Brilliant Question On Keyword Sniping
March 25th, 2008 by CourtIn response to my ‘What’s Missing For You‘ post, I received a very interesting question from John (who I would have linked to if he had left his URL):
You’ve written that there is no rhyme or reason as to why a keyword sniping site ends up sandboxed. However, I’ve read in one of Vic’s post that as long as a new site with a brand new domain gets less than 500 hits/day (what Vic calls trickle traffic), Google will usually ignore your site as long as it passes visual inspection.
Through your experience, do you agree with Vic’s statement?
John there are a lot of things that can contribute to a site being sandboxed. Vic and I use some approaches that are quite different from each other so there’s no doubt that we’re going to see different behavior from the sandbox. To answer your question, both Vic and I are right, inline with our unique approaches to this game.
With a pure, keyword sniping approach, we aren’t even really trying to create a site that gets more than 500 visits per day. We are trying to create multiple sites that get maybe a few hundred visitors per day. As with everything ‘Google’, there is rhyme and reason to the sandbox - we simply don’t understand everything about it. I have had sites that have less than 50 visitors get placed in the sandbox, but this doesn’t invalidate what Vic said because the approach he was talking about is a little bit different.
Keyword sniping and niche blogging, while related, are actually a little bit different. Niche blogging by definition is ‘blogging’, keyword sniping isn’t. With a keyword sniping site you will not continue to publish indefinitely on a site. This changes how Google treats the site because you are going for what Vic would call a ‘permanent ranking’. Instead of getting boosted because you post 20 times per day on a niche blog, you have to earn your permanent ranking through link building and effective onpage optimization.
You can actually achieve a #1 ranking using keyword sniping or niche blogging, here’s the difference in the approaches:
Keyword Sniping
With this approach, you are going for a solid ranking - the type that doesn’t change very often. That means you have to do a good job of targeting the keyword on the site and have to build up a good amount of keyword authority for the keyword you are targeting. With this approach, you aren’t trying to get a benefit from posting often because you do not want to post often.
I can tell you that the sandbox reacts differently with this type of site because Google knows that you aren’t breaking news. You can’t be breaking news if you only post once every three months, right? I like this approach because once you get a ranking this way, you can usually hold it for a very long time, often for like a year with hardly any updating.
With this type of site, you can get sandboxed even though you have very little traffic. This is because Google is more stingy to award this type of ranking since it will be more permanent and solid. I have had keyword sniping sites that got less than 50 hits per day get thrown in the sandbox, only to re-emerge 4 months later for a #1 solid ranking for my keyword, much better than it was ranked before the sandboxing.
Niche Blogging
With this approach, you are taking advantage of the fact that Google will award you with a fluid ranking because of your post frequency. You could use this approach to target the same keywords as a sniping site, and Google would behave differently and award you with a ranking for different reasons.
With niche blogging, Google is assuming that you are reporting news and current events within the industry of your blog. Let’s say you started a niche blog about ‘Colorado Lasik Surgery’. Instead of creating 5-10 articles like you would with a keyword sniping site, you would create as many posts as you possibly could. You would interview surgeons in the area, watch for news in the area, and report when new surgeons started practicing in Colorado (or some people like to act like they’re doing this to trick Goog). Your continual posts will help you to achieve a top ranking for your keyword.
Since Google assumes that you are reporting news, Google might not sandbox you as quickly as they would with a keyword sniping site. This is where Vic’s 500 hit rules applies. If you’re a news site that doesn’t get that much traffic, Google will probably leave you alone because they like that news - it covers an under-serviced topic.
End Result Of Each Approach
Both types of these sites achieve similar results with time. A keyword sniping site in my opinion takes a lot less work to achieve a top ranking, but requires a little more patience. A niche blog requires more work to achieve a top ranking, but brings quicker results.
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March 25th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I don’t want to spill all my beans, but I have “several” established blogs with PR 5 and 6 pages that haven’t been updated in a year.
