I've been in the sandbox for 11 months, I know that is not a new length of time by any means. But we sit and wait when perhaps is there a chance we're killing ourselves just waiting and we're actually in some penalty we need to fix? As far as I can tell I have a great site equal to my competitors with great optimization. I work harder on it than any other site to fight the sandbox. Not only is it about my favorite subject but it's become my life, and I'm so distraught. Anyway, I guess what brings me to write right now is that reading here I read these tips and stuff that don't fit my site. 1) Typing www.sitename.com - my site doesn't come up for this!! Should I be worried? I'm on the second to last page for my site name + 2 keywords (there aren't many pages now because all the spam has been removed, I have lots of junk sites referring to me but if you visit, all that text is hidden. this worries the carp out of me but I read on a forum that other sites can't hurt me.) 2) Allintitle and allinurl and allintext - I don't come up! Not even for my site name! 3) Using this service: Google Search without Filter http://roberttaft.com/no_filter.htm I don't come up. Well if I search for my site name + 2 key words, I am on the last page, 7. Is this tool really supposed to work? I understand at any time Google can fix these holes, but I haven't read anything. Ahhh!!!
I found this article that seems to tell me I am not in the sandbox at all (after waiting 11 months!! ) (Bold is the only one I'm sandbox-positive for) 1. Are you ranked #1,2 or 3 for an allinanchor search for your keyword phrase? 2. Are you ranked #1-10 at Yahoo! & MSN? 3. Is your visible toolbar PageRank +/- 1 unit away from your top 10 competitors? 4. Are you ranked in the top 3-5 results for a search of 6-10 keywords that exactly match your page title? Try this several times with several pages on your site that Google has cached. # Try the allintext, allintitle & allinurl searches for your keyword phrase. If your site consistently comes up in the top 5, but isn't ranking well for the keyword phrase, the sandbox may be to blame. So what now??? Pay one of you SEO guys? LOL. I just paid a big bill for a contest/link strategy. (A contest that should get me links with participants.) I don't have money left over. I've done the best job I can with SEO. What now??
What's your site name, and what type of site is it? 11 months is a VERY long time, sounds more like you've been banned by Google.
I'd be worried if a search on "www.yoursitename.com" doesn't show up at all in google. Do you have any back links from other sites? Have you done anything shady like participating in link farms (massive link exchanges)?
if www.yoursitename.com is not indexed after 11 months, somethings is wrong and this is not sandbox, i suppose
Ack my post didn't go through. Longer post short. Well I originally said my eyes missed something and it was embarrassing but for www . sitename . net (ah it sees those are URLs + I'm new so that's why my post didn't post) I was then #3 (under 2 for myfeez links to me). Now I know it was not an uber-embarrassing eye slip, because I know I did not get THIS result I'm about to tell you of before... I AM #1 after all for allintitle.. It sounds impossible for this change to happen at this moment, but I think there might have been a piece of suspect code in my header? Ok totally paranoid probably as I can't see straight because of these problems and I don't sleep well - lol. But when I thought I could be banned I thought well remove any odd code bits you added from reading tips when this began... because THAT's what changed then that I don't know about... I figured... OK I'm a raving loony on no sleep.. but this is the code I removed, could you tell me what it is? <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> <!-- if (document.referrer && (document.referrer!='') && window.Image) { (new Image).src="http://www.pursedlips.net"(document.referrer); } // --> </script> Code (markup): I don't know or remember what that is supposed to do, but I know I got it from some search about the sandbox. I think. LOL. I need a nap. Perhaps my eyes ARE the culprits but I know that this Blogger Error/Removed Blogspot blog was #1, not me. P.S. allinurl works too. #3 (first has 2 spots) which seems right considering it's the dot com and older.
Ok I apologize for parts not making sense. I'm going to try really hard to focus on SENSE. It sounds impossible for this change in that position to happen at this moment as we're talking about this, but I think I had just removed a piece of suspect code in my header? Ok totally paranoid probably as I can't see straight because of my sandbox worried that cause poor sleep - lol. But when I thought I could be banned today, I then thought, "well, remove any odd code bits you added from reading tips when I first got in the box"... because THAT's what changed regarding code/seo (and that's what's different from my other sites) - not only did it change but I didn't know A THING about it and I still added the code (I panicked and did a lot of things) ... I figured these thoughts just since my first post here. And whether it's good or bad code, I was rash and this is true ... Better? LOL. I call myself a writer!!
