Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also?

Christian Fox · 05-22-2009, 08:30 PM

I got caught by google and got slapped....

I have a few sites in the sandbox right now. I am almost certain that I have been penalized for too aggressively link building and not using different anchor text.

I know this because I have a few sites with similar keywords and competition. All of the sites that I really went nuts with link building have been pushed back in the serps....Way back. A few of the sites I have added as many as 500 links in a few weeks all using the exact same anchor text. (I did not know I needed to use different anchors or risk triggering spam alarms from Google)

I have a few that are continuing to rank well and these are all of the sites that I varied link text or did not go crazy link building. Many of these have actually went up in the SERPS. This is what has me fairly certain that it is the overly aggressive link building that has me in the sandbox.

The sites are all still indexed, just pushed back (around 60-70 pages) back

Most of my back links are word press blog comment links and yes many are no follow but I have a lot of them and many of them are counting as back links. I have also been using bokmarking demon and rss submission.

I have a few questions:

If I new posts to a sand boxed site (using wordpress) will these new posts be in the box also or can I hopefully get some traffic with these new posts while I wait for the rest of the site to get out of the box?

I have heard 3 weeks to a year to get out of the box does this sound right?

I have stopped building links with the anchor text I was using but am now using 5-7 different keyword related anchors in my links and adding them more gradually. I am adding content as well. I understand this is all I can really do to try and get out faster?

Any input appreciated or if anyone is a get out of the box expert here I am all ears.

Thanks

dvduval · 05-22-2009, 08:52 PM

The term "sandbox" typically referrs to link and domain aging. The longer a link points to your site, the more value it is able to provide. As you have more and more links that have existed for a period of time, you start build a "trust rank". The same also applies to the age of your domain. If you stay clean, and build over time, you get "points" as a result of aging. These are both reasons why you want to make sure you have a quality plan for growth.

Christian Fox · 05-23-2009, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvduval

The term "sandbox" typically refers to link and domain aging. The longer a link points to your site, the more value it is able to provide. As you have more and more links that have existed for a period of time, you start build a "trust rank". The same also applies to the age of your domain. If you stay clean, and build over time, you get "points" as a result of aging. These are both reasons why you want to make sure you have a quality plan for growth.

I researched this and saw this also, however this does not explain why the sites with fewer back links are all still above the fold first page while the others that I more aggressively linked are on >page 60 after being much higher prior to the links being generated.

All of the sites are within 5 weeks in age so age can not not a factor.

As a rule the sites I have not gone overboard with back links continue to rank well while the ones I have aggressively created back links for have all slipped significantly. At least 30 pages back.

Kay King · 05-23-2009, 10:08 AM

If linking is so aggressive that it appears to be more than a site owner could be manually adding - that's a flag to google. The anchor text is a good point but also where the links are (related sites) located could be a factor. If all the links come from the same type site (EZA, forums, blogs, etc) rather than from a variety of sources, google may see it as gaming the system.

I'd start adding massive content to those sites and on increasing traffic, slow down the linking considerably but add some links with different anchors and in time the sites should come back. I'd also do a bit of reciprocal linking on those sites to provide some link variety.

kay

bgmacaw · 05-23-2009, 10:15 AM

It sounds like you've discovered the wonders of the 'Query Deserves Freshness' algorithm.

Your sites got a boost because they were new content. After a period of time, they sunk back down to their natural level. The competition and so forth are higher in some niches than others so the drop down after the initial 'high' is greater.

500 links over 5 weeks isn't really all that aggressive. It's more than most people do but it isn't enough to get you penalized in most cases. After all, consider that a competitor could easily do this to the 'new guy on the block' to eliminate them. At worst, the links simply won't get counted. Now, if you had 10,000 links within 24 hours, all of them coming from low quality and new sites and all using the same anchor text, you might have a real problem.

Just keep building links but do vary your anchor text some in order to create a natural looking linking pattern. Building a reasonable number of links quickly with the same anchor may cause a delay in the links being counted, if at all, but it doesn't incur any domain penalty unless there is other evidence of BlueFart activity by the site owners involved.

