What Google’s leaked documents reveal about SEO 

The art of SEO has been researched and studied for as long as Google has existed. And while there has been plenty of speculation and research on what makes good SEO, Google has never confirmed anything. 

The search ranking of Google has become mythological, akin to the secret KFC recipe or Coca Cola formula. However, in an absolute, unexpected twist of events, there has been a leak of 2,500 internal documents from Google’s Search division. And it has been confirmed as a credible one. 

So, here are 10 things you need to know about it. 

1. Clicks Matter 

No surprise here, but clicks do matter. Google has a system called NavBoost that focuses on improving performance by understanding clicks on search results. 

2. Chrome Clicks 

This one is a bit of a surprise – clicks on the Chrome browser matter more. Google tracks the clicks on websites through the Chrome browser. It is still not clear how significant this is. Google Search may use this data to understand which internal pages to showcase in the search results. 

3. Site Authority = Domain Authority 

Google does have something equivalent to Domain Authority in the form of siteAuthority. siteAuthority is a rank assigned to a website and is critical for the Search platform in deciding which website to list for the results. 

4. Brand Matters

Branded search and brand online presence matter. Branded search refers to when a user is looking for a particular website on Google. For example, when you search for Amazon on Google. The leaked documents suggest that metrics like brand mentions on digital platforms, brand backlinking, and searches for the brand name are Google Ranking Factors. 

5. Google Authorship is Still There 

Google Authorship used to be a big part of SEO tactics back in 2005. Having content published under a person’s name matters when ranking the results. The leaks indicate this through “isAuthor” and “authorName” attributes within their algorithm. It potentially uses Authorship to determine the quality and expertise of the content. 

6. Content Length Matters

We’ve long known that the length matters for SEO and quite often longer content pieces get ranked over shorter ones. The Google algorithm has OriginalContentScore that only applies to short-form content. Furthemore, Google stores information about the content length in the form of numTokens  and leadingtext. 

7. Link Clicks are Important 

Backlinking is an important SEO strategy. However, it’s of little value if the backlinks sites do not have traffic. The leaked documents have a totalClicks attribution that helps Google understand which pages get clicks. 

8. White listed Domains 

Certain websites get whitelisted. These are websites that are authentic and trusted for Google. Google has attribution for isElectionAuthority and isCovidLocalAuthority. This shows that some websites for specific topics get preferential treatment. 

9. Content Updates Matter

Something else that has been known for a long time is that regular updates are good for SEO. Google tracks the changes of every page through urlHistory. In addition, bylineDate is something that is tracked too. Potentially, they use this data to help them rank pages. 

10. Small Personal Site are Tagged 

Smaller personal websites get a tag of small personal site. There is speculation on what this is used for and whether it is used to boost or demote websites. 

There is a lot to unpack from the leaked documents. And SEO experts will be dissecting it for a long time. 

Additionally, while Google has confirmed the leaked document, it also released a warning to The Verge: 

“We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information,”

The leaks confirm a lot of things that search experts already knew. But, it also reveals a few things that the community did not know. For years, SEO strategies were built on a science of trial and error. The leaks have given confirmation on a lot of these strategies. There are more insights to be learned from the leaks that will impact every brand’s SEO strategies. 

With all of that, this information opens up more insights into how Google’s algorithm works and what steps brands need to take in developing their SEO strategies. What are those steps? We have another article just for that.