If There Is Still a Google Sandbox, Is it US Based Only?

Feb 5, 2009 - 8:22 am 3 — by

It has been a while since we really discussed the "Google Sandbox." The Google Sandbox goes back to April 2004. We first spotted it when I wrote New Sites = Poor Results in Google, then it became known as the Sandbox effect and had controversial definitions. Matt Cutts confirmed the sandbox existed, somewhat, in his Coffee Talk with Brett Tabke. But since then, we really did not discuss it much.

So why bring it up now? Well, Patrick Gavin wrote a post about it, asking if it is US based or worldwide. The discussion is now on Sphinn about it.

The thing is, I don't believe the original Google Sandbox Effect still exists as it was. It has morphed into something different and although it has signed of the original sandbox effect, it is far from the same thing. So I ask you, in a poll below - does it exist and if it does, is it just impacting Google.com or the other localized versions of Google.

Forum discussion at Sphinn.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Search Engine Optimization

Googlebot Must Follow Redirects From Homepage To Favicon, Updated Doc Say

Oct 27, 2026 - 3:05 pm
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: October 27, 2026

Oct 27, 2026 - 10:00 am
Google Updates

Unconfirmed Google Search Ranking Update: Volatility & Chatter Spike

Oct 27, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Downplays The Importance Of Fresh Index Reporting

Oct 27, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Advertisers Can't Figure Out If An Ad Is A Google Local Service Ad Or Not

Oct 27, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Tests Dotted Underlined Links In Sponsored Results

Oct 27, 2026 - 7:21 am
Previous Story: Google AdWords Offers Advice Low Traffic Keywords