Riverwire · 05-23-2009, 10:18 AM

Slowly build high quality links and it will eventually get you ranking well again although use different anchor test too lol. It can take some time, i always thought that the sandbox only really applys to newish sites so would assume you have just been penalised if your site isnt new.

This shouldnt affect new posts for their own keywords and most prob only applys to your homepage which is where i assume all the links are pointing to ? Remember good seo doesnt mean pointing everything at the homepage , the other pages need links too

Christian Fox · 05-23-2009, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kay King

If linking is so aggressive that it appears to be more than a site owner could be manually adding - that's a flag to google. The anchor text is a good point but also where the links are (related sites) located could be a factor. If all the links come from the same type site (EZA, forums, blogs, etc) rather than from a variety of sources, google may see it as gaming the system.

I'd start adding massive content to those sites and on increasing traffic, slow down the linking considerably but add some links with different anchors and in time the sites should come back. I'd also do a bit of reciprocal linking on those sites to provide some link variety.

kay

Thanks, yes the vast majority of my links are keyword related WP blogs.

Also is my entire domain going to be penalized or if I add posts will they be exempt?

Kay King · 05-23-2009, 10:40 AM

As they are keyword related, continuing to add links and varying where they come from - plus more fresh content - will result in stronger sites in the end. It'll just take some time but they'll come back.

kay

ManAbout · 05-23-2009, 12:19 PM

From what I have found, any sort of major activity relating to your site, be it adding numerous posts in a few days or building a vast number of links causes Google to pause. It doesn't de-index your site, but what I have noticed is that traffic can drop as much as 30 to 40% while Google figures out what is going on. Then it goes back up again after Google assimilates that information. I have noticed this even when I have posted only 3 or 4 times on my blog in a day. You would think traffic would go up, but I see it go down, at least in the short term.

Mickm · 05-23-2009, 01:28 PM

I agree it could be QDF.. but then it could be a range of things causing the problem. Only time will tell.

Best thing you can do is continue building a great resource for your visitors first, when Google notices that you're providing quality content it will change the way it views (and indexes) your site.

Remember; building websites for human visitors first should always be your priority.

geofftop · 06-01-2009, 07:26 PM

Ya I don't think the sandbox really exists. Like the above poster said it probably due to a trust tank factor and the fact that with a older site google gets settled in its crawl rates and things like that. But I don't think their is a actual sandbox, the various algorithms just make it seem like it.

05-22-2009, 08:30 PM	#1
Christian Fox No Fate But What U Make! War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Jenison, MI Posts: 490 Thanks: 54 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? I got caught by google and got slapped.... I have a few sites in the sandbox right now. I am almost certain that I have been penalized for too aggressively link building and not using different anchor text. I know this because I have a few sites with similar keywords and competition. All of the sites that I really went nuts with link building have been pushed back in the serps....Way back. A few of the sites I have added as many as 500 links in a few weeks all using the exact same anchor text. (I did not know I needed to use different anchors or risk triggering spam alarms from Google) I have a few that are continuing to rank well and these are all of the sites that I varied link text or did not go crazy link building. Many of these have actually went up in the SERPS. This is what has me fairly certain that it is the overly aggressive link building that has me in the sandbox. The sites are all still indexed, just pushed back (around 60-70 pages) back Most of my back links are word press blog comment links and yes many are no follow but I have a lot of them and many of them are counting as back links. I have also been using bokmarking demon and rss submission. I have a few questions: If I new posts to a sand boxed site (using wordpress) will these new posts be in the box also or can I hopefully get some traffic with these new posts while I wait for the rest of the site to get out of the box? I have heard 3 weeks to a year to get out of the box does this sound right? I have stopped building links with the anchor text I was using but am now using 5-7 different keyword related anchors in my links and adding them more gradually. I am adding content as well. I understand this is all I can really do to try and get out faster? Any input appreciated or if anyone is a get out of the box expert here I am all ears. Thanks
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05-22-2009, 08:52 PM	#2
dvduval phpLD master Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: , , . Posts: 1,343 Thanks: 20 Thanked 87 Times in 86 Posts	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? The term "sandbox" typically referrs to link and domain aging. The longer a link points to your site, the more value it is able to provide. As you have more and more links that have existed for a period of time, you start build a "trust rank". The same also applies to the age of your domain. If you stay clean, and build over time, you get "points" as a result of aging. These are both reasons why you want to make sure you have a quality plan for growth.
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05-23-2009, 10:08 AM	#4
Kay King Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Gulf Coast, USA. Posts: 11,317 Thanks: 297 Thanked 738 Times in 452 Posts	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? If linking is so aggressive that it appears to be more than a site owner could be manually adding - that's a flag to google. The anchor text is a good point but also where the links are (related sites) located could be a factor. If all the links come from the same type site (EZA, forums, blogs, etc) rather than from a variety of sources, google may see it as gaming the system. I'd start adding massive content to those sites and on increasing traffic, slow down the linking considerably but add some links with different anchors and in time the sites should come back. I'd also do a bit of reciprocal linking on those sites to provide some link variety. kay

