Online store traffic dropping? Here’s how to diagnose & fix it A shopify merchant we work with noticed a decline in traffic and conversions. instead of panicking, we dug into the data to pinpoint the issue. Here’s how you can do the same: Step 1: identify the decline - compare year-over-year (YoY) traffic sources - shopify analytics: pull a report on top traffic sources ytd vs. last year - ga4: go to reports > acquisition > traffic acquisition and analyze users, sessions, and engagement Step 2: Find the culprit Compare your top traffic sources YoY. In this case, the merchant saw youtube and klaviyo performing well—time to double down. meanwhile, facebook traffic had tanked. ✅ direct traffic → up 11% ✅ youtube → up 99% ✅ email (klaviyo) → up 33% ❌ google search → down 5% ❌ facebook → down 60% (biggest problem!) Step 3: take action - double down on what’s working – if a channel is growing, invest more into it - find quick wins – we optimized seo by adding missing alt text, product meta titles, and descriptions - address the weak spots – either stop wasting resources or dig deeper into why that channel is underperforming Lesson: data first, assumptions second. if traffic is dropping, figure out where and why, then adapt.
great tips. analyzing data first saves stress, right? it’s amazing how adjustments can turn things around. 📈 #adaptandthrive
Great breakdown! This is a perfect example of how data-driven insights can help identify and fix traffic issues. By analyzing the right metrics and focusing on what’s working, you can make smarter decisions that drive better results. Love the emphasis on digging into the data first! 📊
Absolutely data first, but Google Analytics provides much more drill-down than Shopify Analytics - to see what the customer did on your store post click. As Sam Wright points out below, the insights are useless if you're tracking's not working. Luckily with Littledata's new free Google Analytics connector fixes all the common setup issues to get fully reliable revenue tracking: https://apps.shopify.com/google-analytics-littledata
A few points worth adding here too – Shopify and GA4 report data in fundamentally different ways. Shopify is single-session based, while GA4 (even with its flaws) tries to track users across sessions. So you’re often looking at completely different datasets, and they need to be interpreted accordingly. Also, if you’re seeing a big jump in direct traffic while other channels are down, there’s a good chance you’re looking at a tracking issue. Similarly, if one channel’s sessions are flat but revenue is up massively, it could be an attribution problem – or even channel cannibalisation.
Great approach! Analyze the data, pinpoint the issue, and adapt. No need to panic, just make smart adjustments.
Conversion Rate Optimization & Growth Specialist | CRO project manager
1wBut what was the reason for the drop in FB traffic? That seems to be the main question here.