Leaked 2,500 pages of Google documents: search algorithms revealed, integrity in question

Internal Google documents released to the public reveal details of how the company's search algorithm works, contradicting its official statements.

Information leak

Characteristics of disclosed information

The leak of 2,500 pages of internal Google documents exposed the algorithms of the search engine. SEO expert Rand Fishkin of SparkToro received confidential material from an anonymous source who believed Google was being less than honest about its search ranking principles. The published data contains a description of the Google search API and other proprietary information available only to employees of the corporation.

Google Internal Documents Leaked Search Algorithms Revealed and Controversies

Circumstances of data disclosure

According to Fishkin, Google accidentally shared internal documents via GitHub on March 27. They were deleted on May 7, but copies had already spread through third-party indexing services. The content of the leak is technical in nature, better understood by SEO experts. While the information disclosed does not directly confirm Google's use of the data and ranking signals it mentions, it does highlight the types of information Google collects and indirectly hints at what it relies on.

Google Internal Documents Leaked Search Algorithms Revealed and Controversies

Contradictions in the official position

Certain information from the documents differs from public statements by Google representatives. The company does not deny the authenticity of the leak, but asked Fishkin to adjust the wording regarding the description of what happened. One of the controversies is the issue of using Google Chrome data to rank sites, although this is officially denied. Another discrepancy concerns the role of the EEAT factor (experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness) in determining the quality of search results, which has previously been refuted.

Tracking Content Authorship

The documents describe how Google determines the authorship of pages and tracks related data, although Google representatives said this does not affect rankings. The leak indicates that the attribute of authorship is purposefully collected and analyzed primarily for news content and scientific articles.

Glossary

Google is an American multinational company that develops Internet services and products, including a search engine and a search engine of the same name.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of measures for internal and external website optimization to increase its position in search engine results for certain user queries.
SparkToro is a company that provides marketing audience analysis services.
GitHub is a web service for hosting IT projects and their joint development.

Questions answered

What internal Google documents were leaked?

The leak contains about 2,500 pages of internal Google documents revealing search algorithms. The documents describe Google's search API and other information available to Google employees.

Why did Google Docs leak?

According to SparkToro's Rand Fishkin, the source provided him with these documents in the hope that publicizing the leak would help counter Google's "lies" about how its search algorithm works.

How could document leaks impact the SEO industry?

The leak provides indirect clues to SEO experts about what data and signals Google pays attention to when ranking sites in search results. This can impact SEO marketers' tactics and strategies.

Does the content of the leak contradict Google's public statements?

Yes, certain information in the documents appears to contradict some of Google's public statements. For example, there is mention of using Chrome data to display sites in search, which was previously denied.

What questions do you have about EEAT after a leak?

This raises questions about the role of EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness) in Google rankings, as Google has previously stated that EEAT is not a ranking factor, but in the documents describes how Google tracks the attributes of content authors.

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Discussion of the topic – Google Internal Documents Leaked: Search Algorithms Revealed and Controversies

2024-05-29

A massive leak of 2,500 pages of internal Google documents reveals details of how search algorithms work. The data contradicts the company's public statements and calls into question its integrity regarding SEO.

Yuri Seleznev
Yuri Seleznev Copywriter Elbuz

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