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The sandbox defined

There are two things that need mention before delving far into the concept of Google sandbox. One, that there is no consensus among internet experts about its existence, and two that the sandbox effect is seen to affect only Google search while other search engines such as MSN or yahoo remain unaffected by it.Now coming to the actual definition of a sandbox, it is a virtual space where your website lies on hold or probation for some time before it is ranked well in the search engine results pages. This can be further illustrated by the fact that though new websites find a good ranking and better visibility in Googles SERPs for the first couple of weeks after being indexed by Google, their ranking starts touching abysmal lows after this initiation period, despite original and optimized content, and even though the website has many genuine inbound links to it.So here, the sandbox acts as a typical filter which lists your website, but does not rank it well for the first few months. Almost all new websites which are indexed on Google are sandboxed. But curiously enough this does not happen because of a snag on the part of the creator of the website. It has been observed by SEO experts that more the number of competitive keywords used, the probability that the website will be sandboxed for a longer period is more. There is a misconception about the sandboxed site not being indexed by Google. In fact, it is indexed but is not well ranked for keyword phrases in Google.

That only new websites are subjected to be sandboxed is only half truth in the opinion of some internet experts. Well established sites that start getting numerous links from other websites all at once are also likely to be sandboxed. The reason is that Google discovered that spammers divide a single site into fragments so as to facilitate the exchange of links between them. Spammers also resort to creating new websites designed with the sole intention of providing valuable links to the main site. The sandbox helps curb the formation of new websites just to provide links to other websites. It forces the designer to include better content to be well ranked in Google.

The need for a sandbox

Obviously website owners do not feel the need to have a sandbox at all because it restrains the traffic flow to their website, which a good Google ranking can fetch. But, Google felt that a website filter such as the sandbox was necessary to keep search engine spammers at bay. The creation of the sandbox can be attributed to search engine spammers who cracked Googles ranking algorithm and started abusing it to their own advantage. The spammers built websites which did not live up to the Google standards, but still got top listing from Google because of the generously interspersed keywords within the content, inbound links and proper use of anchor text. Though eventually, these sites would be banned by Google, this was a milch-cow for the spammers even if they were on the top ranking of Google for a short span. The visiting traffic to their websites more than compensated the cost of building it in the first place. Even after the website was banned, the spammers could go about doing the same thing with a new website all over again. Google was particularly targeted by search engine spammers because of its alacrity in indexing new websites with a view to offer fresh stuff to their customers. As a solution to this problem, Google started running spam filters through which all new websites needed to pass during the hold period. Though Google never admits that the sandbox exists, webmasters confirm that new websites are sandboxed for the initial months. If Google found a website live up to its expectations through the sandboxed phase, it removed the website from its sandbox and placed it with the others in their SERPs.

Getting out of the sandbox

The only way to get out of the sandbox is to patiently wait through the probation period. Meanwhile focus on improving the website to your advantage. Try building traffic other than the search engine traffic, by including unique, ground-breaking content and increasing the number of affiliations that can provide inbound links to your website. If you wait for your website to get a good ranking after leaving the sandbox and then improve the site, it will not find itself well ranked in the very first place. So utilize the probation time to your advantage, because there is no way you can directly avoid it. And though it does not seem to be a good concept at the first glance, you will eventually realize the fact that the authenticity of the search engine will get a fillip because of the sandbox and, in turn, help your website once you get it well ranked with the search engine.

Recognizing whether a website is in the sandbox

Determining whether or not your website is in the sandbox is a process of elimination. You need to eliminate the possibility of your website being banned by Google. If your site is not banned, but your ranking with Google is still low, you need to eliminate the possibility of being sandboxed because of the high usage of competitive keywords. Lessen the rate at which competitive keywords appear in your website and try to use more non competitive keywords. If your ranking with Google is still low, you have, in all likelihood, been sandboxed. Other way to find if your website has been sandboxed is to see if you are well ranked with other search engines. If you are, and still not well ranked with Google, then you may have been sandboxed.

Harish Shetty, an expert on Internet marketing best practices and search engine optimization, advices on the methods to utilize the sandbox effect to the best of your advantage and ways of getting out of it as early as possible. In his mission against search engine spammers, he is all praise for Google to have introduced a way to beat them at their own game.

Harish Shetty is an expert on internet marketing & web design & development best practices. With many blogs to his credit, he elaborates on fine tuning your business with customer needs through the web. He is also a staunch believer in ethical email marketing practices.