I switched one of my site's to a new domain back in January which brought the unpleasant task of switching over old backlinks, finding new backlinks, doing new directory submissions..so on and so fourth. I gradually built my site up from receiving a few google hits per day to being on page 7, then page 6, then page 3, then to page 2 for my main keyphrase (along with getting excellent traffic from a number of other keyphrases as well) My site went from a PR0 to a PR4 by the first update and by June I was sitting pretty with excellent rankings, receiving good quality traffic and conversions. After working extra hard getting the site to jump 5 page's in almost 2 weeks I thought it was possible and it was time to get it to page 1. I was altering my title tag almost every other day experimenting with new titles to try and hit page 1..Nothing was working and after about a week I noticed my site had dropped. I changed the title back to my original (that I made page2 with) in hopes it wasn't too late..Apparently it was. I started losing rankings for my main keyphrases along with others. July and August have been slower months for me now. Although I still saw almost 1000 hits from google in july and so far almost 500 in August these are for smaller keyphrases and going mostly to my sub pages. I did manage to go from a 4 to a 5 in the last PR update but still my site is nowhere to be seen for my main keyphrases. My domain is rather unique (strikedata) and even when going to google and typing in strike data or strikedata I notice my main page does not come up number one (which is always used to)..This caught me as a big surprise. I've continued to build quality links to my site and have been staying away from any kind of content/title editing other than adding a new image and a few new page's to the drop downs on my site. So...Am I in the "sandbox?" What kind of time frame may I be looking at here? Is it possible to write google or do anything to help push myself out? I've been trying everything in the book and have been waiting patiently but to no avail on this one. Anyone care to shed some light and help me out here? (site is the cheap web hosting link in my sig)
I don't know about most of your questions but what has gotten my pages out of the deep freeze has been to get very high PR links to the specific pages in question. That has worked and worked quickly.
Thanks for your response posy. It seams like the main page stuck in a rut is *surprisingly* my main page. The past week or so I've been getting some good Pr4 and Pr5 links coming into it. I hope this can help but nothing so far
Stuck in a rut, sandboxed, or whatever, just keep building the site as normal, add content, build backlinks, and all will be well.
I would not advise 'experimenting' as regularly as you do. Changing the title of the page week by week is not showing stability to google and your rank will decrease from this I believe. Choose a good title and stick with it for 3 months, if this doesn't work for you then maybe change it. I would advise you be patient with SEO as now your in the sandbox your being forced to be patient. Keep it up and wait it out. All your work will be worth it in the end ...if you have choosen a worthwhile keyword. I have been where you are for a while and didnt enjoy it, but it will end.
Thanks for the information guys. So it seams like my theory of being sandboxed is looking more and more as "confirmed." rep added for your thoughts and input. thanks!
More or less i have the same issue.TO check if you are in the sandbox check allintitle,allinanchor and all intext searches.For my case i'm betwen 10-20 places for these queries but on 200+ on the regular search.Sandboxed
Hi I just recently joined digitalpoint forums. As a matter of fact, I completed my first post, which was an introduction a few minutes ago. I enjoy search engine optimization so I figured I would look through the posts and I read your post first. Regarding your question about the "sandbox", I do not think that this is your problem. Yes, the age of a domain can affect your rankings but this is because normally when domains are new or very young the domains have not acquired the trust, content, backlinks and other important aspects necessary to constantly gain and maintain high rankings for competitive keywords. Actually, I do not feel that the sandbox is real. It is more myth than reality. Over the past few months if your rankings have been dropping for various keywords, the problem is most likely due to changes on Google's end with their algorithms and database updates. The databases that Google maintains never stay constant. Rankings will change because as Google changes their algorithms and the weight placed on factors in their algorithms this affects every website’s rankings. When Google has an major and/or minor update which is normally after changes are made to their algorithms, some websites which had their websites structured a certain way related to SEO will see their rankings drop because the changes made to Google's algorithms did not favor as it previously did what is currently on or related to their website. On the other hand, other websites that maybe did not rank as well will receive higher rankings because the SEO structure or simply the structure and content on their websites is closer to what the Google algorithms are currently favoring. More importantly, whenever Google updates it databases there are always going to be a shift in rankings to some degree. However, it is important that you do not panic and make a lot of changes when your rankings initially drop. Usually if your website is structured well, has good content written to enhance your keywords and has quality backlinks with some of the backlinks being respected authority links, within a reasonable span of time you will regain your rankings. The main problem people have with losing their rankings is making a lot of changes. I would suggest that you go back to how your website was structured keywords, title tag, etc. when your rankings were at their best. Wait it out with the way your website was then, the rankings will almost always come back unless you did something to make Google mad? If so, that is a different story. Also, do not contact Google about your concern regarding your website rankings. It is better to just be one unknown website in a sea of billions instead of Google knowing you and your website directly. If you would like to jump start your rankings back to where they were, a way to speed up the process is to increase your number of backlinks from high quality authority sites and directories. Most of these authority sites and directories require a payment for their backlinks; but it is worth it in most cases. You have to view it on a case by case bases. Here a some of the best authority directories on the Internet today. yahoo.com dmoz.com business.com botw.org uncoverthenet.com avivadirectory.com joeant.com sevenseek.com goguides.org gimpsy.com In closing, Google uses many factors in its algorithms and the weight placed on the factors is different and changes constantly. Regarding your SEO efforts, stay consistent and use the most effective SEO efforts that you can related to what Google considers the most important factors in their algorithms along with the other search engines. I have included what I consider the most important factors that search engines use concerning their algorithms, you are free to try these with your website if you are not currently focusing on these factors. They have always been good to me regarding my websites rankings. 1. Web page title tag. 2. Keywords on the web page. 3. Internal links. 4. The manner in which keywords are stressed and emphasized throughout the web page content. 5. Backlinks. 6. Value placed on backlinks. 7. First 50 to 60 words on the web page. 8. Anchor text for backlinks. 9. Domain name. 10. Domain age. If I can be of any help, just let me know. Have a great day. Eric
did you 301 your old domain to new? it helps in 50% of cases - all backlinks, domain repute and hilltop positions are transfered in a week or so.
Thanks for all the responses guys. I am happy to say it appears I am now out of the sandbox! I am currently on page 1 and page 4 for my two targeted keywords. Sales are already picking back up again. woohoo!!