2,500 leaked internal Google documents detailing the data it collects are authentic, the company confirmed today after previously declining to comment on the documents.
The documents in question detail the data Google tracks, some of which may be used in its closely controlled search ranking algorithms. The documents offer an unprecedented (but still murky) glimpse into the inner workings of one of the most important systems shaping the web.
“We are careful not to make inaccurate inferences about searches based on information that is out of context, out of date or incomplete,” Google spokesman Davis Thompson said. The Verge In an email, it said: “We share extensive information about how our searches work and the types of factors our system weighs, and we work to ensure the integrity of our search results is protected from manipulation.”
The existence of the leaked materials was first revealed by search engine optimization (SEO) experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, who published an initial analysis of the documents and their contents earlier this week. Google did not respond. The Vergereceived multiple requests for comment yesterday about the veracity of the leak.
This leak could send ripples throughout the SEO industry
The leaked materials suggest that Google may be collecting and using data that company representatives say doesn't contribute to ranking web pages in Google Search, such as click counts and Chrome user data. The thousands of pages of documents serve as an information repository for Google employees, but it's unclear what parts of the data they detail are actually used to rank search content. The information may be out of date, used only for training purposes, or collected but not specifically for search. The documents also don't reveal how different factors are weighted in search.
Still, the information released is likely to send ripples throughout the search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, and publishing industries. Google is typically highly secretive about how its search algorithms work, but these documents, along with recent testimony in a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, provide clearer information about what signals Google considers when ranking websites.
The choices Google makes about search have huge implications for everyone who uses the web for business, from small independent publishers to restaurants to online stores. As a result, an industry has sprung up trying to crack the code and outwit the algorithm, sometimes coming up with contradictory answers. Google's vagueness and ambiguous language may not help, but an influx of internal documents at least gives us some insight into what the company that dominates the web is thinking.