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Traffic dropped by 90% after Dec 2025 update – All actions without improvement

Hi everyone,

I’m desperate for some advice. For the last 9 months, I've tried everything to recover my Google rankings, but nothing is working.

Context: I run an online shop for custom tool storage solutions and drawer slides (hookz.pro). It’s a very specific niche with low competition. Customers are extremely happy (nearly 0% return rate), but Google seems to hate me now.

In 2025, organic search grew nicely, peaking in Nov 2025 (#1–#3 for main keywords).

The Problem: In mid-December 2025, my organic traffic crashed by ~90% and hasn't recovered since. Naturally, organic sales completely collapsed alongside it, which is incredibly frustrating. Most of my current customers now come via word-of-mouth or direct brand searches.

(See my first comment below for Google Search Console screenshots).

What I’ve tried so far:

  • Content: Replaced all AI-assisted text with 100% human-written content in Jan 2026.
  • Keyword Optimization & De-cannibalization: Mapped distinct target keywords to dedicated URLs and optimized titles, headings, and copy. Visibility improved a bit in July, but then completely collapsed again.
  • On-Page & Structure: Overhauled the site theme, fixed heading hierarchy, optimized meta tags/titles.
  • Tech: Cleaned up Core Web Vitals (LCP is now under 2.5s, but didn't help either).
  • Backlinks: Reached out to niche experts for reviews and got follow backlinks on two relevant woodcraft blogs (frau-holz.at and holzhandwerk-ak.de, one more blog article on holzundleim.de will come at the end of this year). It's not easy to get high-quality backlinks in this niche.

The Frustrating Part: My main competitor (cnc-holzwerkstatt) ranks #1 for top keywords like "L Boxx Schublade".

They have:

  • Domain Rating: 0
  • Almost no text, unoptimized titles/metas, no alt tags, no relevant backlinks.
  • Zero active SEO effort.

Yet they rank #1 while my site is buried.

Do you see something I don't see? Did I get something completely wrong?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Note: I used AI to condense and format my original super long draft into bullet points to save everyone time and avoid wall-of-text fluff.

submitted by /u/SolarNinjaTurtle
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from The SEO Authority https://ift.tt/8fhYaoB
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