That Darned Google Sandbox

If you're a new website owner you probably know the pain of being left in the Google Sandbox.   It doesn't seem to matter how good your website is and how successful you are in creating a buzz for your website in other ways, Google will not give you respect in their search engine results.  

Last year new site owners were playing in the Sandbox for three months or so. Now many are reporting that they're not coming out of the box for nine or ten months!   This is testing the patience of many new internet marketers.

The way to handle the situation is to ignore it and keep doing what you know you should be doing.   Despite what some may advise, you won't successfully manipulate Google. Trying to do so could get you into worse trouble than the Sandbox.

Remember too that Google is not the only search engine in the world.   Most see traffic from MSN, Yahoo and others within a month or so of launching a new website.  

Instead of focusing on Google – focus on providing your target market with what they want.   Concentrate on these basic areas:

• Create valuable content that your target market is looking for.  
• Distribute articles to the article directories.
• Submit your website to appropriate directories.
• Develop friendly relationships with owners of similar websites.
• Create an interesting blog and submit it to blog directories.
• Develop a few valuable resources (reports, ebook or audio) to give away freely – and allow others to give them away too.

These activities will quietly grow your inbound links.  The idea is to be consistent and natural in everything you're doing.  No manipulation, no oddball search engine spamming techniques, just good web practices that add value to your website and to the internet as a whole.

If you do these things, you will find that your website traffic is growing consistently despite the Sandbox and one day when you least expect it Google traffic will start flowing.