Google’s in the thick of it — again. The company has recently stripped the accusations of implementing the ambiguous technology of Google Overviews all over the U.S., and now the Internet mogul has walked into another situation that requires thorough explaining. Luckily, the big shots are no longer dealing with dangerous content their newly developed tool has marked as trustworthy and reliable. At least SEO experts are having the best time of their lives — and here's why.
What Transpired?
Google has finally confirmed that the collection of 2,500 leaked internal documents containing details about data the company collects is indeed authentic.
These authentic documents describe how the search system works and what aspects affect the ranking positions of the queries. It is hard to say who is to blame, but obviously, the infallible automation tools are as fallible as human beings: said automation tool most likely gave the company's official commit the Apache License — by mistake. In the ensuing commit, the developers attempted to rectify the leak.
By that time, this untoward occurrence had been first noticed by Erfan Azimi, CEO and Director of SEO at EA Eagle Digital, and then by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, who analyzed the documents and scrutinized the leak, pointing out that the information provided is purely technical and discloses the principles of the engine's operation.
SEO Benefits
There are quite a few. Overall, the leaked documents revealed the most significant aspects that can affect search. Two years ago, Google denied using any information from Google Chrome for ranking, which turned out to be one big hoax: the browser was mentioned in the sections dedicated to search. In reality, for example, the API documents suggested Google utilized pattern detection, cookie history, and logged-in Chrome data to fight click spam.
The company also denied that the authorship of the content could be reflected in the results. Michael King argued with this statement, claiming that E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), the cornerstone of Google Search, did influence ranking.
Another discovery was related to white lists employed during the COVID-19 pandemic and democratic elections: these results appeared higher in the searches related to the mentioned subjects.
In addition, the experts drew readers' attention to NavBoost, a system that sifts through the clicks, analyses them based on their location, and divides them into several categories, the most important of them being “goodClicks,” “badClicks,” “lastLongestClicks”. The name of the domain, as much as a brand's recognition, plays a significant part and may impact the results. New sites are sent directly into the sandbox: they get limited views, which, by the way, was another statement heatly denied by Google.
As the leak gained unwanted attention, the company delivered a statement where Google spokesperson Davis Thompson cautioned against making inaccurate assumptions based on outdated and incomplete information.
Wrapping Up
The information in the leaked documents only confirmed speculations expressed and discussed among SEO experts, giving them a better perspective. However, many of the details pertaining to Google's data contradict the official standpoint the company has been sustaining throughout the years. It is impossible to say whether the incident will impact Google in the future or induce them to change their policy, but SEO specialists are surely bound to thrive.
