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How Long Does it Take a Niche Site to Get Traffic?
Brand new sites take a while to grow, even with great content
New niche websites are incredibly frustrating. For months, you can publish amazing content, and get absolutely nowhere. Most people give up.
SEOs refer to this phenomenon as the “Google Sandbox.” When you launch a new site, you’re in the “sandbox” while Google figures out what your site is about and whether your content is good.
Basically, they’re gathering signals about your site, based on user behavior, backlinks, and more. While you’re in the sandbox, you’ll get little to no search traffic. But if you persist in publishing great content, you’ll ultimately break out.
How long does it take before a niche site — with consistent, quality content — breaks out of the sandbox and begins to get search traffic?
Based on real-world data from two of my new niche websites, the answer is that it takes 9–12 months before a new niche site begins getting search traffic.
My Experiment
As a long-time SEO, I usually help clients once their sites are already established. In some cases, their sites have existed for decades! One of my current clients has been in the business of licensing HDRi Maps online for 18…
