Recovery and increase in traffic together with rankings following the decline

Client

Online store selling furniture machinery, tools, spare parts and accessories for furniture equipment.

Our goal

Back in December 2023, the site migrated to a new domain with 301 page redirects set up. However, after a while, the redirects stopped working properly, which resulted in a large number of pages of the old domain appearing in the Google index. These pages started to rank and receive traffic, while the rankings and traffic of the new domain had declined.

Our goal was to recover the lost traffic (-23%, which made up around 1,761 new users) and regain rankings for a number of key queries.

That’s exactly how it looked in Google Search Console:

Some semantic groups not only slipped in rankings, but also showed no growth despite the optimization.

The percentage of queries placed on the first page of Google’s search results was:

• 25% in the top 5;
• 16% in the top 3

Some of the most problematic query groups

Forstner screw hinge cutters, 601 series:

Rotary screw compressor:

Hard-alloyed plates:

Drawing knives:

CNC machining centers:

Reciprocating saw blade for metal:

Forstner drill bits for hinges, 15 mm:

Drill bits for rafix:

Automatic lines:

Edge banding machines of the pass-through type:

Workflow

The loss of traffic was not due to the latest changes to the pages, as the terms of optimization and the timing of decline did not coincide. However, a detailed analysis of the indexing has shown that around 3,000 pages of the old HTTP domain continued to be ranked in Google and drive traffic.

We asked the client to provide us an access to the Google Search Console for the old domain (HTTP version) and discovered that:

• pages were really indexed and collected impressions and clicks;
• 301 redirect did not work correctly: during the first visit, the page was loaded with the 200 OK code, and the redirect worked only when the page was reloaded;
• search bots could also see these pages without a redirect, which led to a ranking conflict between the previous and new domains.

Our team analyzed the changes in traffic and rankings to determine whether updates to the pages could potentially cause the decline. The analysis has shown that the period of optimization did not coincide with the moment of the indicators’ downturn. To resolve this issue, we:

1. conducted a technical review of HTTP responses of the old domain pages using the following tool: https://httpstatus.io/;
2. set a task for the software engineer:
   • check how the old domain responds to the queries of different search bots and users;
   • check cookies settings, as the 301 redirect worked only on the repeated visit;
   • check if 301 redirect has been set up correctly.
3. discovered that the old domain had a disabled HTTP → HTTPS redirect.
4. restored HTTP → HTTPS redirect, which allowed the 301 redirect to work properly from the first visit to the page.

The results of our team’s work

Once the redirects on the old domain had been switched from HTTP to HTTPS, 301 redirect started working properly on the first visit to the pages. Furthermore, search bots started to properly recognize redirects and target URLs on the new domain.

1. Once the changes were made, we managed not only to return traffic and visibility to pre-crisis levels, but also increase them:

Traffic has increased by almost 35%:

2. The percentage of queries appearing on the first page of Google search results has increased:

1. from 25% to 42% in the top 5;
2. from 16% to 28% in the top 3.

3. For a number of problematic query groups, the rankings have not only recovered, but also improved. In other cases, we can see a positive dynamics: queries have moved forward and in most cases reached the top 10. Additionally, thanks to the optimization we carried out earlier, some queries immediately took up rankings in the Featured Snippet block:

Conclusion

Working on the recovery of traffic and rankings after the decline has shown how important it is to properly manage redirects when changing domains. The key reason for the decline in visibility and traffic was the inclusion of pages from the old domain in Google’s index, which led to the cannibalization of traffic between two versions of the website.

Following a detailed analysis and troubleshooting of issues related to redirects – including the correct configuration of HTTP to HTTPS transitions and the proper handling of 301 redirect – we managed not only to bring back the traffic, but also to achieve a boost in performance:

• traffic increased by 35% compared to the period of decline;
• increase in the share of queries from 25% to 42% in the top 5;
• increase in the share of queries from 16% to 28% in the top 3;
• recovery of rankings in key queries and significant increase in the number of thematic groups.

This case study is another evidence that regular monitoring of indexed pages and comprehensive technical SEO analysis are critical when working with the redirects.

Key takeaway: Even minor errors when setting up redirects can lead to the serious loss of traffic. Consistent work on errors and quick response allow you not only to restore the previous rankings, but also to exceed them.

Project participants

• Project Manager: Alyona Lagunina
• Optimizer: Alyona Tymko
• Software Engineer: on the side of the client