Google's Sandbox Revisited
The Theory
February of last Year I wrote an article concerning the theory floating around that Google was imposing some kind of penalty on brand new websites; Google Aging Delay. It is about time that this information be updated as the effects of this theory are being felt by all new sites.
Is your website buried in Google's Sandbox?
First of all, what is this sandbox? I almost hate to refer to this issue as a Sandbox as the SEO industry is pretty much split down the middle as to whether it exists, but no one will argue that there is something happening here with Google, whether is is a set aging delay or not. For more information on what the different groups feel this Sandbox might be, I would recommend this article; Google Sandbox at Wikipedia.org. So to not cause any arguments as to the Sandbox, I am going to refer to this issue as a New Site Probationary period. Most new websites released are not going to last more than a few weeks, or they are somebody's good idea that is never followed through on or properly maintained. Instead of ranking these abandoned new sites with quality Real websites, Google instead chooses to wait and watch the site for signs that it will not go away and that it should be considered as current and contains information worth referring to. No one would argue that this is a good idea, unless you are trying to market your website. So, is your website stuck in the Google probationary period? Well, if Google has just learned about your site then YES. You can expect to wait up to a year before seeing any organic search engine result pages (SERPs).
How to Beat the Sandbox/Probation Period
I refer to this issue affecting websites above, but reality it is the domain name and not the data on the site that is being put through a probationary period. Do you have access to a different domain name that you can place your site on? If another domain name is available that does have a good history with the search engines then use it; problem solved. If not, then read on...
The short term solution is to use a pay-per-click option. I wrote this article to help in understanding this option; PPC - How does it work?. There are also directories that can be used for directing traffic to your website which can also build the site's rank. At the same time you need to start convincing Google that your site is worthy of its attention; the long term solution. To prove your websites value it needs to:
- be constantly updated. If a site's files do not see an update for over a month or so, then it appears to the search engines that the site is not being supported and thus does not contain current information.
- have quality content. The search engines want to see good content, not something that can be found on a thousand different websites. Obviously you can not have a site with completely unique text, but you can at least put things in your own words and explain why your product, information or services are better than your competitors.
- be spiderable. Can the search engines actually understand what is on your site? This can be tricky to do, but it is a must.
- have back links. Backlinks are the best way to prove your sites value; when others believe your site is good enough to endorse by placing a link advertising your worth on their own website.
What Now?
We have learned a lot about this Google Probation over the last year or so and we will continue to learn more. Also, do not discount traffic from other search engines such as Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and MSN. If you only focus on Google in your SEO strategy, you might miss valuable traffic that you can receive from these other sites, all of which do not seem to have any type of aging filters. Besides that, sites that have good on the page search engine optimization seem to do very well in these engines.
All in all, be patient. Do not continue to tweak and adjust your site hoping that your changes will thrust you on to the first page. Do not pull all the hair out of your head, cursing Google because they will not allow your site to rank well. Simply accept the fact that if you have a new site, it will take quite awhile before it will rank well in Google. This will allow you to be more at peace with your marketing efforts as well as have the foresight to look at other alternatives.