Google's sandbox - how to know for sure?

Venom_F

Venom_F

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I have a new website (about 2-3 months total).
166 keywords to rank. 152 of it - not ranking at all (not even in TOP-200).
I've never really paid attention to Google's sandbox before. All of my sites started ranking in Google pretty quickly. And here's a Travel site and Google stubbornly doesn't want to rank it.

I've only encountered something like this a few times. What did I do? I just bought some very high quality links from authoritative resources and the site came out of the sandbox pretty quickly.

What do you say, gentlemen? Is this a Google sandbox after all?
 

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I've heard that there are different types of sandboxes, but the one I have experienced the most often is that I would build a site, make it live, submit its sitemap to GSC and.... nothing! Absolutely NOTHING for 9 months straight, no clicks, not even impressions, not a single one of these.

Basically, I could do whatever I wanted to that site (it was still indexed, yes), but I wouldn't get a lick of traffic or even exposure, and this had happened simultaneously to 2 of my newly purchased domains, and installed websites, and then - 9 months later like clockwork - all of a sudden, both sites start getting impressions and clicks after I have already abandoned them few months earlier.

That's the type of sandbox that I have experienced when I still did SEO 3-4 years ago, but now I've heard that there's a new type of sandbox that fools you into thinking that your site is live and well but you still won't rank for several months despite of what you're trying. So that's a possibility too I guess....
 
Sounds like the silent sandbox (became very common these days). Google lets your site exist, even index pages, but holds back any real visibility for months, and there is no fixed time for this, as I have observed. It’s really frustrating, especially when everything seems “technically” fine. Keep posting content, work on SEO regularly and just wait :)
 
Maybe the keywords you are trying to rank have tough competition, and your content is not up to par. So perhaps that's why your content isn't picking up in the SERPs for your keywords.
 
Thunder Digitals said:
Maybe the keywords you are trying to rank have tough competition, and your content is not up to par. So perhaps that's why your content isn't picking up in the SERPs for your keywords.
Click to expand...
Even if so (and it's not), my keywords should be at least in TOP-200
 
tazarbm said:
I've heard that there are different types of sandboxes, but the one I have experienced the most often is that I would build a site, make it live, submit its sitemap to GSC and.... nothing! Absolutely NOTHING for 9 months straight, no clicks, not even impressions, not a single one of these.

Basically, I could do whatever I wanted to that site (it was still indexed, yes), but I wouldn't get a lick of traffic or even exposure, and this had happened simultaneously to 2 of my newly purchased domains, and installed websites, and then - 9 months later like clockwork - all of a sudden, both sites start getting impressions and clicks after I have already abandoned them few months earlier.

That's the type of sandbox that I have experienced when I still did SEO 3-4 years ago, but now I've heard that there's a new type of sandbox that fools you into thinking that your site is live and well but you still won't rank for several months despite of what you're trying. So that's a possibility too I guess....
Click to expand...
I've had this too from personal experience as well, but not with every single site.

I've had some sites start to get rankings for semi-competitive keywords within a couple of months and other sites for much lower comp keywords not show up on SERPS for 6+ months and then suddenly start popping.

I can't see any discernible difference between these sites as I basically do the same thing on all of them.
 
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/m...-a-new-site-filtering-before-ranking.1728687/

From what I’ve researched, I think my current situation is also due to the Google sandbox effect. For easy long-tail keywords, my site ranks within the top 3, and even for more competitive keywords, my images rank quite well. I’m also getting around 10–20 clicks per day. However, my main keyword keeps fluctuating — sometimes it ranks, then it disappears again.

Since related long-tail keywords are ranking and showing real positions, I believe Google is recognizing my site as relevant for the main keyword. But because the main keyword is highly competitive and although I purchased an aged expired domain, my website itself has only been live for about three months. So I think Google is applying a ranking filter — the sandbox effect.

Once this sandbox phase is over, I believe the link juice from the backlinks I’ve built up will start to kick in, and my site will likely enter the 1st to 3rd page range through the so-called Google Dance.

What do you all think about this?
 
Yes, this looks like the Google Sandbox effect. Your site is new (2–3 months), in a competitive niche (Travel), and keywords aren’t ranking—classic signs.

What to do:
  • Keep publishing quality content.
  • Build niche-relevant backlinks.
  • Focus on long-tail keywords.
  • Improve site speed and internal linking.
 
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