To answer other questions, the site is pursed lips .net - handbag blog OK/decentish links. Hardly any directory links let alone link farms. (By the way, is that what link farms are: large directory/group of sites all linking to one another? If so, I wouldn't think that would necessarily be bad. Still have never done it, no opportunity.) And I've been making a table of my notes on different sites' lengths in the sandbox (I read forums and collect data), and several were more than 11 months. Not to say they're not just banned. One was 2 years, and that's a real worry! But yeah, I thought 1 year was basically standard? It stinks, but I thought it was okay. Then again, you read so many different things. Thanks.
Okay and the allinanchor still doesn't show me near the top. I read in an article that I should be at the top for that.
Now I have a related question regarding a possible reason for if I were banned, why... But I don't think it's possible. I have many many Spam (especially replica handbag spam) sites that link to me, reference me, and quote me, but it's all hidden text. Nothing I can do. Then there are the splogs that link to me or take my content. Nothing I can do? I was worried about that for a long time, but I recently read since we can't control links in, Google won't penalize us. Now I just read this, but of course it's just one piddly article. "It is hard to undo links to bad neighbors. You can try to check your back links and try to find the bad neighbors. Then, try to see if they will remove your link. It usually takes a large amount of bad links to hurt you." That basically says bad neighborhood backlinks can BAN you. (I was looking up being banned by Google.) On the one-hand, I'm looking for piece of mind relating to this. On the other, if Google could POSSIBLY ban an innocent linkEE, then there must be something to DO? For they only would ban if there were, is my thinking, if that makes sense.
Out of curiosity, how are you getting 4,000 visits per day (according to sitemeter) if your site isn't showing up in the search engines? That's some pretty serious traffic for a site about handbags. Anita
Well, the one thing you CAN do is get quality links to your site. I mean the type where you actually mail people with sites related to your topic to tell them you exist. Also: become active in forums related to your subject. Get the human factor going. Create a myspace profile. For a new site bad links can be a problem. For old, respectable sites - with decent links to them, a few bad links to them can't hurt. So in your case: it can hurt. If your site was ranking a bit, and then disappeared from the serps, it's not the sandbox. Either way - the only solution is to get good links. Given that you're out of money - get them the hard way: by asking for them. Don't do link-exchange with any site that you don't think fit your public. It's NOT worth it.
Actually my competitors get that many. No that sitemeter is for my network, Pursed Lip's sitemeter is on the sidebar. My network gets 4,000 visits per day. But really if you check out my competitors, equal bag blogs, they seriously I bet get that traffic. I have links from many of the other bag blogs and today I checked out links to purseblog .com's (competitor) linkbacks and suggested they visit my site. *Shrug* I do everything I can think of: Squidoo lenses, style-related socially things, Style Hive, start a contest that suggests they link (I hired someone to promote that because no one entered! [it has great prizes, too]), I try hard to write "link bait" but I can't get it. It's hard with purses anyway as a topic. Digg doesn't like the girly stuff - heh. I always get link love from my few fans, but after the first it's not unique! It's hard for me to attract many other sites, unless they're new, small bag blogs starting up. I am active on the purse forum and I get some referrals. I'm friends with some, but I don't get links aside from ones I put ON the forum. I can't maintain more than one of those forums though. Obsessing over bags is draining - in a fun but expensive way. I made a MySpace account, but I don't really GET MySpace, so I don't know how to make the most of it. ?? (Honestly I detest MySpace, but I'm a ho for trying to get links.) I can keep e-mailing, but I just nicely ask the people to check it out. If they want to link, hopefully they will. Can I really ask for a link if I won't link back?? I will if I can. Ok but my new concern is that when I put the site on its new domain, I was having problems with traffic going to the old location. I never heard of the sandbox, or the 301 redirect, so I redirected via putting in the new URL in WordPress, I believe. I'm now concerned Google thought there was duplicate content and I've just been penalized for this long without contacting them. They changed their contact so webmasters don't have a method of contacting them anymore - a while back. So could this have gotten me dropped, should I ask to be re-included and how can I get to the reinclusion request form? And I read all the time that sites immediately get on Google, then go in sandbox? It happens when lots of links pop up too soon, for one? Come on, if I'm not ranking, and I need links to rank, it IS the Sandbox. Is there some other filter? If I'm banned, then it's not about links. IMO I have DECENT links to me, but not better than that. 454 links Google counts. *shrug* It's nothing compared to my competitors. P.S. Again, handbag sites can get that traffic!! Don't underestimate us addicted to them! So right now I will hope to hear opinions on the dup content, and either take action there or be satisfied it's ok (like what I do have included is some proof, unless there's just a PENALTY instead of a ban. Argh). And I will continue asking for links, but do you think I should link back? I hear not to. Tell me advice on this too! Thanks so much.