22 replies to this topic

[bjandrews]

Not too long ago I started putting my parked domains in a textad program. The way it works is you point your parked domain and they run rss and text ads under your domain name.

Anyway your domain name is out there, optimized for keywords you choose, and getting spidered until you want to use it for your own site.

So does this time count against your time in "sandbox" purgatory for sins that you haven't committed?

I'll still participate in the program even if it doesn't help, because I make money on domains that were just collecting dust.

But it would be nice to know if I remove a domain from the program, to make a real site, that it has already done its penance and is free to soar.


<edit>edited to remove affiliate links Chris.</edit>

Edited by bjandrews, 15 April 2005 - 05:42 AM.

[Randy]

I have no conclusive proof, but as long as the domain is active and has links pointing to it from other sites that should start the clock ticking. After all, how could Google determine whether or not that was your final plan for the site?

[amabaie]

time in "sandbox" purgatory for sins that you haven't committed?

Your site is not placed there for sins you did not commit. Your sitre is placed there to allow it to mature and pay its dues. There is not a business or career in the world that this does not happen in. When an actor or an athlete comes on the scene hailed as an "overnight success", you can bet your bottom dollar that the night lasted a good many years. The same goes for businesses becoming the best known/respected with the media or the public or others in the sector or...the search engines!

The aging filter (the one you are actually talking about) is a pain in the nether regions for us SEOs, but it makes sense to deliver good results to the public...not to judge "sins".

[Matt B]

" All hope abandon ye who enter . . . ."

[robbinsr]

That's a very good point amabaie, any professional super sports star had to get drafted first, work their way up through college sports, etcetera. So I guess it is only fair to be applied to web sites as well. That being said, it sure makes it hard for us to do our job. Try convincing a client that everything you just did will help out, just not for at least six months!

[bjandrews]

Your sitre is placed there to allow it to mature

I don't think Google gives a hoot about maturity. G is grasping at straws trying to find a way not to be manipulated, and the best they could come up (so far) ; assume all new sites are trying to "play" them.

To me, because a site has been around since the dawn of the Internet does not automatically more relevant than a 3-month-old site.

I don't think there is a single search engine that has in their mission statement "we deliver the oldest most mature sites we can find for your search terms"

Isn't the prime objective of SEs to deliver most relevant results, whether old or new?

[Scottie]

6-9 months doesn't make it particularly old... I can't imagine launching a bricks and mortar business without budgeting a year's lead time to really build a clientele and a regular following.

With the exception of news, I find it hard to believe that many brand new sites are so timely, so urgent, and so amazing that they automatically deserve to be #1 the first time they are spidered.

Sure, it's a pain in the rear, but it's a free listing. They can rank them how they like, with whatever filters etc that they choose to put on. It's not a birthright , that because you followed all the steps you deserve to be #1 right out of the box.

Plan ahead... like a real business! With a real marketing plan that doesn't rely on free search engine listings to survive.

[copyguy]

Sure, it's a pain in the rear, but it's a free listing.  They can rank them how they like, with whatever filters etc that they choose to put on.  It's not a birthright , that because you followed all the steps you deserve to be #1 right out of the box. 

Plan ahead... like a real business!  With a real marketing plan that doesn't rely on free search engine listings to survive.

The listing at G**gle may be free, but the ranking at #1 certainly is not. It will require paid links of every sort: Yahoo, Business.com, you name it.

Try getting high-value links as a new PR0 site. I have and it ain't pretty.

And the on-page SEO is a lot of work and probably means hiring an SEO expert, too.

And how much useful or useless software will you buy in your quest for high SERPs?

After lots of effort, you will probably listed on page 30 in G***gle. Not rank 30, page 30. Finally, to tide you over till a SE on the web realizes your site's greatness!, you will be doing offline promotion and buying PPC ads too.

[Michael Martinez]

But it would be nice to know if I remove a domain from the program, to make a real site, that it has already done its penance and is free to soar. 
<edit>edited to remove affiliate links Chris.</edit>

Changing the content on your domain will start a whole different clock ticking. But if your RSS feeds and ads are identical to other sites, you may going to find your site is being filtered for duplicate content.

[Scottie]

The listing at G**gle may be free, but the ranking at #1 certainly is not. It will require paid links of every sort: Yahoo, Business.com, you name it.

I have many #1 listings I've never paid a dime for a link for. If you are in a competitive SERP, sure, you're going to have to get more links... but that's why it's competitive, isn't it? There is money to be made. You expect someone to hand you that for free?

That's like expecting the newspaper to give you a free feature article every week because you are just that good, and you deserve it. Why should you have to buy an ad?

Try getting high-value links as a new PR0 site. I have and it ain't pretty.

I have done it many times over. Not for a commerce site, but for truly useful resource sites it can and has been done. It takes creativity, not brute force or forumlas.

And how much useful or useless software will you buy  in your quest for high SERPs?

None. A good HTML editor is all I need.

After lots of effort, you will probably listed on page 30 in G***gle. Not rank 30, page 30. Finally, to tide you over till a SE on the web realizes your site's greatness!, you will be doing offline promotion and buying PPC ads too.

And you think this is unfair? You shouldn't have to wait because you've followed all the steps?

Honestly, I'm not getting your point. Ranking on any of the search engines is part art, part science, and a whole lot of marketing. I don't understand why you feel you should get a ticket to the top for buying links and putting all the words in the right places.

[Jill]

Isn't the prime objective of SEs to deliver most relevant results, whether old or new?

If you don't like their results, then don't use it to search with. If everyone doesn't like their results and stops using it, then that action will speak much louder than words.

Problem is, their results are still generally the best.

[DigitalCamera]

Their is no Sandbox persay for everyone the as you describe it " Sandbox " is just a filter to deal with over SEO and excessive anchor text built up to fast. The only way to avoid ever being sandboxed is to have diverse anchor text.
* It is definately not a age filter * its a filter triped by your bad linking behaviour ie. building links unaturally and too fast.

[Michael Martinez]

Their is no Sandbox persay for everyone the as you describe it " Sandbox " is just a filter to deal with over SEO and excessive anchor text built up to fast.  The only way to avoid ever being sandboxed is to have diverse anchor text.
* It is definately not a age filter * its a filter triped by your bad linking behaviour ie. building links unaturally and too fast.

Sorry, that theory doesn't work. My personal domain was sandboxed last year and I actually did very little to boost its popularity. I definitely did not go pursuing links. So far, the aging delay hypothesis is the only one that fits the most available facts. But I haven't seen anyone (including me) write a convincing argument about what it may be yet.

[DigitalCamera]

Sorry, that theory doesn't work.  My personal domain was sandboxed last year and I actually did very little to boost its popularity.  I definitely did not go pursuing links. 

Its not a theory its fact. Believe what you want or ask me how to remove it.

[snipped]

Edited by Jill, 18 April 2005 - 05:18 PM.

[chrishirst]

No It most definitely isn't "unatural" linking patterns

I put a site up in October, Google found it, crawled it in Nov/Dec (about 200 pages) and ranked some pages quite well (as expected) for about a month after. The site then disappeared totally. At this point around 5 links existed from directories. If that's "unatural" then heaven help us!!

The site reappeared a week ago almost 12 weeks after it dropped off the Google map. And there is still only about 20 directory links out there for it.