Up The Sandbox!

Go to any internet marketing forum you want these days and one of the topics is sure to be whether or not there is a "sandbox" at Google where new sites are forced to come and play for 3-6 months before joining the ranks of ranked and searched results. On the surface it would appear that this is so. New sites are typically taking a long time to get indexed and even longer to show up in the search results. So hence, the sandbox theory. Let's examine some possible reasons and more importantly, our reaction to it.

The most obvious possibility, (since no one outside of Google really knows) is that because of the proliferation of spam on the engines, Google is checking all the links to these new sites. Sometimes a new site will appear sporting thousands of backlinks, and this takes some time to check, even given a rolling schedule of indexing by that pesky spider! Google it seems is serious about link farms, and anything that smacks of that may take some time to get indexed. But then, so will most other sites. It is a very large index, (some say nearing capacity, though I doubt that will turn out to be true) and it is a gargantuan task to keep it current and free of extraneous (read poor) search results. There are other ideas out there, and conspiracy theories abound, one being that it is an evil plot to force newer sites in search of traffic to resort to paying for Google Adwords. Uh-huh. A particularly amusing thread is currently taking place at the High Rankings forum, a must-read for all conspiracy theorists!

Since we don't know, can't know, will not know for sure until the Google Gods unlock the keys to the kingdom and enlighten us; it only makes sense to this webmaster to get on with life. I've got new sites waiting, as do many. We all languish at PR0 until (or if) there's another update. Some sites get picked up quicker than others, and to some extent that is a measure of SEO. However just get over it! Since there's nothing concrete we can do except build great content sites with lots of relevant links (legitimate) why worry about any sandbox?!? Don't get your knickers in a knot! Write more content, articles, and get more sites to link to you because of the worth of your site. There are other sources of traffic, go get them! Do the right thing for your business. Spend time on it, not worrying about this.

Many of the leading voices in SEO agree that there may indeed be a "sandbox", and if there is, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. You don't want some farmer (link) ranking ahead of your carefully crafted content site, do you? Of course not! One thing is sure: if there is a sandbox, it belongs to Google and if you want to play, follow the rules and don't cry! Pay or play!

Keith Thompson is the Webmaster at Internet Marketing Here & Now! a site devoted to bringing you the latest and best in website promotion.

More Web Development Articles

Direct Sales and Your Corporate Website - A Creative Marketing Plan that Works!
Creatively marketing your corporate site takes time in the set up but you will learn that building your customers isn't about marketing your products but getting your name and reputation into the minds of internet customers.I have randomly chosen Watkins to design a marketing approach but you will see how to apply this concept to any direct sales company.

New Years Resolutions: Is Improving Your Website One of Them?
With the New Year upon us yet again, it's time to prepare for the successes of 2005. Did you watch with envy last year as your competitors dominated your industry? Do you think your site is doing just fine because no one has ever called to complain? Well here's some food for thought: 96% of all prospects will click over to your competitor if they encounter a problem on your website.

3 Reasons Why You Need URL Rewriting Module To Enchance Your Web
URL rewriting are major needs for your sites that produce a dynamic pages like PHP pages with redirection pages inside your index page.What is APACHE URL Mod Rewrite ?URL Mod Rewrite is a Apache web server module that can manipulate your URL on fly when a visitors join your URL pages.

What and How to choose the Right Keywords for Mega Traffic
Keywords in Search Engine Optimizing and Search Engine Marketing are the building blocks and foundation of your website on the search engines. If your foundation is weak or poorly put together your webpages won't have much to be based upon for the engines to rank with.

Linking Out is Good
Many websites I come across don't have a single link to another website. Ask the webmaster why not, and the answer you get is simple enough: "If I link to other websites people might leave my site.

Beyond Web Usability: Web Credibility
If you've been developing websites on Mars for the past few years then you'll be forgiven for not knowing about web usability. You'll still be creating splash intro pages, having pages with massive download times and using more images than you can shake a stick at.

Web Accessibility Myths
With more and more countries around the world passing laws about blind and disabled access to the Internet (including the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK), web accessibility has been thrown into the spotlight of the online community. This article attempt to put a stop to the misinformation that has been thrown around and tell you the truth behind web accessibility.

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & Web Accessibility
There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act), which will ensure that websites are accessible to blind and disabled users. Try to find specific information about it on the Internet and chances are you'll come up empty handed.

Improve Web Sales Figures Forever And Ever Amen!
?How do I improve web site sales figures?? The CEO roared at the web developer. The web developer looked at his boss a little confused and mumbled something about it not being his core competence with him being a programmer and all.

User Interface Design: Key to Achieve Best Web Development
From early days of www, the Internet sites that are added day by day are increasing tremendously. When you will consider this pool of web, may be they are about computers, industry, entertainment, search engines, fashion, organizational or even individual, all of these sites are concerned about one major part of web development apart from the logic or programming efforts behind it is ?User Interface Design?.