Q and A: Why doesn't google show us for our target search phrase?

Dear Kalena...

Nice site you have there.

I think we have a really nice site at Bella Regalo, customers tell us as well.

We are getting killed by our competition on Google for our main term of wedding favors! We were recently dropped from # 51 to well, I still haven't found us! We are also not showing up for individual categories and products where we at least ranked reasonable well before.

My webmaster keeps referring me to people who charge a few hundred dollars, send us a list of things to do. We do said list and receive nothing in return.

I feel there is a major flaw that we are missing somewhere. Can you see it?

Thanks a million!

Lisa

Kalena's Answer:

Hi Lisa

I've had a look at your site and I think it has a classic case of Sandboxitis. I know it seems this is my favorite diagnosis when people ask me to look at problems with their sites, but it truly is the most common ailment.

Have a look at this post for reasons why your site fits the bill. It has very similar symptoms to the site mentioned, apart from the link network. Your site also fits the classic case of over-optimization for your key phrase. This post should help you understand how/why the Google Sandbox filter is applied and give you some ideas about how to de-optimize your site to some extent in order to reduce the likelihood of tripping spam filters and attracting penalties.

If you are caught in the filter as I suspect, you'll need patience as sites can take up to 9 months to be released. You should spend your Sandbox lockdown time improving your site and pursuing high quality inbound links.

Good luck!