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You likely have difficulty achieving ideal spots in Google’s SERPs if your website is new. Despite making every effort and building an SEO-optimized site, you’re not hitting those top spots –– or even the first couple of pages.
If you find yourself in this situation, you’ve likely been affected by the Google Sandbox.
The Google Sandbox is a hypothetical effect that applies primarily to new websites. New websites become “trapped” in the Sandbox and must sit under probation before seeing the traffic and clicks they want. In addition, Google seems to filter more recent websites out of rankings, placing older sites with higher long-term authority in the top spots.
And while this is a universally acknowledged event by most SEO experts, Google authorities deny the existence of the Google Sandbox, even though ranking comparisons among Google, Bing, and Yahoo show that the same sites earn lower rank positions on Google than on other search engine sites.
So if Google doesn’t have this sandbox effect, what is causing new sites to get stuck with low search ranks?
Why Does The Sandbox Happen?
There have been many theories about why the Google Sandbox happens – from combatting spammers and their websites to the perils of Google’s machine-learning algorithms. It likely started as the former but has evolved into the latter. Though Google denies an official Sandbox algorithm, John Mueller gives his thoughts in a Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangout:
With regards to a sandbox, we don’t really have this traditional sandbox that a lot of SEOs used to talk about in the years past. We have a number of algorithms that might look similar, but these are essentially just algorithms trying to understand how the website fits in with the rest of the websites trying to rank for those queries.
He notes that when new websites are published, Google must evaluate them and determine where to put them. Google looks for ranking signals to place the site. When a site is new, it often hasn’t acquired the ranking signals required to achieve the desired SERPs rank.
Google evaluates websites for rankings based on several factors:
- Site authority
- Strong link building
- Relevant content
- Technical SEO optimization
Many ranking data points factor into a site’s holistic SEO value, and any SEO expert knows that site optimization doesn’t happen overnight. Site trust and authority and other SEO factors require long-term investment. Unfortunately, new websites have not existed long enough to build up these ranking factors, thus making SEO for a new website more difficult.
Because young sites don’t have the ranking factors required to earn the top spots in Google’s SERPs, they don’t enjoy the ranking power of older, established sites. And though Google hasn’t launched an algorithm that directly affects new sites in this way, there’s a discrepancy between rankings for sites of different ages, even though those sites have the same high-level content and SEO optimization.
What Types of Websites Get into the Google Sandbox?
New sites see the most volatility from the alleged Sandbox effect. Even when Google indexes these sites, they typically must pass a probationary period before seeing the rankings they hope for.
Unfortunately, this new site “filter” seems to put domains under this probation for an indeterminate period. New sites can be affected for a few months or up to a year, depending on who you ask. As a result, some new sites noticed a sharp uptick in traffic immediately after launch, only to find that success was temporary.
Remember that Google employs many algorithms to ensure a quality experience for its users. So just because you see a dip in traffic or lower rankings, that’s not proof you’ve been affected by the Sandbox. But if your domain is new and you’ve done everything else right, your low rankings likely result from the Sandbox filter.
How Long Does It Take to Get Out of the Sandbox?
Unfortunately, there’s no hard and fast answer to that question. Getting out could take a few days, weeks, or even months.
Quality SEO practices are your best bet to get out of Sandbox. Unfortunately, good SEO doesn’t happen overnight. Neither do its results. It will take time for your new site to earn organic traffic, build quality links, and prove to Google that your site provides value for its users. But when time passes and your SEO efforts produce measurable data, you’ll see the traffic, ranking, engagement, and conversions you’ve been hoping for.
5 Proven Ways to Get out of the Sandbox Quicker
There are practical and effective steps you can take to free yourself from the Sandbox effect. Of course, your site won’t be affected forever, but you can expedite getting out by following our tips below.
Get Indexed
The first step to getting out of the Sandbox is to ensure Google indexes your site. If Google hasn’t crawled your site, you cannot earn the rankings you hope for.
Google provides troubleshooting instructions if your site is missing from Google Search. In addition, you can improve your site’s crawlability by submitting a sitemap and index request.
Increase User Traffic
Increasing audience engagement helps you reduce the impact of the Sandbox. Earning traffic signals to Google that your site is valid, relevant, and deserves high rankings. This can be done through traditional marketing, sponsorships, and paid media.
Capitalize on Social Signals
If your site isn’t ranking and you can’t seem to shake the effects of Google’s Sandbox, all is not lost. Capitalize on social media to legitimize your site and earn valuable traffic that helps you rank on the SERPs.
Active social channels allow you to keep your audience engaged, run ads, and build links to your website.
Boost Site Authority
Google ranks sites based on their E-A-T score. E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trust. This score measures a site’s legitimacy and ranking power and might be your site’s most influential ranking factor. If your site can exemplify expertise, authority, and trust, then Google will remove your domain from the Sandbox.
E-A-T scores allow you to rank high in Google’s search results while delivering an exceptional experience to site visitors. Increasing your E-A-T signals cultivates excellence while pulling your site out of the Sandbox.
Addressing the Sandbox with Emulent
Any halt in traffic or decrease in ranking is bad for business –– no matter what business you’re in. So don’t wait to address the issue if you think your site has been affected by the Google Sandbox. The team at Emulent has decades of experience navigating Google and its many algorithm updates. So reach out to our team today so you can begin earning the rank and traffic you deserve.