As a full time content site owner, you spend hours after hours of research and writing to deliver the best content for your readers. Maybe you even have a budget for a team of expert editors, SEO gurus, and graphic artists just to make sure everything is on point.

Whenever you notice a decreasing trend in your visitor count, the first question that comes to mind is “What did I do wrong?” It’s also common to put the blame on the people you hired. Well, why not? They’ve been paid to make sure this exact scenario doesn’t happen. Right?

Let me burst your bubble before you unleash your frustration at your content team. There are different factors that can turn your viewers off even before they get to read the first line of your new post. Let’s study these issues one by one in this comprehensive guide! Complete with explanations on how serious the problem could be and tips on how to end such dilemma for good, come and dive into the 13 common reasons why you keep on losing visitors.

1. Redirection issue: No forwarding from www to non-www or vice versa

The problem

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Let’s assume that you have a niche site set up under the domain www.amzwatcher.com. Trust me, there are users who will frown at “www” with the mindset – “ain’t nobody got time for that!” And so they type in amzwatcher.com, but alas! They’re greeted with nothing but an error page.

There are two possible explanations for this dilemma. First, the A-records in the DNS entries for your root domain (.amzwatcher.com) and the www subdomain (www.amzwatcher.com) probably point to two different IP addresses. Secondly, it’s also possible that the root domain and the subdomain direct users to two different server directories.

Quick fix

To avoid losing another visitor just because of three repetitive letters, make sure you redirect the unused domain to the other one. Give your host provider a call and they’d surely be happy to assist you. But if you’re blessed with technical know hows, you can also do it manually by navigating through the administration area of your domain.

2. Redirection issue: No forwarding of old permalinks

The problem

To get more visitors for your website, you may have partnered with other authority site owners or bloggers. After a bit of negotiation and exchange of favors, you might do a link exchange or two. However, you may have recently decided to change your permalink structure. And so here comes a curious user who’ve read about your site. He clicks on the link, but is lead to 404 error page.

This redirection issue also lessens your back links, taking away brownie points from your Google search rankings.

Quick fix

So be sure to remember that if you change your permalink structure (e.g., from /2017/10/02/tribute-xyz/ to /tribute-xyz/), the formet link should redirect to the latter. To solve this, you need to set up 301 redirects that will help you solve it. Redirection is the plugin we use to make sure that all those pesky broken links are not harming your content.

3. Redirection issue: No forwarding to the new domain

The problem

You may have decided to rebrand your content site. And so after a bunch of research and consultation, you pursued a domain change. However, some of your fan base weren’t aware of this bold move. They proceed to type www.amzwatcher.com like they usually do, but an error page seem to have replaced their favorite website.

This commonly happens because webmasters rarely change their permalink structure. What initially appears as a harmless escape from hassle could mean a huge slash from your visitor count, and even a compromised Google search rankings.

Quick fix

The method of fixing this redirection error depends on how you created your website. If you have your own domain, simply add a line to the .htaccess file in the root directory of your domain. If you’re switching from Blogspot to WordPress, try working with the plugin Blogger 301 redirect. If you’re moving out of WordPress, prepare a minimal budget of $13 per year to purchase the site redirect extension.

4. Access blocked for search engines

The problem

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You’ve been eager to rebuild your website, and so you created a test installation under a different site URL. Of course you enabled the “Keep search engines from accepting this website” option while setting up. Finally, everything is up and ready. But oh my! You could’ve been super excited for the big launch that you forgot to disable the adjusted settings. You’ve advertised your content site all around the Internet, but when an interested user searched for your name on Google – nothing shows up.

Been there, done that. I have lost over a couple of thousand visitors just because one of my content sites was not listed on Google for an entire week.

Quick fix
After realizing your dumb mistake, simply navigate through the WordPress admin area under Settings > Read > Visibility for search engines. Uncheck that box and remind yourself never to this forgetful again! For the next few days, focus on redeeming your Google search rankings. Run an SEO strategy. Look for partnerships to gain back links. You don’t have to worry about any excessive penalty from Google just because your site is on noindex for a short time. Remember that rankings depend on your content’s relevance and quality, and indexability has no room in the equation.

