What is Google Sandbox?
Google uses the sandbox as a preventative mechanism to keep newly generated websites from ranking well in search results. New websites do not rank well in SERPs, even though search engine officials deny it.
It is unknown why Google employs it. Some experts believe that it takes time for a search engine to determine whether or not a website is spammy. Others say it takes Google a long time to figure out what a website is about and gather the data necessary to rank it. However, no one knows how long Google Sandbox will be active.
The only thing that counts is that the sandbox period is inconvenient for anyone who wishes to rank well without having to wait months. It's also worth noting that this phenomenon was originally stated a long time ago.
When did the sandbox effect appear?
In 2004, the sandbox effect became well-known. SEO is initially discovered that it was impossible to rank new websites high at that time. Even utilizing low-volume keywords had no results, since their rankings were much below desired.
The fact that it was only happening with Google Search caught their attention as well. Bing and Yahoo have always given new websites a high ranking.
Despite the passage of more than 16 years, nothing has changed. Google continues to place new websites in the Sandbox, where they remain for several months.
How to stop Google Sandbox from affecting Your SEO efforts?
What should you do if your website finds it in Google Sandbox?
1. Index your website
You likely believe it's the most apparent thing to do. However, you may not be aware that web pages only begin to age after Google has indexed them. So don't waste time and figure out how to index your website more quickly. As a result, you will be able to go to the sandbox and out of it more quickly.
To check if your website is indexed, you can use the Search Console for this.
2. Make sure you have no penalties
There are two sorts of penalties: manual and algorithmic, as you may know. The distinction is that manual penalties are administered by Google personnel, whereas algorithmic penalties are applied by crawlers.
Check the website for penalties if you have purchased a new domain and discovered that the positions of your new website do not move no matter what you do.
Let's start with manual penalties, which are considerably easier to find. In the Search Console account select the Manual actions area.
A notice from Google will appear if you have a manual penalty. It will explain why your website was penalized and what you can do to get it back up and running. Once you've completed the procedures outlined in the notification, file a reconsideration request.
Algorithmic penalties, on the other hand, are unnoticed. Check the date when your traffic fell and compare it to the date of the most recent Google update to find them. You're probably dealing with an automated penalty if the dates coincide.
Learn about the most recent upgrade and make changes to your site as needed. Then wait for the search engine to re-crawl your site and lift the penalty.
3. Focus on content
Why do some websites exit Google Sandbox after a month, while others remain inside for months? The most likely explanation is because of the content. It's thought that the more material you create, the sooner you'll be able to break free from Google Sandbox's constraints. However, instead of chasing numbers, concentrate on quality. In the long term, this technique will pay off.
4. Build backlinks
Backlinks are one of the most important ranking criteria, as you've undoubtedly heard a million times. By establishing a strong backlink profile, you will demonstrate to Google that your website is a reliable source of content that a large number of people find useful. While it's unclear whether backlinks may assist you to get out of the Google Sandbox faster, they can certainly help with rankings.
Build backlinks gradually since it is unnatural for a new website to receive a large number of backlinks right after its debut. It makes Google suspicious, and it may even punish your website, causing you to spend even more time in the sandbox.
New backlinks should arise in lockstep with the expansion of your website's content. You should be cautious about your link velocity and avoid purchasing a large number of low-quality connections from dubious websites.
5. Buy an already active website
This advice will not assist you in escaping Google Sandbox, but it will assist you in avoiding it in the first place. You may buy an already functioning website and bypass the unpleasant portion of the process if you don't want to wait months for Google to start ranking your website appropriately.
However, you should be careful when buying websites. As previously said, you should check to see if your new purchase has any penalties (and it's best to do so before purchasing). Also, check sure the domain was active lately, as buying sandboxed websites is pointless.
Analyze your new website after it's been purchased to see what keywords it's already ranking for. That way, when you optimize the site, you won't unintentionally delete them and harm the site's existing rankings. Fortunately, we have an SEO tool that can assist you in determining which keywords are most likely to rank for any domain. It's referred to as "Opportunities."
6. Drive traffic from social media
Visitors to your website might come from a variety of sources, not only search engines. You may rely on other sources of traffic, such as social media, while you're in Google Sandbox. You can demonstrate to Google that your website is attractive to people by increasing traffic from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked In, and other social media sites. That could make it easier to get out of the sandbox sooner.
When it comes to new websites, Google has a set of stringent guidelines. The sandbox is a unique approach for Google to see if a website meets the newest algorithm changes and to learn more about it. While this impact is undoubtedly unpleasant, it will not continue indefinitely.
It depends on you. You may either sit and observe or try to escape out of the sandbox as quickly as possible.
- Crawl your website and check for penalties.
- Create additional high-quality content and acquire backlinks in proportion to its development.
- Purchase an already-live website to avoid the Google Sandbox period.
- While you can't rely on organic traffic, you can get visitors through social media sites.
Remember that even old domains might get pulled into the sandbox, so don’t stop your SEO efforts.