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Sandbox vs. Webmaster Tools

by Martin N Smith
6 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I have a relatively new website that recently hit the google sandbox (the result of some over zealous link building ).

Anyway, being a bit of a numbers man, I'm still tracking the analytics and stats on-site for this particular website.....with some pretty interesting results.

Probably one of the biggest surprises is that the 'Top search queries' area (of google webmaster tools) is telling me that my position in the SERPS for the main KW is actually going up and up - to the point where this morning it's now sitting (again, according to webmaster tools) at position 4 in Google :confused:

Obviously, being in the sandbox, I can't even find the site in Google (I give up at page 30) under this KW but i'm now wondering if i'll actually be in position 4 when the site comes out of the sandbox.

To put that another way, is the 'Top search queries' area (of google webmaster tools) telling me the SERPS position the site would be in if it wasn't in the sandbox?

What do you reckon?

Martin
#sandbox #tools #webmaster
  • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
    Originally Posted by Martin N Smith View Post

    I have a relatively new website that recently hit the google sandbox (the result of some over zealous link building ).
    Doubtful, unless you were greatly misusing a power tool like SENuke or Xrumer.

    Actually, what's probably happened is that your site has found its natural level based on the quality of incoming links after an initial new content boost (Query Deserves Freshness). What you need are mo' better links.

    Next, avoid Webmaster tools and Google Analytics. They can cause you to get confused and distracted about things and eventually lead to you becoming a paralysis by analysis "stat-a-holic". Instead, concentrate on promoting your site using quality link building and creating useful, relevant, keyword targeted content.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi Martin,

      I agree with everything bgmacaw said in his post. Good advice!

      I believe that the so called "Sandbox" is not a penalty, it's not what most people seem to imagine it to be. The "Sandbox Effect" is simply a natural part of Google's algorithm that ranks pages, that have been around longer, higher in SERP due to earning trust from standing the test of time.

      What really confuses many folks is that they see their web page reach a relative high ranking very quickly, only to see those good rankings fade away as quickly as they came. This is due to the "Freshness Factor" aka QDF (Query Deserves Freshness). When this occurs they go looking for an explanation and often jump to the mythical "Google Sandbox" theory, as if they have been singled out and issued a penalty.

      There is no real "Sandbox", it just a way some people choose to look at their situation. There is only the natural ranking algorithm that is applied equally to each and every new web page.

      The fact that you ranked well initially is a sign that you have done well in optimizing your web page. You only need to promote traffic to your new web page and you will earn a more permanent and prominent ranking position. You should look at this as a sign that you are on the right track and just need to earn your way up the rankings with a solid promotional effort.

      Congratulations on your success!
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      • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
        Thanks for the input guys. To be honest, for the majority of links, i've been using a Blog Commenting Service found under the WSO forum. Other than that, I subscribe to and implement Angela (x 30) and Paul's (x 120) monthly back link packages. These have worked really well for my other sites / KWs.

        The only reason I feel like this site has been 'penalised' in some way, is that I literally cannot find it in the SERPS. It's not like I was on page 3 last week and now i'm on page 7. The reality is that it was on page 4 at the start of the month and it's nowhere (and I mean not on the first 60 pages of the SERPS!).

        Are you really saying that it's normal for this to happen and it'll eventually work it's way back up the SERPS because, unlike my previous experiences, this looks (and feels) totally different.

        Cheers
        Martin
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        • Profile picture of the author dburk
          Hi Martin,

          Yes it is normal.

          How far you drop, after your short term freshness factor wears off, will depend a great deal on how many competing pages that are outranking you. In some cases you will fall completely out of the SERP since Google limits their SERP to the top 1000 indexed pages.

          So if you have a lot of strong competition you will need to work much harder to outrank them. If you have weak competition it will be much easier.
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          • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
            thanks Don, I really appreciate your input

            I definitely don't think it's anything to do with the competition. I KNOW that this site will rank. The fact is, I have the exact keyword as the domain. I've checked the competition using our good friend Market Samurai and it should (at the very least) be on one of the top 20 pages in Google.

            UPDATE: I noticed something VERY strange earlier. The site appeared at the top of page 2 for about an hour, and then disappeared again :confused:

            What are your thoughts on this?

            Cheers
            Martin
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            • Profile picture of the author dburk
              Hi Martin,

              Google frequently updates their index so it is not unusual to see your rankings fluctuate. Besides your own pages relevancy score there is something known as the freshness factor that constantly cycles fresh new content through the SERP. These temporary rankings will cause many other pages to shift around in the SERP.

              It's not productive to watch your rankings so closely, check once a week at the most and don't fret over changes unless they last for more than a week or two.

              Each and every page on your website can potentially rank for several keywords. If you work on building the ranking for many pages you cannot spend too much time on watching a single page, look at the big picture instead.
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