5. Broken design

The problem

Bored with your old page design, you wanted to give your content site a total makeover. Hours after hours of brainstorming and implementation, it’s done and ready to rock the Internet. However, you might have forgotten to empty the cache after finishing all the changes and adjustments. The end product? Sidebars that are displayed below the article instead of next to it. Broken menus. Sites that show nothing but a white page. Absolute turnoff for visitors who expected much after you’ve hyped the rebranded website so much.

This chaos can go unnoticed for days, since actual changes are not displayed when you’re logged into a WordPress account that has caching or minify plugins.

Quick fix

Your messed up content sites can be easily remedied by adjusting your plugins’ settings. Simply exclude certain Javascript or CSS files from caching or minifying plugins, or just deactivate all your installations that aren’t compatible with your new site.

6. Long loading times

The problem

To get the most visually appealing website ever, you may have invested in high definition images and files. What you did not know is these big data can do more harm than good. The snail-paced loading time might cause visitors to leave in frustration even before seeing your top notch content. As if that isn’t terrible enough, prepare to have a downgraded Google search ranking too! Load time is given much importance by search engines, especially when used on mobile devices.

Quick fix

The average user will leave your site if it doesn’t load within five to ten seconds. For a dramatic boost in your loading speed, try out the following alternatives:

  • Install a caching plugin (e.g Cache Enabler or WP Super Cache). These works well upon launching and doesn’t really need much adjustment in the settings page.
  • Enable gzip compression
  • Enable browser caching
  • Compress your images with tools like ImageOptim or the EWWW Image Optimizer
  • Deactivate unnecessary plugins
  • Use PHP 7 instead of PHP 5.x

Each of these solutions need at least 15 minutes to be ready, but that’s a small price to pay for a website that loads 50 to 70% faster than ever. If you wanna learn more about this hack, head over to this link and ready my article “Making WordPress faster.”

7. No HTTPS encryption

The problem

With intensified data protection protocols, more and more users have been skeptical of websites who do not enable encryption. They are even backed up by browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox who launches popup warnings whenever they land on a suspicious page. Instead of a seamless reading experience, what your visitors get is a big news flash they your content site is “NOT SECURE.”

If you skipped data encryption, don’t be shocked if your Google rankings fall too.

Quick fix

If you have this problem, then you belong to the huge 40% chunk of niche site owners who have yet to switch to HTTPS. The nitty gritty details on how to do this can be found in countless blog articles online. Don’t worry, this process usually doesn’t take long. Many host providers even offer to do it for free.

8. Limited functionality and room for amazon affiliate site changes

The problem

As a content site newbie, it’s often a smart to use WordPress as a starting point. This helps you skip the worries of finding the best host provider, FTP servers, and all other self-hosting essentials. Less time for setting up means added hours for content production.

But months into your authority site builder career, you’ll be pressured to step up. To your surprise, your website gave you one or more of the following headaches:

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  • You can’t customize your design the way you want
  • You cannot use your own themes
  • You cannot install any plugins and can only add limited functionality to your site
  • You cannot change the server settings
  • You cannot access your files via FTP
  • You are bound to a platform and can’t even change the hosting provider

Quick fix

What initially appear as free blog hosting platforms will eventually drain your wallet in exchange of your own domain, increased storage space, and a bunch of extra features. Simply removing the WordPress.com branding and availing advanced SEO features can cost you up to $28 each month!

So here’s my word of advice, find  a good host or domain provider instead. Apart from the initial fees, maintaining your self-hosted blog will need a minimal budget of $5.5 per month. With the branding-free website and SEO functions, that seems like a pretty neat alternative to me.

9. Incompatible for mobile browsing

The problem

The billion of netizens today often connect with the Internet with a slim nifty device in their pockets. Gone are the hours of sitting on a desktop computer. More and more people find it convenient to explore the web through their phones instead. Here comes the problem for bloggers: a website that works perfect in its desktop version can be a total disaster when accessed through mobile browsers.

Unreadable texts. Difficult to scroll through. I wouldn’t blame visitors if they’d rather exit your site than deal with all that hassle.

Quick fix

You might be busy with a new content that’s due for immediate publishing, but I’m telling you now to drop everything and wok on your content site’s mobile version. There are tools like WPtouch which can make this process such a breeze.

