic dropped significantly only for specific keywords or pages?
This could actually be more devastating than an overall drop in traffic.
It’s possible that traffic isn’t declining overall, but rather that traffic from specific pages or keywords is decreasing. If traffic from keywords critical to your business is declining, this could be more damaging than a simple drop in overall traffic.
🛠️ Checking changes in keyword performance in Google Search Console
1. In Google Search Console > Performance, set up a date range comparison:
. Set the date range based on when traffic began to decline.
2. Identify keywords that have caused a drop in traffic: Go to
and check the "Search Volume" tab to identify keywords where impressions and clicks have dropped significantly.
3. Checking the performance of content driving keyword results
Check whether there have been any changes in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings for each piece of content driving keyword results.
① Has the search volume for keywords decreased?
If you’re still ranking highly for certain keywords but your traffic has decreased, it’s possible that the search volume for those keywords has dropped.
It’s not a problem with our content or website; it’s simply that the keyword itself has lost its popularity. In particular, search volume for seasonal keywords or those riding temporary trends naturally declines once the season or trend has passed.
🛠️ Check search volume for specific keywords
Use tools such as Google Trends, Naver Data Lab, and ListeningMind to check the historical search volume trends for that keyword.
You'll be able to determine whether it's a trending keyword that's now on the decline, or a seasonal keyword that just needs to wait until the next season.
☝️ What if interest in the keywords we’re targeting has dropped significantly?
Now is the time to implement a marketing strategy focused on identifying new traffic keywords.
If you're wondering how to develop a keyword strategy, check out our guide on the 5-step keyword strategy for B2B marketing. You can also download a keyword funnel template that you can put to use right away.
② Has competing content moved up in the rankings?
If search volume remains the same but your site’s impressions and clicks have dropped, it’s likely that competing content has gained ground. Either new content has taken the top spots, or existing competitors have secured higher rankings with better content.
☝️ What if you’ve fallen behind the competition on key keywords you can’t afford to miss?
1. Thoroughly analyze the top-ranking competitor content.
Check what information it contains, how it is structured, and what questions it answers for readers.
2. Update existing content or plan new content.
Publish differentiated content by adding information that competing content has overlooked, or by incorporating the latest data and in-depth insights.
4. Has there been a recent Google algorithm update?
Google updates its algorithms to ensure that high-quality content ranks higher in search results.
Google’s algorithm for determining top search rankings is constantly being updated. It is evolving to prioritize showing users more high-quality content that is helpful to them.
These updates may cause content that previously ranked highly to drop in rankings or experience a sharp decline in traffic. You can review the details of the updates and take appropriate action if you find any changes that might affect your content.
💡 Related Links
- Google Search Central Blog: The fastest way to stay up to date on Google's algorithm updates.
However, as mentioned earlier, algorithm updates occur “frequently.” Rather than reacting to each update individually, the most efficient approach is to focus on creating high-quality, user-centric content from a long-term perspective.
5. Are you prepared for the era of AI search?
With the widespread adoption of ChatGPT and Perplexity, the search landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift.
Have you noticed a drop in traffic even though there are no apparent issues with the four items we checked earlier? Did the decline in traffic occur primarily with informational content? If so, you should consider whether it might be due to a fundamental shift in the search landscape.
According to data released by the consulting firm Bain & Company in December 2024, search-driven traffic has decreased by 25%. As AI search engines like Google’s AI Overviews and Perplexity become more widespread, this “zero-click” phenomenon is intensifying. Since AI search engines immediately summarize and display the answer to a question, there is no longer a need to click on a specific link.
These changes are rapidly eroding the traffic performance of lead-generation content, which previously drove traffic by delivering the information users needed. While traffic has traditionally been generated through lead-generation content that simply lists information, a new strategy tailored to the AI era is now required.
✅ 3 Content Strategies That Deliver Results in the Age of AI
1. Traffic-driven content → Creating “awareness-driven content” aimed at being cited by AI
You can no longer drive traffic to your website with simple informational content alone. Therefore, rather than focusing on traffic, your goal should be to raise brand awareness by getting cited by AI.
AI prefers content that provides an in-depth and comprehensive exploration of specific topics. "Comprehensive summary" content—which features extensive data, expert insights, and a clear structure—is highly likely to be cited by AI as a reliable source of information.
2. Publish in-depth conversion-oriented and core content that drives traffic
Unlike awareness-oriented content, both conversion-oriented and core content address specific solutions to problems or provide insights that are hard to find elsewhere; therefore, if cited by AI, they are highly likely to result in actual traffic.
- Convertible content: such as customer case studies, service comparisons, and troubleshooting guides that offer solutions when potential customers encounter problems
- Core Content: Thought leadership content that conveys our company’s philosophy, vision, and insights (e.g., CEO interviews, industry trend reports)
💡Are you curious to learn more about what constitutes "corecontent" that boosts a company's credibility?
Why Our Company Needs 'Core Content' Right Now Check out the content!
3. Ensuring Your Content Is Cited in AI Search Results Through GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
To be cited by AI search engines, you need not only a content strategy but also technical work that enables AI search engines to better understand and utilize your content.
This is similar to how SEO is necessary to rank highly on search engines like Google and Naver. By implementing structured data (Schema Markup) and systematically managing brand search results through GEO optimization, we can ensure that our website is included in AI search results.
💡 Could our site be cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity?
GEO Self-Assessment ChecklistStay one step ahead in the age of AI search!
What if the 5-point checklist doesn’t solve the problem? Get a customized solution tailored to your website.
So far, we’ve looked at five key points to check when your website traffic drops.
In reality, a decline in traffic is often caused by a complex interplay of various factors. It is essential to diagnose the site from a holistic perspective, taking into account everything from technical issues to content strategy and changes in the external environment. Especially now that AI-powered search has become the norm, sustainable results can only be achieved by first establishing a marketing strategy that incorporates GEO optimization.
Elephant Company is a content growth group with unparalleled expertise in B2B business. Going beyond basic SEO, we incorporate GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategies tailored for the AI era, consistently generating inbound leads and driving business results even in an ever-changing search landscape.
If you want to identify the real issues with your website and determine the first steps you need to take, sign up for a free website diagnosis. We’ll provide you with a customized roadmap designed to drive growth in the age of AI.
