What is Google Sandbox?
What is the So called SandBox? Its always considered that google sandbox is a restriction created or placed on new websites or relatively new websites on the internet, you can compare or refer it to as a Probation period of a new employee to a company. Yes this is the probation period each and every website has to go through even though it has appropriate content and enough back links, mainly is to limit the spam websites from taking over the genuine content websites.
Why did google come up with a SandBox ?
Its Basically to Fight Spamming of genuine search result, Google has always been famous for giving search results that are genuine and that is what a smart search engine does, so basically a sandbox is to stop sites to come to first right from the day its born. It is very suspecious that a new site cannot have such a huge number of backlinks all of a sudden, so its a gradual procedure to come to the top, that is the reason google uses the sandbox to welcome new sites with the probation period.
Is there really something called as a Sandbox for google ?
Its been a long debated topic by the SEO experts all arround the world that google sandbox does not exist or does exist. The reason to belive it exists is the proof that we see that new websites dont come up in ranking “just like that”. But lately its been admitted by google that the sandbox is for real, but its been retired as Google Caffeine takes on the show on stage. !
Why some sites never seem to been in the Google Sandbox?
Its simple ! You have competetion? then you have resistance too.. Thats the logic, For keywords that are of high demand or having stiff competetion will result in new sites to sandbox, and site with keywords less used or topics less used, it directly comes to the indexing.
How long does the Stay at Sandbox Last?
It can stay in Sandbox from 1 – 2 – 3- 6 months as per google. Less competitive searches will be given the much shorter stay in the sandbox, while hyper-competitive keywords will often spend six months in the sandbox. The filter will be gradually decreased over time, and will lose most of its dampening effect in about three months.
How do I know if a site is in the Sandbox?
If you dont see results that you deserve and when its surprising , you could be in the sandbox, or in some cases when you search with the exact keywords also the site appears in secondary results only even whith high keywords and backlinks.
How to know if it’s the Sandbox and not a Google penalty?
If a site is punished from a Google penalty, the site would not appear in the Google search engine results pages (SERPs) for even the less important keyword searches. The site would also show no PageRank or even a grey bar on the Google Toolbar in case of Google penalty. The alleged Google Sandbox filter is apparently designed to concern itself with the more competitive keywords as they are more likely to have spam sites and purchased links site.
Will joining of Google AdWords or Google Adsense prevent being placed in the Sandbox?
Joining paid programs like Google Adwords and Google Adsense will have no effect on your site’s duration in the Google Sandbox. .
How to get out of Google Sandbox ?
Time is the only real escape from the Sandbox. Depending on the competitiveness of your most important keywords, that time can vary from one to six months, with three to four months being the average duration. in the mean time improve your content.
Should is still work on link building when site in sandbox ?
The Sandbox is an ideal time to start adding incoming links to your site. Because of the alleged new links dampening filter, adding links while in the Sandbox solves two filters at once. If the newly added links are indeed dampened by a filter, then their full value should take effect just as your site comes out from the Sandbox. Be sure to add strong keyword rich anchor text to your incoming links, and vary it to include several keyword combinations.
How can I avoid being placed in the Sandbox ?
The Sandbox can be avoided to a degree by making the site prior to its being fully ready for prime time. While the site will be placed in low rankings, it will start the clock ticking on its Sandbox duration time. Be sure to add as many incoming links as possible to get past the alleged new links dampening filter. Keep adding keyword rich content to your site. Anything that can be done to speed up your site’s appearance on the internet, including the purchase of an already existing domain, should be considered. With proper time management, a site can avoid the Google Sandbox entirely.
Author: Joshu Thomas, OC
Am no Expert on the Topic but i can share the info i have gained through my reading and my limited 6-7 years of web experience, This can be taken as a disclaimer as the article is an openion and not a Defenition 
Cheers, Joshu
About Joshu Thomas
I enjoy blogging about webmaster related stuff and technology. Xtras - I Design, Develop, Blog and Support the Open Source. Passions: I Love Music, Photography, Design, Development, Cycling, Travelling.
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9 Responses to “What is Google Sandbox?”
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+Joshu Thomas
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Founder of OrangeCopper Webmaster Networks, Writes for our latest Launch of 2011 - HippieMonk Tech & LifeStyle Blog!
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Founder of OrangeCopper Webmaster Networks, Writes for our latest Launch of 2011 - HippieMonk Tech & LifeStyle Blog!
Excellent post.Very well written..especially the disclaimer part…I got many of my doubts on google sandbox cleared.Thanks
Excellent post.Very well written..especially the disclaimer part…I got many of my doubts on google sandbox cleared.Thanks
Thankyou Juan !
Thankyou Juan !
My site is 13 months old and still in. It is well optimized with over 50,000 backlinks with some from pr 8,9, etc. It has a 5% keyword density while my #1 competitor has about 2% with only 6000 backlinks. I hate the sandbox. I think the biggest ranking factor for google is age. my competitor is over 10 years old which is the only thing they have on me. The sandbox is so unfair and i think users are missing out on good websites because of it. So frustrating.
I really understand what you are referring to For google, the link age really matters and it gives it good importance. But there are many factors more to it that you might want to give a thought on to like:
- Your website content update frequency
- have you set up your account on Google webmasters ? have you configured the crawl status
- set up a blog on your website too and frequently add quality articles and contents and this would all add to your rep that google gives to your sites.
you can overtake your competitor in case SE feels that there is more value offered from your side. so concentrate more on onpage optimization and content. Also now google is discouraging paid link backs so there would not be much value for any high PR linkback from a website in different niche.
warm regards
Josh
I’ve heard that if you have a lot of Google ads on your site, it could sandbox your site also. Is there any truth to that?
Google Ads and sandbox might be not that related, but Google Terms of service says you cannot have more than 3 google adsense ads on the same page – you have a chance to get banned in that case!
cheers
Josh
I got sand boxed and it feels good to have your advice. very frustrating waiting. thanks