United Business Services

Archive for September, 2009

Like Bigfoot or the Lochness Monster, many people have heard of the Google sandbox and wonder if it is real or is it an old wives tale. We have been doing search optimization and pay per click for many years and have heard arguments both for and against the sandbox. Personally, we think it does exist in some form.

What Is The Sandbox?

The easiest way to explain the Google sandbox is to think of it like a penalty box. Many people new to internet marketing are told that the more incoming links they have, the merrier in the eyes of the search engines. Way back in the day, (maybe 7 or 8 years) that may have been true. But just like anything else, the search engines get smarter and smarter every year. As the engines evolve so do the ranking algorithms they use. In layman’s terms, these are just the formulas the different search engines use when they spider your page. Each search engine uses different criteria to rank your page.

How Do I Stay Out Of The Sandbox?

Quite simply the way to stay out of the sandbox is to take things slowly from the outset. When you first get your site online DO NOT hire a service or spend money on the latest greatest link building service that promises you “1000 backlinks to your site in just 3 days”. We can promise you it is a waste of your time and hard earned money and ultimately may end up hurting your rankings from the get go. It is much better to take it slow and easy. Search engines today are too smart to fall for a brand new site with 1000 links. They would much rather see a slow build in backlinks as it seems much more natural.

With the right mixture of keyword optimization, meta tags, social bookmarking, quality backlinks with a few high quality articles sprinkled in, you may be surprised how fast you can rise to the top of the search engines. Done correctly you will end up at the top more quickly and more securely than you may imagine.

Feel free to drop us a line to discuss your goals and see if we can help you get there.

Sign up for our free internet marketing tips newsletter. Learn how to take your site to the top of the search engines. This is a free monthly e-zine. We never rent or sell your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.