Hi Barbara - I think I’ve been in the mythical sandbox before with another website, and I used to worry all the time about the reasons. Apparently, buying a domain name that has previously been banned can also get you in the sandbox. And if you can also be affected by other sites on your IP address.

Well, I checked my IP address and bluehost have over 100 sites on it and looking at the names, there are some that i would hate to be associated with, so it may be time to look for a new host.

I think Google’s methods of policing the internet so far are inadequate. And systems such as PR will always be manipulated by those SEO experts, which means that rubbish sites will still rank highly. And we’ll still be sitting here wondering what we have done wrong half the time.

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Nicole,

Interesting that you have heard that WP blogs take longer to become popular, as Asako mentioned that in a previous post also. I like WP and have been on too long now to change, but it would be interesting to use a different platform for an additional blog, and experiment.

I agree, some sites that get top “billing”, don’t belong there. Makes you wonder how that happens.

Catherine,

I’m not certain what happens if you switch hosting companies, and how that affects your blog stats, or if it even makes a difference. My contract with BlueHost comes up in March, but I haven’t checked to see what other sites are on the same IP address. I will have to do more research on that one.

Google does need to update their policies, however, it seems like whatever they do, there are those who are ready to “beat the system” and mess it up for those of us who follow the rules-not much different than in real life.

Hunter,

The sandbox theory apparently does not apply to all blogs, so yours could actually become popular with the search engines very quickly.

I like your attitude though…sounds like you are in it for the long haul. That’s great to hear, as you have the beginnings of a great blog. It will be fascinating to watch you grow.

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Catherine,

Don’t you agree, Hunter is doing great for being a new blogger? I really like his writing style, and views on personal development.

I will check out that link for IP addresses.

Having your own server is an option, but I don’t want to deal with the situation of “what happens if there’s a problem?”. Although I think I could eventually figure things out, my time is too valuable to try and learn that too (at this time). I’ve thought of talking to our broadband company also, as I am on cable.

Other than the IP issue, I actually like BlueHost. I’ve gotten used to their cpanel and the options they offer, so I will think long and hard before I make a change.

Can’t say I blame you for turning your email off. For me, it seems like I am spending more and more time managing that, and spam still comes through even though I use a spam blocker.

I’ll be looking forward to your email.

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Barbara - if you hadn’t told me about Hunter, I would never have realised he was a relatively new blogger. His posts are excellent.

I know what you mean about the server - it sounds like a great idea until things go wrong.

Like Ian - I have noticed individual blog posts get ranked pretty quickly. But, when I search my actual blog name, I’m only getting a couple of the most recent posts. , so i’m really not sure how they work it.

And I agree - it would be more useful if they would include the most relevant posts. There’s nothing worse than looking for up to date information on a topic, only to be taken to a page which is a decade old.

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Barbara,

No, I didn’t change it! Hope you don’t mind. I’m not really that worried about the comments. I’d rather it was informal and pretty open.

The site has generated our biggest ever contract, and they openly said that because we poked fun at ourselves in the about us section, they instantly preferred us to others.

It’s interesting to consider the difference between a formal and topic-specific site and just having a conversation. I loved it when someone commented that they would NOT do business with a company that had the director’s taking frivolous punishments on video.

That was a great debate. And I must admit the swearing issue interested me too. Should we allow? Shouldn’t we?

Another blogger I know who uses profanities argued it’s a good filtration system. He argued about a blog allows you to be yourself and if it alienates some clients, then he’d rather not have them.

He talked about being true to yourself and attracting clients you can get on with and open.

I agree that the profanity issue should at least be bleeped. And I suspect children will not even dig beyond the front page to a comments section to see even any bleeped profanities on a blog topic or web-site that doesn’t interest them.

So I suspect that moderation or a regularly diluted tone, bowing down to a corporate sound, is probably not the way to go.

I to would much rather deal with clients who do not insist on a false and stuffy “image” of unecessarily professional language and pretence.

We are all people. We switch on formality at the right times, and speak frankly and openly with those suppliers we trust.

One confided cash-flow challenges. And because I’d been open with him about our failure, he was able to ask some advice. I was able to introduce him to help.

Sorry, just realised I’m waffling again! But I feel as though comments on a business blog should be as free-flowing as on a more personal one.

I do try and keep to the topic a bit more on the company one, but humour and letting typos go if relevant doesn’t take away the real-people feel of a comment. Hence few edits if any.

I did bleep a word recently - purely because I don’t know how browsers currently filter or could potentially filter a visitor. If the natural filtration of them leaving due to offence happens, then so be it. I would probably not have got on well with them as a client!.

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You can count me in the ranks of those who do not believe that Google places you into a sanbox “filter”.

While much of your information is accurate, I believe you have a fundmental misunderstanding of why the Sandbox Effect occurs. It is simply the result of the competing effects between the “freshness factor” and “TrustRank” as these two play out over time.

These competing factors have a much more pronounce effect on a brand new site, hence the “sandbox effect”.

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