Site is losing traffic after relaunch

[FishAcct]

Hello,

We've just relaunched this site in the last several days, and we're seeing some small (but stead) traffic decreases, as well as engagement decreases. We're aware that page speed (about 4 seconds from a non-cached browser) and some 404s are an issue, our team is currently working on both. But we're really looking for some constructive criticism here as to what we need to improve.

Other issues to be aware of: lots of our social counts went back to 0s, as lots of URLs changed, and it wasn't possible to migrate comments from the old system, so those have gone back to 0 as well. We wonder if this might be affecting both users and search engines perception of the site.

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

[AndyMacLean]

Heres a relaunching a site SEO checklist I did a while back which may help.

[HeatherBakerTopLine]

Hi LoudNoise.

1. was there any site downtime during the migration?

2. Have you compared traffic sources before and after the migration to isolate the source of the problem?

H

[FishAcct]

Hi Andy, thanks for the checklist. Going through it now to make sure we've got all these bases covered.

[KevinBudzynski]

Other issues to be aware of: lots of our social counts went back to 0s, as lots of URLs changed, and it wasn't possible to migrate comments from the old system, so those have gone back to 0 as well. We wonder if this might be affecting both users and search engines perception of the site.

Yes, anytime content changes and it gets crawled it will influence rankings/perception. However, it does not mean you will necessary lose any positions.

Also, any site migration you will typically drop in traffic (unless it's a small site with all the correct redirects). It happens, but as long as the traffic doesn't drop significantly--you did your job. Just keep monitoring it.

[AndyMacLean]

No problem Paul, hope it helps, let me know if you have anything to add the list, ill credit it back to you.

[FishAcct]

Hi Healther,

Thanks for your response.

1. There was no downtime whatsoever.

2. Yep, the comparison shows us that:

• Direct traffic is down, just slightly, though there is a trend. The downward trend is still within normal bounds. I believe it will soon a be beyond these bounds, however, as there appears to be a user experience issue. Site speed being one, but would appreciate input on any others you might be able to identify.

• Referral traffic is within normal bounds, some ups, some downs.

• Organic traffic is where the site is taking the hit. The trend is downward, though not drastically so. Might site speed be the crux of search / engagement issues? Or do you see anything else in the site that might cause a downward trend in search traffic?

[AndyMacLean]

Paul,

I would also add, as kevbudmonroe says, big site changes can create flux which can soon be recoverable, or better, on its own.

Im sure your scouring the analytics for clues but if you havent already look at your intelligence reports in Google Analytics - they might throw up something you didnt think of.

Good luck,

Andy