Together they don’t get much traffic, but they do have incoming links to my more active affiliate sites.
It’s a good strategy I need to implement more.
One thing I would add: There are tons of people out there who will put up these blogs for you with high quality content for peanuts. If anyone needs some recommendations just stop by my blog and drop me a note.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Court, one question…
I noticed you are duping the keyword phrase for this page at the top right of your template in a “barely legal” text color.
Nice way to add a new H tag.
You’re a smooth smoothy you are.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Lol Aaron I do what I can.
March 25th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
[…] http://courtneytuttle.com/2008/03/25/brilliant-question-on-keyword-sniping/ Freebie of the Day […]
March 25th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
This post is featured in today’s Daily Blog Summary along with other top posts from the top 50 Make Money Blogging sites. Good job!
March 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Nice job Court. Don’t you just hate sandbox questions - there are so many variables that can get a site sandboxed that it’s impossible to give a “one answer fits all” explanation but you’ve done a pretty good job of it. Of course pick the wrong keyword and nothing will save you from a day at the beach. I really just wanted to drop by and say hello - bet you couldn’t tell. Lol.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Hey Griz! Always happy to have you. Man the sandbox is a tough issue to explain. I always try to do the best I can but I’ve seen a lot of different behaviors. Man I loved your last post. For those of you that missed it, you need to check it out pronto:
http://makemoneyforbeginners.blogspot.com/2008/03/internet-marketing-isnt-blogging.html
March 25th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Thanks Court, there is a reason you have 2000 plus readers - your knowledge and being a hell of a nice guy couldn’t have anything to do with it though… of course if you’d start posting photos of your meals you might have 20,000 readers. Lol.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
It is so funny cuz I actually made a comment reaction vlog talking about the fact that peeps think we contradict each other when in fact it is totally the opposite LMAO. And man it is so hard to explain all the variabkes that send a site to sandbox especially when Google has never acknowledge it exist LMAO.
Question:
Google does sandbox exist?
Answer:
We neither confirm or deny the existence of sandbox.
LMAOmmm FBI tactics. Ok Frank you can not come in with some Google bashing LMAO
March 25th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Lol no doubt about that Vic. I keep trying to explain the people that we aren’t contradicting each other but I think we’re going to have to accept that people are going to keep thinking that. Oh well! Thanks for you thoughts.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Vic,
That’s more CIA/NSA than FBI. I think the FBI is more transparent about their activities than GOOG.
Spies…I can’t wait for Burn Notice to start up again, BTW.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Question for you Court. How do you think Google would react to a static looking site using wordpress platform?
March 25th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I’m not sure what you’re asking here. Google doesn’t decide anything based on what a site looks like. If it’s a WordPress site, they will treat it like a WordPress site.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
What I meant is that it seems you were saying that blogs and static sites are being treated differently. I want to use wordpress to build a static site. Since it will have a “blog” footprint will Google penalize the site for not posting often or newsworthy information like a blog generally does?
March 25th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Ok let me clarify because I see what you mean now. Both examples can be created with WordPress.
The difference isn’t the software you use, it’s how you treat the site. You can create a keyword sniping site with WordPress software, but since you won’t post that often Google will treat it as a static site.
Google won’t treat a site like a blog just because you use WordPress. They will only give you that boost if you post all the time.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Nice post court.
I use a mixture of both. I have a niche blog I’m working on that is based off of your Keyword Snipping techniques and theme.
I’ve mentioned it in comments before, but I got it sandboxed 8 days after I launched it.
Well, it just came out of sandbox 3 days ago. And my traffic just went from 500 unique hits per day to 1000 unique hits over night.
(time in sandbox: little over 60 days)
Just to share my experience. I followed Court’s advice. I didn’t get discouraged and jut continued with my marketing plan I developed. I developed links and continued to optimize and develop the site.
