SEO News: 13 Findings for Business Owners from the Google Search Algorithm Leak

Recently, Google’s internal documentation detailing over 14,000 ranking features was leaked, providing unprecedented insight into the factors that influence search rankings. While Google’s legal team addresses this breach, SEO professionals and business owners are eager to understand the implications of these revelations. 

What Was Leaked? 

The leaked documents contain thousands of files that explain how Google evaluates and ranks websites. Here’s a detailed list of some of the critical findings from these internal documents: 

Key Ranking Factors Revealed within the Google Algorithm Leak 

1. Site Authority 

   • SiteAuthority Score: Google uses a parameter called “siteAuthority” that influences site rankings, contradicting Google’s previous denials of such a metric. 

2. New Websites and the Sandbox 

   • HostAge Attribute: Used to sandbox fresh spam, indicating that new websites are scrutinised. 

3. User Behaviour Tracking 

   • Chrome Data: Contrary to official statements, Google uses user data from Chrome to inform search results, including the generation of “Sitelinks”. 

4. Click Data 

   • NavBoost: Largely based on click data such as the longest click from search results and the last good click. It tracks clicks over 13 months. 

   • Successful Clicks: Google measures clicks, including badClicks, goodClicks, lastLongestClicks, and unsquashedClicks. 

5. Content and Links 

   • Over-Optimised Anchor Text: Excessive use of exact match anchor text can trigger a spam demotion. 

   • Poor Navigation: Sites with poor navigation structures and exact match domains can see lower rankings. 

   • Keyword Stuffing: Google has a score to detect keyword stuffing. 

6. Site and Page Attributes 

   • Font Size and Text Weight: Larger links and bolded text can positively influence rankings. 

   • Change History: Google stores the last 20 versions of web pages, meaning significant changes need multiple updates to count as new versions. 

   • Video Content: Sites with videos on more than 50% of pages are classified as video sites. 

7. Special Content Categories 

   • YMYL Content: Your Money Your Life (YMYL) content has its own ranking score. YMYL content covers or touches on topics that can potentially impact a person's future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety. 

   • Gold Standard Attribute: Marks human-generated content, though its activation criteria are unclear. 

8. Demotions and Adjustments 

   • Twiddlers: Re-ranking algorithms that adjust rankings between major updates. 

   • Demotions: Factors like mismatched links, SERP signals indicating user dissatisfaction, product reviews, location, exact match domains, and porn can lead to content demotion. 

9. Historical and Author Data 

   • RegistrationInfo: Google tracks domain registration details. 

   • Authorship and Entities: Google maintains information on authors and entities associated with content. 

10. Freshness and Relevance 

    • Freshness Indicators: Google considers dates in the byline, URL, and on-page content to assess content freshness. 

    • Core Topic Determination: Uses embeddings to compare page and site relevance. 

11. Whitelists 

    • Special Whitelists: Specific domains related to elections, COVID, and travel are whitelisted, influencing their ranking in these categories. 

What Does This Mean? 

Understanding these factors can help business owners and marketers refine their SEO strategies: 

• Focus on Quality: Prioritise creating high-quality, human-generated content. 

• Enhance User Experience: Improve site navigation, ensure link diversity, and avoid keyword stuffing. 

• Leverage Click Data: Monitor user behaviour metrics to understand how content is engaging users. 

• Stay Fresh: Regularly update content to ensure it remains relevant and up-to-date. 

• Understand Your Authority: Recognise the importance of your site’s perceived authority and strive to build a notable brand. 

Conclusion 

The leak of Google’s internal documents offers a rare glimpse into the complexity of its search algorithm. While not all parameters are fully understood or their weights disclosed, this information underscores the need for continuous improvement in SEO practices. By focusing on quality content, user experience, and staying current, businesses can better align with these revealed ranking factors and enhance their search visibility. 

This informative overview aims to help business owners navigate the intricate landscape of SEO with a clearer understanding of what drives Google’s search rankings. 

Who are Lagom Consulting? 

At Lagom Consulting, we pride ourselves on being more than marketing and management consultants; we are your strategic allies in building marketing strategies to market into financial services market.  

Our ethos centres around delivering first-class service, underpinned by a hands-on approach that melds practical problem-solving with time-tested marketing solutions. We recognise that effective marketing is an ongoing journey, not a one-off exercise. We steer clear of ‘random acts of marketing’, opting instead for a comprehensive and sustained approach.  

Working with Lagom Consulting means gaining more than a consultant; it means acquiring a partner committed to your enduring success.