subject: SEPR: Bursting forth from the sandbox to top of the google's rankings [print this page] Introduction to Sandbox Introduction to Sandbox
For a considerably long period, Google happened to provide new sites with a temporary boost, known as "fresh boost" or "new site bonus." But recently this search giant seems to have set a new trend in place for Search Engine Page Rankings (SEPRs). It was found that that Google SERPs of brand new sites turned out to be pretty pathetic after the initial glorious days at the top of the search rankings. This phenomenon is popularly referred to as Google's Sandbox.
Though "Sandbox" sounds pretty pleasant, it very much resembles a quicksand than a playground as suggested by its name to many web professionals.
When a new website is indexed in Google, it gets propelled to the top of the SERPs charts for a short yet glorious time, and then, slides downhill only to be buried deeply in the sand at Google. In other words, Google's Sandbox is about a brand new website being placed on probation, or a hiatus or in a moratorium and kept lower than expected in searches, before being given full value for its incoming links and content.
How does it affect the website?
The Google's Sandbox is said to be a filter placed on new websites to discourage spam sites from rising quickly, getting banned, and repeating the process. Websites in the Sandbox does not receive good rankings for its most important keywords and keyword phrases. The new website will be there in the result pages, but it does not rank well no matter how much original, well optimized the content is and how many quality inbound links the site does have.
Which sorts of websites are vulnerable to be mired in the Sandbox?
While all types of sites can be placed in the Sandbox barring a few exceptions. The problem appears grave for new websites seeking rankings for highly competitive keyword phrases. More competitive keyword driven Websites seeking rankings in highly competitive searches are likely to be in for a much longer duration.
How long does a site remain buried in the Sandbox?
Hiatus in the Sandbox varies from one to six months, with three to four months being the average stay time frame. It has been observed that less competitive searches are given the much shorter stay, whereas hyper-competitive keywords often get sojourn in the sand for six months. The most frequent time of burial is said to be about three months for most search terms.
SEPR: Bursting forth from the sandbox to top of the google's rankings