How to Get Out of the Google Sandbox

Sometimes if you overdo the SEO tricks - keywording, promotion, submissions to directories - you trigger Google's internal alerts that something may not be legitimate about your website. When that happens Google may put you in "The Sandbox" - where no promotional activities work at all. Your website still gets basic traffic, but it stops growing - it's like it stalls.

When you're in the sandbox, it can be frustrating, and seem impossible to get out. However, you can get out by simply proving to Google's bots that your site is a legitimate site, and a good net citizen. They key is to slow down, be patient and start over on your efforts to build the site.

Instructions

1. Examine your site and marketing efforts for things that might trigger Google's suspicions.

   Have you stuffed your site so full of keywords that it doesn't read naturally? You really don't need that many keywords for Google's bots to recognize what your article is about - and using more keywords will not get you a higher ranking any more. Is your content deceptive? Does it offer a quality experience to the user?

   Have you been using services that submit your site to hundreds of search engines or social bookmarking sites? Or other methods to leverage a small amount of work for you into a whole lot of backlinks? Have you been leaving identical comments on every blog in your topic? Submitting articles to hundreds of article directories?

   Being put in the sandbox means you overdid your efforts to manipulate your ranking on search engines, and now it's time to either abandon the site, or undo the damage.

2. Update your site regularly with quality info.

   While you can get a decent SEO ranking without updating often, when you've been put in the Google Sandbox, you've got to prove that it is legitimate, relevant and helpful. Some experts recommend updating at least four times a week, when you are in this situation, but that partly depends on how impatient you are. Long term regular updating will make a big difference. A ton of updates and then abandoning the site won't.

3. Get Legitimate Links.

   You can still promote your site, but do it one at at time, in the most legitimate ways you know how. If you write an article, submit that article to ONE article directory. If you comment on blogs or forums, participate honestly one post at a time. You may still be able to use some automated systems, if they allow you to SLOW DOWN to a more normal human pace.

4. Have patience.

   Let your site grow and bloom at a more natural pace. It takes time for a site to mature. Many masters of SEO will register and begin a site long before they are ready to monetize it, simply to give it time to get some "legs." Then it will rank way easier, and they won't have to do as much work on it. Patience gives you more leverage than anything else you can do.