The 500 a day only included like 30 from search. The rest was social, back links, and direct traffic. Then one morning I woke up and checked Google analytics to see that my visitor # doubled.
I just want to say thanks Court, and I trust in what you say. To give you an idea of what your techniques have helped me achieve.
I don’t share the site, because its taboo in nature, and my family would disown me. But some stats on my keyword:
-A ONE word keyword.
-Wordtracker Free: 5939 searches
-Little over 1 Mil results
-And no blogs in the top 10
Its a taboo keyword, but I found it through research. So I went after it.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Dang Justin thanks a million for your comments. It makes me happy to know that you’ve found success with the approach and there’s no doubt that you’re site will get more and more traffic.
I hope that people will follow your lead and continue to work this approach because it works.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Hey Court…I’m almost embarrassed to say the reason I didn’t leave a URL with my question is that I don’t have one yet. But thanks for the offer of a link.
I’ve been studying you guys (you, Vic & Griz) and trying to make up my mind how I’m going to start my online venture, i.e., Keyword Sniping, BANS, Local Niche Blog, Adsense Site, etc. The choices can be mind-boggling.
Vic has been so adamant about BANS for the beginner, that I’ve decided take his advice. But, I also like the idea of a local niche site.
What business model would you advise a beginner to get started with? I also value your input.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Hey John no worries! I’m happy to have you on the site and with time you will learn everything you need to get going in this business. I like Bans as a way to start and also like keyword sniping. Niche blogging is also great but requires a lot more effort than the others!
Bans and keyword sniping can give you a way to learn without spending all of your time writing - choose one of those two.
March 26th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Head up about BANS site. eBay is starting their own affiliate network April 1st… so do not try to go through CJ for them.
Expect a full review… but probably not from me.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:53 am
That is a very interesting post. There is another way of going about this game! Thanks for being so open about it.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:35 am
how does the Ebay-BANS thing affect existing Ebay affiliates?
I’ve been holding off on getting BANS because of it.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:24 am
From what I gather it’s just a matter of getting switched over to the new affiliate program by the deadline, not a big deal.
What is a big deal is how eBay is making life difficult for sellers. This means that you’ll need to pay closer attention to the particular category of products you want to promote on your BANS site. Certain hobby areas have seen a 30-50% decline in auction postings due to eBay policy changes and digital delivery products will be banned as of April 1, 2008.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:37 am
sorry, i meant Ebay-CJ and not Ebay-BANS.
April 7th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Thanks again for an important post. I’m trying to figure out the best tactic for my site and it seems that I’m going for the first one.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Court,
I echo all the great thanks and appreciation that has been expressed on every post I’ve read so far. It’s mid August and I’ve just found your Keyword Sniper series. I’m going through them chronologically and am working toward my first sniper site. I have a couple quick questions for you.
1. Do I need to be worried about trademark issues doing this. One of my potential keywords included a company’s name. Wordtracker gives it a 746 daily and Google shows only 87500 competing pages with a $4.87 price per click. These look like pretty good numbers to me but I’m a bit worried about doing this. The keyword phrase is available as a domain name and obviously I’d be plastering the keyword throughout the site. I don’t think this keyword combo is any more specific than the “Motorola Cell Phones” example you targeted. I’d just have the added piece of the company name being in the URL. Would I be on shaky ground here?
2. I poked around Vic’s site for the first time and was intrigued by the BANS idea. What are your thoughts on combining the KW sniping and BANS ideas. I haven’t figured out how it would work yet, heck I haven’t even set up the first sniper yet. But I’m thinking along the lines of setting up the Sniper as a “guide” site….i.e. “your guide to ….insert your keyword” and then using the BANS site as a KW related store. Basically you can learn about it on the KW sniper site and buy it from the KW related BANS site. I’d probably just rewrite the KW sniper content for reuse on the BANS, thus keeping the effort as minimal as possible.
What do you think?
Thanks
-Jeff
I’m Minding My Own Business, are you minding yours?