Organic reach is dead!
…at least, that’s what you’ve probably heard lately. You might believe it too, if your organic traffic is in decline.
Fortunately, organic reach is not dead.
There’s a reason your organic traffic is down, but it’s not because organic reach no longer exists. In fact, there are many ways you can improve your organic reach and get yourself out of a traffic rut for your Shopify store.
But why are you losing organic traffic? Most likely because your store isn’t appealing to Google’s ranking algorithms. Let’s take a look at 6 reasons why your organic traffic is in decline.
You Don’t Have Enough Domain Authority
Don’t expect to rank highly with Google if you don’t have domain authority.
Domain authority (DA) is a collection of all off-site SEO factors affecting your store’s rank. This includes backlinks and page visits.
Do dozens of other bloggers link to your store? Do you get more visitors daily than competitors in your field? If so, your store probably has enough domain authority to rank highly with Google.
But if you don’t have DA because you’ve lost backlinks and visitors lately, or you never had enough to beat your competitors for rankings, you will lose organic. Google won’t rank your store as highly as those with domain authority, meaning you have less access to new shoppers.
Your Content Isn’t Organized
Your content needs to be organized. Unorganized content is difficult to navigate, and poor navigation will have a negative
Well-organized content makes it easier for outside sources to link to you. It also means shoppers will stay on your website. More links and longer visits will help your store rank more highly, and it will improve your organic reach.
If your content isn’t organized, it’ll be harder for other websites to link to you. Shoppers might not spend as much time shopping on your website. Overall, unorganized content will do very little to benefit your store, and it will certainly have a negative
Your Content Isn’t Expert Level
Your readers want informative content. They want to hear tips from the experts.
Don’t outsource your content to writers without experience in your niche. It’s okay to hire writers, but they should be experts on the topic they’re writing about.
The best way to create expert content? Create content yourself. You’re the expert, take the time to sit down and write content for your store.
Expert content will naturally attract the most readers and the most shares. Showcase your authority by creating expert level content for your store to improve organic reach.
Your Competition is Fierce
Every niche has fierce competition online. You might have been number one in your niche, but a new blog on the block may have dethroned you in the eyes of Google’s algorithms.
If other stores and blogs are creating better content than you, you should expect a decline in organic traffic.
The fix?
Create better content than your competitors. Give your shoppers a reason to choose you over anyone else in your niche. Learn more about the Shopify skyscraper technique of creating epic, shareable content on your Shopify store.
Your Website is Slow
Google punishes websites which load slowly on its search results pages. Not to mention people who do visit your site will leave quickly if your content loads slowly.
You want your website to load as quickly as possible. The more quickly it loads, the higher it will rank. If your site slows down, you should expect a dip in your organic traffic.
Your Bounce Rate is High
Search engine algorithms don’t use bounce rate as a direct ranking factor. However, a high bounce rate is an indication your site isn’t keeping visitors around for long.
Are your visitors leaving your store as soon as they get there? Are they navigating for a minute, then leaving for a competitor? This means you have a high bounce rate.
The best way to reduce your bounce rate? Don’t give visitors a reason to leave. Your pages should load quickly and your site’s navigation should be straightforward. If your visitors enjoy their time on your page, they’ll be less inclined to leave before sharing content or making a purchase.
The best way to improve your organic reach?
Create quality content your readers want to share.
- Make your website easy to navigate.
- Quality content will attract backlinks naturally which will help your organic reach.
- Optimize your site to make it load as quickly as possible.
By fixing these issues above, you will improve your search visibility, website visits, and conversions.
