Sent to the Sandbox

Is the Google Sandbox still around? What exactly is it, and what does it mean for new webmasters?

Google Sandbox was a term used by many to describe the period of time a site used to languish between launch and a solid appearance on Google, accompanied by PageRank and all the benefits thereof. Some sites under various penalties were also said to be ‘sandboxed’, until they had re-proven themselves to be of worth. Me, I always equated it with sitting at the kids’ table.

Getting OUT of the sandbox used to be the subject of much debate back in the day – especially as Google would neither confirm or deny that there was any such thing. Apparently an algorithm angle was being used to penalize certain sites, but no-one quite knew how it worked.

Presumably the ‘sandbox effect’ was set up originally to keep spammy sites from getting into Google’s top results (Hah, that seems to be working out well, now doesn’t it) but instead many webmasters complained that it was preventing their new sites for ranking for between 2-4 months.

There does seem to be a few tricks that can help if you are a new site, not practicing black hat tactics, and genuinely trying to get indexed.

1. Generate great content, and publish it daily if possible. A blog is great for this purpose, and you can link back and forth to your site. Add to your site as often as possible, as well.

2. Concentrate on worthy link building, and look for authority sites to link out to as well. This can help build your credibility and make Google take you seriously.

3. Don’t overdo the link building simply for volume – Google is suspicious of sites that seem to be piling on low quality links. A few really good ones are worth more than hundreds of iffy ones!

If you think you’ve been sent to the sandbox, the best thing to do is reexamine every link and every tactic to be sure you are complying with Google Webmaster guidelines. If you are, then waiting it out may be your only option – Sometimes they just have to decide you are big enough to move up to the grown-up’s table!

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