Whenever a new site is launched, Google tries to figure out what this
new site is all about. He scans the content and the internal linkage but
he can’t determine the site’s theme and
topic from that alone. On the other hand, Google knows the
authorities in each domain, so he will ask them for a helping hand. How?
Through inbound links,
links pointing from other sites towards yours. So, before a
reasonable amount of quality links from authority pages is not
attracted, the site will be sand boxed.
What does sandbox mean?
You can consider Google’s sandbox as an extended probation period
for your site. A period given to you to prove you’re worthy. Basically,
the sandbox is a penalty or devaluation in the Google SERPs of new
sites. Most of the time this devaluation will effect only the
competitive keywords targeted, as other long tails searches would do
just fine and receive high SERPs positions.
Of course, with proper techniques, there are possibilities to avoid or fast elude Google’s Sandbox, as you will see down below.
How do i know if my site has been sand boxed?
You can always use these kinds of tools: Sandbox check tool.
Or you can go the safer old fashioned way and try some of the following tips:
* are you ranked 1-10 in Yahoo and MSN for a "keywords" search but you’re nowhere in Google?
* are you ranked in among the first results for a 8-10 keywords matching exactly a posts title?
* do you rank well for wider non-competitive terms?
* is your site ranking well for a long tail keyword but is way further in SERPs for the same all keyword?
If the answer to all the questions above is yes, then you are facing
a "sandbox" problem. You’ll see further down what you have to do in
this case.
Can I avoid the Sandbox?
Definitely. Before placing it in the Sandbox, Google gives every new
site the initial SERPs boost. If during this short period you manage to
"gain Google’s trust" by providing quality and unique content and
acquiring a decent number of natural links from other sites, including
authorities, you might just skip the probation period. Of course there’s
nothing sure here, cause after all we’re talking about Google… But this
site for example has never experienced Sandbox, as one of its first
articles gained lots of exposure and natural links.
Of course, the best method for avoiding sandbox is to buy an older
site (could be expensive though). This will also bring the "age bonus
factor" into equation, proving to be useful later on, as we know how
much weight does Google put on age in his ranking algorithm.
My site is in the Sandbox. How can i get out? Help!
First of all, there’s no need to panic. This "sandbox problem"
sounds worse then it is. With a little bit of work and a decent amount
of patience, most of the sites will get over it. So, let’s see what
every site owner should do once he is sure his site is affected by a
devaluation:
* don’t panic and don’t use Black or Grey methods. Anything from
spamming to buying links (except buying links inside posts, that would
appear to be 100% natural, which are recommended) should be out of the
question.
* get more trusted links. I would not recommend on site wide
links (also there are others claiming otherwise), but links inside the
content for old and established sites, preferably authorities from your
domain.
* build links slowly (no more than 10 each week)
* build quality and most importantly, unique content. Give each
page an unique title and description (Meta tags of course). Also, each
post should have 250 characters (that’s just my opinion) of unique
content at a minimum.
* don’t get only links pointing towards your home page but also
deep links. This helps your site seem less "hollow". After all, if we’re
talking about natural links, it’s more then normal that other sites
would link to the posts they like rather than your home page, no?
All these methods are just theories gathered from the community. In
most cases, sticking to them should get you out of the sandbox, but
there’s nothing 100% sure. :)
Anyway, the only real escape from the Sandbox is time. Depending on
the competitiveness of your most important keywords, that time can vary
from one to six months, with three to four months being the normal
duration. In the meantime, continue to improve your site, and be
prepared to make a rapid rise once the Sandbox probation ends, cause if
you’ve spent the probation period doing the right things, you will…
But i still need traffic!
Most of you won’t settle to working on the site without seeing any
traffic during the "sand boxed" months. But don’t worry, there are lots
of other ways to get traffic besides Google. After all, it’s not safe
for any site to rely on only one source of visitors, especially when
that source is as unreliable as Google… Anyway, here are the other
traffic sources you should take into consideration:
* Yahoo and MSN. Even though Google is the dominant search
engine, Yahoo and MSN together hold a good amount of traffic (around 50%
of Google’s share). So, they could be a great alternative to Google.
Trying to rank well in Yahoo and MSN might not be that hard, as their
algorithms are not as advanced as Google’s is. Generally, any site with
decent links and good On page SEO should do OK here.
* link baits, viral promotion and social marketing are great
ways of generating exposure. It’s true, the visitors will not be as
targeted as the ones coming from search engines, but they compensate by
numbers. Knowing how to write a proper link bait post and how to promote
it is a must, as these methods could hurry your "sandbox exit", by
attracting lots of links from related sites.
* PPC: if you’re looking for targeted visitors and money are not
a problem, you could buy some traffic. Google’s Adwords is some of the
best way to do it, but Yahoo and MSN provide their own similar services.
It’s just up to you
In : website traffic