Murder on the SERP Express

Presented at WTSFest Philadelphia 2025. A sudden traffic drop often induces panic — but not every dip is a disaster. In this talk, you’ll get a fast, methodical framework to diagnose the real cause, focus on what matters, and respond with confidence instead of chaos.

Transcript

1. Panic to Precision Mastering SEO Traffic Recovery
2. Hello from the Co Gray Dot Co SAM TORRES Chief Digital Officer Data & dev nerd SEO Mermaid 2 #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
3. SEO is all fun and games until organic traffic takes a dive. Stakeholders panic! Gray Dot Co 3 #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
4. 4 Gray Dot Co Instead, Pinpoint the cause. I’ll show you how to be an SEO investigator, including: ➔ A trusted framework for conducting a comprehensive SEO investigation ➔ The different factors to investigate & what to look for ➔ How to build a case for the factors you determine are at play #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
5. An SEO investigation is like a murder mystery. 5 ➔ Working backward from an event to its cause and building a strong case. ➔ Culprits are unknown, but you know the suspects. ➔ Easy to point fingers based on biases & overlook the true cause. ➔ Creative license to wear a trench coat during the investigation. #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
6. Our order of operations… 6 Gray Dot Co Check the vitals. Make sure that it’s not a tracking issue. Identify the victim. Which KPIs are actually impacted? Confirm the scene. Filter data & find the source of loss. Make a decision. i.e. is this worth investigating? 01 02 03 04 Investigate suspects. i.e. the myriad of SEO factors. 05 Build your case. To get it into the prioritization pipeline.. 06 #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
7. Check the vitals. It could be a tracking issue if there are… 7 Gray Dot Co BIG DATA DISCREPANCIES GSC metrics are vastly different than internal analytics. TRAFFIC LOSS ACROSS CHANNELS Signals an issue with analytics tracking code or tag manager implementation. #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
8. Confirm the scene. Filter data & find the source of traffic loss. 8 Gray Dot Co Ways to slice ➔ Seasonality ➔ URL patterns ➔ Queries and topics ➔ SERP feature ➔ Search type ➔ Geography ➔ Device #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
9. Identify the victim. Did business KPIs take a hit? 9 Gray Dot Co ➔ The real value of traffic is whether users convert – whatever that might mean for your business. ➔ The sources of greatest conversion loss should always get attention first. ➔ Gauge the value of pages in your funnel through: ◆ first-touch attribution ◆ last-touch attribution ◆ “micro-conversions” #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
10. Now ask yourself, do we need to investigate? Sometimes, it’s okay not to take action. 10 Gray Dot Co Particularly when the site is losing organic clicks from keywords or URLs that don’t meaningfully support the conversion funnel. #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
11. Identify your primary suspects 11 Gray Dot Co Site content aka Cristina Cantante Technical issues aka Tara Tecc Backlinks & referrers aka Russell Lincoln Algorithm updates aka Amir Algo SERP changes aka Celina Serpson Google penalties aka Karen DeFoul Competition aka Mr. & Mrs. Autrebrand User behavior aka Mark Etknow #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
12. Start with the trend line… The slope can help narrow the suspects. 12 Gray Dot Co GRADUAL DECLINE ➔ website quality ➔ domain authority ➔ market landscape impact STEEP DECLINE ➔ Major tech SEO issue ➔ Algorithm update ➔ Penalization #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
13. Cristina Cantante AKA Content On Your Site 13 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION Known for souring on lovers who aren’t constantly pruning, updating, and evolving. SOME CLUES ➔ Gradual declines in position, clicks, & impressions ➔ Content on the site hasn’t been updated in a while KNOWN ASSOCIATES Amir Algo, Mr & Mrs. Autrebrand, E-E-A-T, Russell Lincoln HOW TO INVESTIGATE Conduct a content audit #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
14. Tara Tecc AKA major technical SEO errors 14 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION Smart and technically skilled, she’s not likely to leave evidence visible to the naked eye. SOME CLUES ➔ Trendline can be gradual or drastic ➔ Performance issues mostly attributed to a specific template or URL structure KNOWN ASSOCIATES JS rendering, crawling & indexing, Amir Algo HOW TO INVESTIGATE Conduct a tech audit #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
15. Russell Lincoln AKA backlinks & referrers 15 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION This suave socialite can build up your reputation, but just as capable of breaking it down. SOME CLUES ➔ Gradual trendline ➔ Business has scaled back PR efforts over time KNOWN ASSOCIATES Cristina Cantante, PR HOW TO INVESTIGATE Conduct a backlink audit, and prioritize quality over quantity #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
16. Amir Algo AKA Google algorithm updates 16 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION Amir is full of surprises, often showing up unannounced and turning the party upside down. SOME CLUES ➔ Drastic trendline ➔ Significant, widespread ranking fluctuations KNOWN ASSOCIATES Celina Serpson, Mark Etknow, Cristina Cantante, Tara Tecc HOW TO INVESTIGATE Tap into resources tracking updates & shadow updates, like Marie Hayne’s Google Algorithm Update List and the GSC Guardian Chrome Extension #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
17. Celina Serpson AKA changes to the SERP 17 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION Celina’s identity is in constant flux, and it’s tough to predict what she’ll do at any moment. SOME CLUES ➔ Gradual or steep trendline ➔ Rankings remain relatively intact KNOWN ASSOCIATES Amir Algo, AI overviews, search type HOW TO INVESTIGATE Investigate the SERPs for keywords with biggest loss #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
18. Karen LeFoul AKA Google penalization 18 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION Her thirst for justice can sometimes go awry, because she judges based on outcome vs. intention. SOME CLUES ➔ Drastic trendline ➔ Pages suddenly missing from SERPs KNOWN ASSOCIATES Amir Algo HOW TO INVESTIGATE Look for a notification in GSC (Security > Manual actions) #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
19. Mr. & Mrs. Autrebrand AKA the competition 19 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION This cunning “couple” are con-artist siblings known for stealing secrets from leaders in their industry. SOME CLUES ➔ Gradual trendline ➔ Losing rank and featured placements KNOWN ASSOCIATES Cristina Cantante, Russell Lincoln HOW TO INVESTIGATE Conduct a competitive audit with main comps #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
20. Mark Etknow AKA consumer & market behavior 20 Gray Dot Co REASON FOR SUSPICION A master of human behavior and psychology, he knows what people want and what makes them act. SOME CLUES ➔ Gradual trendline ➔ Rankings have stayed consistent KNOWN ASSOCIATES Topic interest, trends, economic health, Amir Algo HOW TO INVESTIGATE Digital market research, i.e. quantifying changes in ToFu keyword volume offers insights into whether market demand is shrinking #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
21. Now, build your case. Include the following for each culprit… 21 Gray Dot Co Summary: What do we need to do in a nutshell? Opportunity: For both users and the business. Risk: What is the risk of doing and/or not doing this work? KPIs: Metrics & benchmarks used to measure impact Strategic Alignment: With business goals & objectives Revenue: How much revenue will this drive or save Level of Effort: Estimate resources needed to launch Urgency: Why fix it sooner rather than later? #WTSFest @SamTorresATL
22. 22 Gray Dot Co Thank you! LinkedIn /company/graydotco /in/samantha-torres-seo BlueSky @thegray.company @sam.thegray.co #WTSFest @SamTorresATL