What is the Google Sandbox?

By Susanne Svette, IdeaStar Search Engine Specialist

If you have a new web site which you built according to Google's optimization policies and yet aren't even showing in the results page for your company name, don't worry. You are not doing anything wrong. Google has put you in the Google sandbox.

Google's sandbox is a filter that appeared to be put in place back in March of 2004. The sandbox filter seems to affect nearly all new Web sites placing them on an initial "probation" status. The filter prevents new Web sites from having immediate success in the search engine result pages. Brand-new web sites with new domain names can take 6 - 8 months to get top rankings on Google.

Google indexes new Web sites, lists them for some less important keywords and then the Web pages drop from the search engine result pages for several months.

Why? Search engine spammers would setup Web sites that were in clear violation of Google's policies with the knowledge that eventually their Web site would be banned from the listings.

If a search engine spammer could get their Web site to rank well in Google for even one month, the profits they could make from that one month would justify the cost of building the site in the first place. All they needed to do in the future was to rebuild their spam Web sites with different domains and slightly different content.

Is there a way to get out of the sandbox? Yes, wait. The sandbox filter is not permanent and is only intended to reduce search engine spam. It isn't intended to hold you from succeeding. Eventually, if you continue to build your site as it should be built, you will leave the sandbox and join the other established Web sites.

In the meantime, to ensure your web site is visible for your important keywords, consider participating in Google's pay-per-click program AdWords.

Postscript: There is much debate on whether there really is a "sandbox." Google won't admit to it, but they do say Google's algorithm requires some historical data regarding a Web site.

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