Google Sandbox and Its Existence

Google is the most powerful search engine on the internet. The overwhelming majority of internet users who look for something on the internet, use Google. That’s why the market participants are eager to perform best on Google for the purpose of their website being seen by people in need of their services. There are some rules and regulations set by Google to be complied with, in order to perform better on this search engine. However, there are some unwritten rules that webmasters believe in their existence, though Google has never acknowledged. 

One of the most famous theories, developed by webmasters and market participants, is the existence of a probationary period during which new websites never get good ranks, even if they perform extremely well in terms of SEO campaign. This probationary period is called Google Sandbox. Even though Google has never confirmed such a thing to exist, there are several reasons confirming its existence.

What is Google Sandbox?

The term refers to a period of time through which Google would analyse a new website to check the contents it is providing, its performance in terms of being trustworthy and some other elements. It is most likely for the sandbox to be in place, as new websites never get high ranks on Google. It is believed that Google filters the young website out of the search results or at least pushes them down in order to show the older websites in the upper result page due to several reasons. Therefore, if you are applying every single SEO tactic and your young website doesn’t appear in a proper place on Google result page, many webmasters believe that your website has gone through Google Sandbox.

How long does the Sandbox period last?

Since this is not an official stage of the SEO process and Google has never confirmed the existence of such a period, it is not possible to have a precise time frame on that. However, based on the experiences that market participants have, it normally lasts around 4 to 6 months. During this period of time, despite all your efforts on your SEO campaign, your website is less likely to be shown on the first page of SERP or even on the whole search results. However, the good news is that it will be temporary and after this period of time, the results start to show up.

Does Google Sandbox really exist?

As mentioned before, Google has never confirmed the existence of Google Sandbox, however many webmasters and market participants are confident about it due to several reasons. Regardless of the debate about the Sandbox, the action you need to take during this period of time is simple. You must keep up the good work on your SEO campaign until the period is passed.

Is it possible to check if your website is in Google Sandbox?

There is no formal way to check, though there are some tricks to see if your website is in the Sandbox.

You may go to Search Console and from there click on “search traffic”, and then “search analytics”. If you have a designated keyword you are working on, and your website is SEO optimised and at the same time, if your website ranks better on other keywords rather than your designated keyword, you are probably stuck in the sandbox. Even though such a circumstance doesn’t necessarily mean the sandbox exists and your website is in there, it can be a good indication of being in such a probationary period and you must try to get out!

How to get out of Google Sandbox?

First of all, you must register your domain on the Google search console, if you haven’t done so far. This will make you indexed by Google. Once done, the most effective way to get out of the sandbox is user engagement. The organic traffic helps shorten the probationary period, so keeping up with your SEO strategy is highly recommended. It is worth noting that social media can help a lot here, so make your social media account active and make users engaged with your website, in order to get more organic traffic. Furthermore, using backlinks from high ranking websites will be quite helpful.

To sum it up, Google Sandbox is a term created by market participants to address the time it takes for a website to be displayed on Google search results and get higher ranks. It is believed that regardless of the quality of your SEO campaign, there is a time frame during which new websites will not be ranked high until Google becomes confident about its measuring elements and standards are met. However, like explained above, there are many ways to shorten this period and get your website to rank high on Google sooner rather than later.  Since Google doesn’t accept the Sandbox existence, there are no predefined solutions to shorten this period of time, so it is all about experience in the SEO environment. Therefore, if you are new in the market and looking to jump up on Google rank as soon as possible, it is always a good idea to work with an experienced digital marketing team.

We, here at Websima, are always more than happy to support and assist you with any kind of digital marketing service in general and with shortening the sandbox period in particular. You may contact us and book for a free SEO consultation meeting to discuss your project further. You may also check our “SEO Services” and “SEO Pricing” to find out more.