Google Shakes Things Up

Back in early November in this post I wrote that we were due for Google's annual big shakeup. We seem to be experiencing it now.

Google began an update around December 15th and results are still jumping around. Many in SEO forums are not happy with the current state of affairs and report irrelevant results for their keyword searches as well as a loss of their own positions.

I see quite a change in the serps (search engine results pages) for some searches and mostly newer sites have suffered. My own view is that Google is definitely having some problems because aside from the changes in positions the serps sometimes show several results from one site where they normally will only show one. As well, last week their cache: command was not working - one could click on a cache link and see the cached page but using the cache: command would show no cached page.

The results I see using the site: command seem to indicate the results we see now are partly due to an incomplete database being used.

When search engines have problems such as this they usually get fixed the next update so if you are affected patience is required. So, relax and enjoy the holidays!

Add Yourself To The Blog Real Estate Directory

Now when you visit this Blog you may also add yourself to the new Real Estate Directory! The directory has search-engine-friendly pages of course and accepts entries for websites of Realtors, web designers, mortgage pros, SEOs, lawyers, appraisers, home inspectors - anyone associated with or servicing the real estate industry is welcome.

Category and sub-category suggestions are welcome - if I left out your category please let me know.

A reciprocal link is required and if you place that link on your site beforehand the software will list your site immediately. The sooner you submit the higher up on the page you will be - so why not do it now? ;-)


There is a link to the directory on pretty much every page of this Blog and it can be found in the "Resources" section at the bottom of the right hand column.

Google and the Sandbox

Search engine forums have been buzzing with talk of the "Sandbox" for months now - "does it or does it not exist" and "can it be beaten" are the usual topics of discussion.

In case you don't know, the "Sandbox" is a label that has become associated with Google's practice of not ranking new sites - more precisely, not ranking new sites in new domains competing for competitive commercial search terms.

It is often said that the Sandbox first began back in February or March 2004 but it probably really began back in November 2003 with Google's "Florida" update that dramatically changed its index. The Sandbox seems to apply to just the keyword searches that were affected by "Florida".

From my observations, those in search engine forums that claim to have beaten the Sandbox are either producing new sites in old domains that existed before "Florida", are producing new sites in subdomains of sites unaffected by "Florida" or are producing new sites competing for keywords that are not affected by "Florida".

For real estate sites, there are certain market areas that somehow missed being on the list Google used when implementing their "Florida" and subsequent changes so some market areas are not affected by the Sandbox. In these market areas a new website in a new domain can rise to the top in a couple of months just like the good old days but that is not the case for the vast majority of market areas.

Every once in a while an excited, attention seeking seo forum poster happily exclaims that their site is coming out of the Sandbox because they have risen to # 246 in the serps. Others in the forums gush with praise and wistfully hope their site will soon be blessed too - and ask or advice so their site can be in the top 300 also.

Give me a break! You are out of the Sandbox if and when you are in the top 20 or 30 - then you can get excited!

I have yet to see a site that really has beaten the Sandbox if it was truly affected in the first place - if you think you know of one please let me know of the URL so I can check it out.

My own thinking on what the Sandbox actually is? I don't spend a lot of time analyzing what it might be (only how to avoid it) but my thinking is along these lines.... It seems like when Google began implementing their algorithm changes back in November 2003 they compiled a list of domain names, sorted thru them to identify "Expert" and "Authority" sites as per the Hilltop Algorithm - and that list is still used today when ranking sites and of course new domains are not on the list. Therefore they do not have an opportunity to rank well. If a new domain would ever be added to the list it would then have the opportunity of crawling out of the Sandbox and ranking well.

Whatever the Sandbox really is - is known only to Google but its effect is an old stale search index for the most part so I doubt that it will remain in its present form for much longer.

Our own clients do avoid the Sandbox if it applies in their market areas and rank in the top 10 or 20 of Google for the competitive keywords affected. They rank well because we provide them with multiple websites - and a couple of those sites are placed in subdirectories of domains that were not affected by "Florida" - most would call them "authority sites".

I am sure seo forums will continue to discuss and dissect the Sandbox until it disappears. I don't know if I can read another post about how someone is beating the Sandbox because they are now ranked in the top 300 though! :)