Could one single plugin really have KILLED my search traffic? I mean after all, most of my traffic is content related on a few posts, but not all of it. Plus, how did this post ironically move so far up in search traffic the exact same time (actually the day after) I removed this plugin? It could have been quad incidental, but I it doesn’t matter because if this plugin killed my traffic like I think it did, it is gone, and it is NEVER coming back!
WP External Links – Read the details before activating.
Only time will tell if it was actually THIS plugin that killed my traffic! BUT long time ago I wanted every external link that drove people away from my site to open up in a new window and all internal links to open in the same window. So as I was messing with the plugins I found this one that I added–WP External Links. It would also open up my external links in NEW windows that way I would always keep an Enza’s Bargains window open! Sound brilliant right?! WRONG I had no clue that it was making EVERY SINGLE external link “no follow” links. So every time I would write a post and would make sure it was SEO friendly it was taking away every single link juice and hot links I might have scored in my writing!
I had NO CLUE! I take full blame for not really reading every detail about it and understanding what I was installing on my site! So on my “TEXT” side in WordPress it was showing my code as if they were follow links. I have recently started to build up a team of contributors and I added JANE to the mix. She submitted her first story last month, and emailed me and asked about why my links were set to “no follow” because they shouldn’t be since I wasn’t getting paid for her to contribute. I agreed and had NO clue that if you went into the HTML part of my website she was RIGHT. My text edit portion in WordPress was showing them as follow links. As soon as I went and removed the plugin, her post was showing follow links again!
I think I just removed the plugin on the exact date I needed to, to get the right traffic to my site on a certain group of content. I think I would still have a boost in traffic, but I am not sure it would be that much. That is the most search traffic I have ever had since I started my blog 4 1/2 years ago.
THE VERY NEXT DAY, check out my search traffic! These are actually “sessions” and not “page views”! So I am like on cloud 9 right now. So the traffic might stop tomorrow…I won’t actually know if it was the plugin for a couple of months. Maybe it is just these couple of posts that are doing good…but I wonder if Google would have even SEEN the posts if it wasn’t for getting all my website link juice back!
Do you know what is harder than getting your traffic up??? KEEPING IT UP?! Now what?! 🙂 I guess I need to keep pushing out good and TIMELY content!
I debated whether or not I wanted to share this information since it isn’t deal related at all. I am teacher…so I definitely wanted to teach others to be careful with the plugins that they add to their sites!
Can a plugin really kill your traffic?
I am not the first blogger to had been killing their own traffic, and I am sure I am not the last.
If you liked this article, and you are taking my advice…do me a favor and share this with your other blogger friends!