What is the Google Sandbox? And how can I get out of the Google Sandbox?
Typically the Google sandbox keeps newly registered sites in a "safe place" for a while until it can determine that the content isn't spammy. It does this to help ensure that the content indexed in their search engine is as genuine as possible.
Google sort of created their own monster
When Google released the Adsense programme; allowing webmasters to place adverts on their site and earn money on a pay-per-click basis. This obviously tempted people into creating "made for adsense" sites that required zero involvement yet turned a profit by milking natural search engine traffic. The sandbox was created to help tackle sites like these.
How do I know if I'm in the sandbox?
If your site is brand new and you've just bought the domain, it could take a while before you're indexed - this is entirely normal. It could take a couple of months before things reach a level of normality and Google concedes that you're not evil. However, if (like my experiment) you've got a domain that was previously indexed but you've changed what you're doing with it and that change hasn't been reflected? You're likely to be in the sandbox. What I've done is taken an old domain that I wasn't really using for anything clever and putting it to use on an experiment. Unfortunately Google thinks I'm doing something slightly questionable so it has been sandboxed.
How do I get out of the sandbox?
Above all else, remove any adverts from your site - especially Adsense! Otherwise they will believe your sole purpose is to spam their search engine results with keyword-filled pages that have little or no real relevance; only adverts. Remove your Adsense and be patient, because if you're not doing anything wrong then Google will let you in.
Although I'm sure this raises questions as to what I'm trying... I assure you it's nothing exciting or illegal, it was just monetized before it was indexed - which wasn't a good idea.
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