Is there really a Google Sandbox? Many search engine optimization pros feel that Google is applying some type of filtering to new sites with certain ratios of incoming links.

I’m not sure if I buy that, but I do know that the rules for Google have changed, and that new web sites are languishing for 5-9 months after launch before moving into any kind of reasonable search ranking.

Here’s an article that backs me up a bit.

In the end, it doesn’t matter how Google’s doing it – the new rule of the day is you’ve gotta play the blues before you hit the high notes on Google. If you’re launching a whole new site, at a new URL, expect to wait at least six months to achieve a top rank, no matter how well-optimized your new web site is.