I have to hand it to Google. Age filters are probably by far the best thing they've done to deter spamming their engine.

Time and time again, I get clients who are start-ups looking to tackle some of the most competitive keyphrases in a short period of time. Ain't happenin'.

If you're a new site, get used to the fact that high rankings for competitive phrases with sites in the Top Ten that have been around since the '90s should be tabled for at least 12 months, if not longer.

On the flip-side, if you're a site that has been around for awhile, have received an ongoing, respectable amount of backlinks over the years, competing for competitive phrases in a short period of time is a possibility.

Additionally, if you're thinking of launching a site in the future, do yourself a favor and launch as soon as possible and get indexed. Even if the site is one-page with some basic text (stay away from "coming soon" and the like). The sooner Google recognizes you as a real site, the better.

There also seems to be evidence that the older your backlinks, the better. So, to the degree that it makes sense, start getting quality, relevant, keyword-rick backlinks immediately upon launching a new site.