It may seem like a stretch to pick up anything of cognitive value from a show centered on selfish incompetence, but who doesn’t love a bit if irony? There is a single Sunny episode that truly embodies the most essential tips to solving mysteries, including those found in web analytics.

Obviously, I’m talking about Who Pooped the Bed?

Why did my website traffic drop (or increase)?

Last Updated: 8/6/2017

Diagnosing a sudden drop off in traffic, or even an unexpected surge, can be daunting. When you open up Google Analytics, you’re certain the answer is in there somewhere, but how do you know where to check first? While you sift through the kajillion metrics, dimensions, filters, segments and date ranges in front of you, you’re reminded that website traffic is down and people are demanding answers!

Take. A. Deep. Breath.

Here’s a handy website traffic analysis decision tree to help make sure you’re asking the right questions at the right times.

Ugh. This is embarrassing.

If you’re reading this, chances are you know about Wix’s SEO Hero contest. If not, you can read up on it here.

I feel… pathetic.

I’ve never claimed to be an SEO expert but I’ve been doing this thing for the better part of a decade. Surely I’ve learned something along the way, right?

I made a giant mistake.

Maybe it’s because I was sprinting to get my SEO Hero entry site up, making it more likely I’d overlook something obvious. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been coddled by developers my whole career, allowing me to remain a noob when it comes to implementation. Heck, maybe it’s the Illuminati. There’s no way of really knowing.