05-23-2009, 10:15 AM	#5
bgmacaw Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Metro Area, USA. Posts: 1,770 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 62 Thanked 295 Times in 236 Posts Social Networking	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? It sounds like you've discovered the wonders of the 'Query Deserves Freshness' algorithm. Your sites got a boost because they were new content. After a period of time, they sunk back down to their natural level. The competition and so forth are higher in some niches than others so the drop down after the initial 'high' is greater. 500 links over 5 weeks isn't really all that aggressive. It's more than most people do but it isn't enough to get you penalized in most cases. After all, consider that a competitor could easily do this to the 'new guy on the block' to eliminate them. At worst, the links simply won't get counted. Now, if you had 10,000 links within 24 hours, all of them coming from low quality and new sites and all using the same anchor text, you might have a real problem. Just keep building links but do vary your anchor text some in order to create a natural looking linking pattern. Building a reasonable number of links quickly with the same anchor may cause a delay in the links being counted, if at all, but it doesn't incur any domain penalty unless there is other evidence of BlueFart activity by the site owners involved.
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05-23-2009, 10:18 AM	#6
Riverwire www.triphp.com Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 46 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Social Networking	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? Slowly build high quality links and it will eventually get you ranking well again although use different anchor test too lol. It can take some time, i always thought that the sandbox only really applys to newish sites so would assume you have just been penalised if your site isnt new. This shouldnt affect new posts for their own keywords and most prob only applys to your homepage which is where i assume all the links are pointing to ? Remember good seo doesnt mean pointing everything at the homepage , the other pages need links too
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05-23-2009, 10:40 AM	#8
Kay King Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Gulf Coast, USA. Posts: 11,317 Thanks: 297 Thanked 738 Times in 452 Posts	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? As they are keyword related, continuing to add links and varying where they come from - plus more fresh content - will result in stronger sites in the end. It'll just take some time but they'll come back. kay

05-23-2009, 12:19 PM	#9
ManAbout Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 89 Thanks: 3 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? From what I have found, any sort of major activity relating to your site, be it adding numerous posts in a few days or building a vast number of links causes Google to pause. It doesn't de-index your site, but what I have noticed is that traffic can drop as much as 30 to 40% while Google figures out what is going on. Then it goes back up again after Google assimilates that information. I have noticed this even when I have posted only 3 or 4 times on my blog in a day. You would think traffic would go up, but I see it go down, at least in the short term.

05-23-2009, 01:28 PM	#10
Mickm Banned War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 269 Thanks: 16 Thanked 52 Times in 42 Posts	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? I agree it could be QDF.. but then it could be a range of things causing the problem. Only time will tell. Best thing you can do is continue building a great resource for your visitors first, when Google notices that you're providing quality content it will change the way it views (and indexes) your site. Remember; building websites for human visitors first should always be your priority.

06-01-2009, 07:26 PM	#11
geofftop Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 12 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Google got me and a few of my sites are sand boxed will new posts be penalized also? Ya I don't think the sandbox really exists. Like the above poster said it probably due to a trust tank factor and the fact that with a older site google gets settled in its crawl rates and things like that. But I don't think their is a actual sandbox, the various algorithms just make it seem like it.