Google Sandbox
The term Google Sandbox Effect describes a phenomenon in search engine optimization that website operators have particularly observed with well-optimized, new pages. It is assumed that the search engine Google initially ranks an over-optimized page well, but the website is moved to a "sandbox" after a short time. The ranking in the SERPs deteriorates. SEO experts say that they "slip like sand," which is why the term Google Sandbox has become established. Such a filter has never been officially confirmed by Google. Therefore, no statements can be made about whether and how the effect can be avoided.
What do the SEO experts think?
Website operators domestically and abroad noticed around March 2004, following an algorithm update, that sites which were new and well-optimized for keywords from the start, lost ranking positions after a successful launch—and significantly so. It is often speculated that the Google Sandbox filter forces new websites to "prove" themselves. Only after some time, experts and observers believe, would the new websites be fully included in the index. Webmasters debate about how the filter works and whether it even exists.
An assumption is that the search engine pays close attention to the age of incoming backlinks to a page on new websites and checks their thematic relevance. It is suspected that Google does not want to penalize webmasters with penalties or de-indexing but rather wants to examine them. The background to this is excessive spam attempts with unnatural link profiles that push websites up in the rankings. It is believed that Google wants to demotivate spammers from continuing to pursue their black hat SEO methods with the Google Sandbox and encourage them to engage in legitimate search engine optimization.
In addition to seemingly unnatural link building, keywords are also said to play a role when websites slip into the Google Sandbox. Observations suggest that it is primarily new websites that lose rankings, which are optimized for highly competitive keywords and rank well. Those that are newly added to the Google Index but are supposed to rank for niche keywords are less frequently affected by the so-called Sandbox effect.
Leaving the Google Sandbox
If a website lands in the sandbox, it usually hasn't completely disappeared from the Google index. Rather, the page is listed in lower positions for the main keywords, while it ranks well for non-optimized keyword combinations. After the first update suspected to include the sandbox filter, webmasters noticed an improvement after about 11 months (from March 2004 to February 2005). On average, a page stays in the Google Sandbox between 3 and 12 months. Allegedly, several good backlinks from trusted sites are supposed to help to leave the sandbox.
Prevent a website from landing in the Google Sandbox
To avoid a website being affected by the Google Sandbox effect, it is best to engage in good, targeted search engine optimization from the beginning. That means:
Natural link profile
No keyword stuffing
Meaningful link texts
High-quality content on a page
Regardless of whether the sandbox effect actually exists, this approach is always advisable in order to score with search engines and achieve a good ranking. And of course, as is often the case in SEO, it is important to be patient. Often, it is also better to focus on niche keywords and not fully dive into highly competitive search terms.