Today we still lack the knowledge needed to pinpoint the exact causes of the Google Sandbox effect, so to claim that we can provide you with a proven set of techniques to counteract it would be a little far fetched. Moreover, what we know now about the Sandbox is mainly the result of direct observation and general interpretation of the phenomenon, not the measurement of precise scientific tools. Judging by that, the SEO strategies described in this article are not to seen as the miracle solution for getting your website out the Google Sandbox in no time; rather than that, take these as a series of guidelines aimed at counteracting the overall undesirable effect this has on the site you are running.

The first mistake you should avoid if you really want to reduce the time your website spends in the Google Sandbox is not taking care of promotion when needed. Many webmasters postpone this until the last moment, as they tend to focus too much on the optimization part and only begin to brand their website when they have the certitude it is perfect. This perception, however, is someway off and many website owners who follow this course of action may find their websites struggling in the Google Sandbox for longer than usual. The good new is you can avoid all this by making a few changes in the way you go about things when optimizing for search engines. The key here is to take care of multiple things at once instead of waiting for the “right time” to jump in and begin the promotion process.

Try to come up with a long-term link-building plan right from the start and set a target for the links you want to acquire, let’s say 10 or 15 links on a weekly basis to begin with. Although some webmasters may be apprehensive about this approach, fearing that it may hinder the building of their websites, this is definitely not the case. Considering the link-building strategy will only involve a low-to-moderate intensity effort, you CAN handle multiple things at once and it’s actually recommendable to do so. Think about it, with a healthy number of quality links up and running, you will give them the chance to age properly by the time your website becomes trapped in the Sandbox, which will eventually translate into less time spent there.

Another thing to take proper care of is the relevancy aspect. You may have heard this many times before, but trust me, it really is important when it comes to ensuring a speedy recovery for your website after it has been afflicted by the Google Sandbox effect. Search engines love relevancy and to make sure your site gets right up there at the top of the list, you need to give the search engines what they want. Improve the relevancy of your site’s content, double check other important aspects like keyword density, corroborate all this with a long-term link-building strategy and chances are you will be able to minimize the time your website spends in the Sandbox.