The specifics of a good linking strategy are a bit difficult to nail down. In patent application, Google tries to hide evaluation method by listing factors that “might” go into evaluating links to a site. Factors that “might” be considered include:

1. The anchor text of link.

2. The discovery date of link.

3. The growth rate of links to your site.

4. The rate at which links to a page appear and disappear.

5. The age of links with older links carrying more value.

6. Numerous links to a new site will be looked at as spam, unless some of links are from highly valued sites.

7. Link growth that is constant is optimal.

8. Sudden bunches of new links will be devalued as spam.

A general theme becomes clear as one reads Google patent application. Google values sites that are in it for long term, update regularly and consistently grow in link popularity. Taking this theme into account, it is easy to understand why Google sandbox exists.

A steady approach is key if you intention is to gain top rankings in Google. While delay can be aggravating, results are certainly worth it.

Expanding on this subject, Google details an additional factor. As with Adwords program, Google is monitoring click through rate on search results. The more click-throughs to your site from its listings in Google, higher it will be moved in search results.

Every Little Bit Helps

Google claims that it looks at what users are bookmarking. The apparent jist is that Google considers a site with a lot of bookmarks to be “worthy” of a higher ranking. In short, get out there and bookmark your sites!

Conclusion

The effort of Google to look for depth in a site should be commended. There is nothing worse then clicking onto a promising search result to find one crappy page full of links. With this new policy, Google rewards sites with healthy amounts of relevant pages. In short, content is king again.