There are still those in the search optimization field who do not believe the sandbox exists. There are also those who believe that newspaper advertising still works. Sadly, neither is true anymore. The “sandbox, †is a place where Google will often put newly created domains and websites that is like a probation period. Once in the sandbox, the website will not be listed on search engine results pages. In essence, the website will not exist on Google, which means that for all intents and purposes, the website barely exists at all. Somehow, I’ve been blessed with never being in the sandbox. I’ve started or helped start dozens of websites, and while I can not know for sure which technique or trick has kept my websites free of sand, I have a decent idea and some pretty sound theories. 1) Build Links the Right Way – Directories, social bookmarking, articles, and press releases are the only things I use on a new site. I never trade links until my website is strong enough to trade with quality, relevant websites. The link building should be steady and even. Submitting to 500 directories the week after a website is launched is an easy ticket into the sandbox, in my opinion. Build them slowly – 30 the first week, 50 each of the next two weeks, 75-100 per week after that. For SB sites, 1 a day is great. There are literally hundreds that are search engine friendly, so get them in there slowly. Include you link in press releases and articles at a good pace, 1-4 per month. 2) Adding Content Regularly – If you have 100 pages, reveal them to Google through internal linking and sitemap additions at a steady pace. Keep track f which pages are being indexed. Avoid duplicate content at all costs. If you have a blog (or if it is a blog), make sure you are posting at least twice a week at a steady pace. No scraping, no RSS feeds for the first few weeks after first getting indexed, and no worthless, keyword stuffed content. Make it good. 3) No Spamming – If you want your site sandboxed, plug it in to blog comments and forum signatures in bulk. Digg every page. Use black hat techniques. You’ll be sandboxed in a couple of weeks. Adding your links through forum signatures is not bad, especially if it’s in a relevant forum that can bring traffic. It should still be avoided in the infancy of a website, at least until the inbound link count is large enough that the sig-links are but a tiny portion. 4) Long Tail Shield – It is my belief that Google believes websites must work their way up a hierarchy. Using anchor text, go after several (dozens, even hundreds) of long-tail keywords. Establish you website there first, then move on to the broader, more competitive ones. If you are starting an automotive classified site with dealers nationwide, the natural tendency is to go after “Used Cars†or a similar keyword. It will take years. First, go after “Used Honda in Dallas†or “Miami Preowned Accord.†Once you do well there, move on to tougher searches like “Used Cars Oklahoma Cityâ€. Graduate to “Used Car Searchâ€. You’ll notice one day after a few months (assuming the site is properly optimized) that you pop up #78 on “Used Carsâ€. That is when it is time to go after the prize. There is no hard evidence that the sandbox is completely avoidable, no matter what tactics are used. Technically, there is no hard evidence that the sandbox exists. To me, it does exist, and these are ways to improve your chances of avoiding it.
I agree with all of your suggestions. I just built my site in june and have so far avoided the sandbox.
Nice article, but for really competitive terms it is still very hard to avoid the sandbox even while using those tips.
Well done, thanks. However, you can change a content everyday. What my offer is to add an artical once per week. NOT NECESSARY UNIQUE. Google will see dynamic development and this is very positive as I noticed
I'm not sure about the sandbox. One of my sites is guilty of more then half of those, and I have been indexed from after a month. I dont know maybe i'm lucky. or just cursed myself. the information is helpful though. thanks
When a site is in sandbox it is indexed by SE without problem. The problem is your keywords do not come up with somebody search. Again I am speaking only about competative keywords
Good Information. I am trying to learn how to stay out of the sandbox. I have a blog that I thing may be in there. Thanks Deb
Ouch, I probably should have read this before making my new site....which is currently in the sandbox.
The “sandbox, †is a place where Google will often put newly created domains and websites that is like a probation period. Once in the sandbox, the website will not be listed on search engine results pages. In essence, the website will not exist on Google, which means that for all intents and purposes, the website barely exists at all. I do not agree with this part at all, I registered 3-way-linking domain on 31 Jul 2007. The day google spidered it for the first time it was put on 2 page positions #14/#15 for two good keywords "3 way linking" and "3 way link exchange". Its then that I read some articles saying that google does give a chance to new domains for 3/4 weeks. That was very well said and that period is also long gone now. Now still I see my domain on 1st or 2nd page for the same two keywords without a break. I am next pitching for "link exchange" keyword which is going to be a bit hard, I know it will take anywhere from 6/9 months to get that one on the first or second page. SANDBOX for me is a dark room where all domains reside that 1. build links at a very high rate in proportion to what they have at any given point of time. 2. Have duplicate content to some good extent. 3. Start link exchange campaigns rightaway after launch CAUTION : PLEASE DO NOT SIGNUP ON 3 WAY LINKING AS ITS STILL IN TESTING
Yea I blindly did a bunch of link exchange early on for sciphone, and now it's falling down the ranks of the SERPs, hopefully it'll be on the rebound soon.