DeIndexed!! Google Dance!! Sandbox!! * Frequently Asked Questions *

[GeorgR.]

I feel the need to write a little FAQ in regards to Google de-indexing sites.

The reason is that it seems that quite some people mistake Google Dancing with De-Indexing recently.

*) What does it mean if a site is "de-indexed"?

If a site has gotten deindexed by Google it means that a site and all pages belonging to it have completely vanished from Google.

The easiest way to check this is typing site:www. yoursite.com in Google or site: yoursite.com. If it comes up empty with no entries, the site is either deindexed or NOT YET indexed.

*) What is the Google Dance?

If your site is experiencing the "Google Dance" instead it means that your site is still in the index and typing the above in Google would result in your site and pages listed in Google.

Google Dance means that your site's ranking for certain keywords can dramatically change. For example, one day you could rank #1 for a keyword, and some other day you are falling way behind to maybe page #100 in Google results for the same keyword in the SERPs.

Google Dance is NOT a penalty, but a natural process which is frequently observed eg. after a number of new backlinks has been submitted.

It's almost as if Google is re-shuffling and re-evaluating a site's position, just for the keyword(s) to reappear a little later again.

The Google dance and bouncing in the SERPs can last some days or weeks even.

Please do not mistake a serious Google penalty/ban like a site being de-indexed with the Google dance. Always make sure to type site: yoursite.com and first double-check whether your site is actually still in the index or simply going through a phase of dancing.

*) What causes a complete deindexing of a site?

Here we need to guess since we don't have a clear answer to this. Could an unnatural number of backlinks in a short time indeed cause a site being deindexed by Google?

In my opinion this is unlikely since it would enable webmasters to boot off competitors from Google.

It is also unclear whether deindexing is an automated process - and whether and what kinds of sites are more in danger to be indexed as opposed to other sites.

There are indications that an unnatural high number of links in a short time can indeed harm a new, low quality site, while longer established and higher quality sites might stand a better chance here.

It is my personal opinion that one main cause of a de-indexing ban is actually a person reporting a site as spam-site and that the de-indexing therefore happens upon request.

*) What can i do if my site is really de-indexed?

Google recommends in their webmaster guidelines to go to your webmaster tools stats on your Google account and check your incoming links. They say to manually delete all incoming spam links, respective contact administrators to delete them.

After spammy links have been deleted you can file a "reconsideration request" for your site. If your site confirms to Google's guidelines you might have a chance that your site's ban is lifted and included into Google's index again.

*) What is the Sandbox?

Opinions vary whether the Sandbox actually exists. Matt Cutts in the past once "kind of" admitted that "...there are search engine algorithms in place which could be interpreted as a sandbox effect..." [freely cited]

The sandbox is thought of as a mechanism which is supposed to prevent newly created sites to gain high rankings quickly by simple doing extensive SEO and backlinking right after a site has been made.

The philosophy behind is that it should be impossible for spammers and SEOs to quickly rank new sites that way for whatever keywords.

When a site is in the sandbox it would simply rank way behind in the SERPs, similar to the Google Dance effect. For example it would rank on page #100, while the keywords, backlinks SEO etc. would otherwise indicate it should rank way higher. But as with the "Google Dance" effect, the site itself is still in Google's index.

The common assumption is that a site can get into this "sandbox" by overdoing it with SEO and linkbuilding on a new site, eg. when the number of backlinks is unnatural in relationship to the site's age.

It is thought that a typical sandbox penalty phase for a site can last from 3 months to 6 months, and once a site is in the sandbox there is no way out other than waiting it out.

It is said that high quality sites usually "enjoy" only 3 months sandbox penalty why lower quality sites can be in the sandbox for up to 6 months.

It is also said that the best thing to do in case your site has been sandboxed is to add good and relevant content and backlinks which might speed-up and shorten the time it has to spend in the sand-box.

[Work At Home]

Thanks GeorgR, I was worry in the last few days because my website indexed url has decreased from 124 to 74 and left 40 only the next day. I believed it's Google Dance as you described above. It happened after I did a linkwheel building.

[jasonmorgan]

very nice. it's unfortunate we don't sticky posts or a FAQ folder where mods could move relevant and FAQ threads into.

would save a lot of time for da newbs and reduce unnecessary repeated question.

then we could focus on what really matters... arguing with each other over the importance of the H6 title and how it's the sure-fire #1 way to reach the first page of google... it's like on million backlinks on steroids

[HCLee]

You should also consider Google Sandbox too as many people have experienced it including me. New sites which get ranked too quickly too fast (usually in top 3 positions on page 1) sometimes find themselves disappeared from the SERP suddently. They however remained indexed by Google only thing they lost their top positions. People have coined the term 'Google Sandbox' as the 'probation' period new sites go after they have been found to rank too fast in Google. In short for new sites the faster you rank on page 1 the higher the chance you will get sandboxed.

[GeorgR.]

i was thinking about sandbox, yes i might add this

The problem with the SB is that there is even less "proof" out there whether it really exists, there is some indications there is an effect like a sandbox...but its more "hearsay" and SEOs have different opinions about it

[apopalpoe]

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