Start with the shape
Compare an equal previous period and add longer context. Sudden, gradual, seasonal, and site-wide declines require different investigations.
Read clicks with impressions, CTR, and position
- Clicks and CTR down, position stable: inspect SERP and snippet fit.
- Position and impressions down: inspect rankings, indexing, and usefulness.
- Impressions down, position stable: inspect demand and query mix.
Check page concentration
A site-level decline may come from one landing page, template group, directory, or migration set.
Check query movement
Look for lost high-volume queries, new queries, low-CTR stable-position queries, and query-page splits.
Official sources
- Google traffic-drop guideSource
- Core update guidanceSource
Turn this method into a repeatable Search Console workflow
GSC Pulse compares related properties, prioritizes the strongest signal, and opens the evidence described in this guide.
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