Don’t be too complacent if you already have set up a mobile version. Note that different smartphones and tablets have different display configurations. Make sure your authority site will always be responsive and on its top shape with the help of Google Chrome’s developer console. It doesn’t stop there. Check if your website looks neat as well in other browsers such as Opera, Firefox, and Safari.

10. Vulnerable to cyber attacks

The problem

Starter sites can be too complacent with security, thinking that only the big websites are prone to hacking. Surprise sweetie, you are as vulnerable as anyone and hackers don’t really care about how long you’ve been in the industry. And so imagine your usually upbeat self waking up to a complete chaos. Seven hells – a hacker seem to have spent the night smuggling content and propaganda into your precious site. Take my word for it: site recovery could take days or weeks. Even longer if you don’t have backup files.

Quick fix

There’s a lot of plugins you can choose from to add layers of protection for your website. However, it won’t hurt to be a little pessimistic. One word can make all the difference for you: BACKUP.

In my case, I make backups for ALL the data I use everyday. My WordPress files and databases. My personal documents. Even my e-mails! I’ve already learned from the countless of times when I accidentally deleted essential data. I also couldn’t predict when my computer will be smoked out. Clumsy, stupid me.

If you have a good host provider, you have less to worry about. It will be their normal protocol to make backups for all customers. Don’t be too lax though. Most of them only create these backups once per week, so have your own plan in case the worst happens.

11. Lame host provider

The problem

It would be delightful if I convinced you to move out of WordPress and Blogspot and search for a reliable host provider instead. However, you might grip your wallet a tad too tighter and choose primarily based on price. Trust me, this game plan is a big disaster waiting to happen.

Loading speed are greatly affected by the quality of your host provider. In case of emergency, it’s a huge red flag if their customer support do not respond to you within an hour. Imagine all the visitors who have already been turned off by your issue-plagued website when you finally hear from them!

Quick fix

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No amount of money can replace the peace of mind you get from a reliable host provider. This is a big leap for your site, and no one will blame you for being extra meticulous in evaluating their customer relations and quality of service.

In general, I do not recommend mass hosting companies such as GoDaddy, Hostinger, SiteGround. Try and check out these hosting providers that i’ve been a client of for years:

  • Cloudways.com
  • Fornex

12. No tracking tool installed

The problem

It’s good if you noticed your dwindling visitor count thanks to metrics and analytics. But there are bloggers who might not even be aware that they have been losing viewers in the first place! This is definitely a big deal. It’s as if you’re managing your blog eyes closed and hands tied. You lose the chance to learn the following essential data:

  • which end devices your visitors use
  • from which countries or parts of the country your visitors come
  • which browsers and display resolutions they use
  • what pages they look at on your blog and how long they look at these pages
  • which channels they come from (social media, search engines, direct input in the browser or via a link)

Quick fix

You can count on tracking tools like Google Analytics or Piwik to provide you insights on how to optimize your blog and its articles. Consider these as the foundation of strategic action plans that can help you attract more and more readers.

13. Images unsupported for SEO

The problem

You might have looked for and installed the best image optimizer in the market to compress your HD photos without quality loss. Cheers for listening to our discussion on long loading times! However, optimizing images should go beyond reducing its file size. You also need to make sure it has strategic SEO attributes!

Without considering SEO for your images, you’re likely to have a poor ranking in the Google Image search.

Moreover, your site won’t be friendly to blind users who usually count on screen tools to read photos’ file names or alt tags aloud.

Quick fix

Start off by choosing a very descriptive file name, giving much importance to relevant keywords. Don’t just settle with 294u28nd9e.jpeg or final-version-infographics.png! Upgrade your image SEO strategy further by filling in the alt-tag and title-tag for your photos. Try to describe them as vividly as possible.

Conclusion

When I was starting as a content site builder, I wanted to focus on producing content and nothing else. Nothing. I didn’t care about accounting and taxes. I took for granted the technical aspects of my website. I just hated dealing with numbers and web jargons, and perhaps you do to.

However, I eventually realized that authority site creation isn’t all about working in your pajamas and encashing pay checks. You may have ground-breaking articles and graphics, but all these can go to waste if you don’t pay attention to other factors of a site’s success.

Getting out of your creative comfort zone is a big leap, and I hope this quick guide helped you get started!

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