Bruno Rodriguez.
Last Tuesday, several in the SEO industry began to tease what may be the biggest leak in Google's history. The leak, which included 2,596 modules detailing the inner workings of Google's systems in extreme detail, was accidentally published to a public code repository and then picked up by the SEO community.
Perhaps the best example of this is Mike King’s Google algorithm leak and subsequent “How the Google Content Warehouse API Leak Will Advance SEO.”
If you work in SEO or related fields, you're probably aware of these leaks and have gone into them in more depth than I can possibly hope to. But if you're not: One of the most interesting things is that the way we understand SEO hasn't fundamentally changed..
What was leaked and what wasn't
What was leaked is a set of technical documents outlining features that can affect how Google ranks websites. Judging by the date, it's newer than 2023, and Google has confirmed that it's authentic.
The document does not weight these attributes, nor does it clarify which attributes are used and which are not used for ranking purposes. In most cases, these features are mentioned but not defined.
The results provide the closest we've come to getting a glimpse into the history of Google's algorithms, but they're far from conclusive and still very much open to interpretation.
Some of the biggest findings are that Google appears to be relying on Chrome user data, both CTR and UX metrics appear to be related, Google is focusing on who wrote the content, links still appear to be highly relevant, and there are domain level metrics.
Perhaps most reprehensible, Google has completely denied many of the leaked components. In some cases, official Google Search staff have mocked or belittled SEO thought leaders who reached conclusions confirmed by the leaks. And Google's positions in public guides and documentation seem more focused on obfuscating than working with webmasters and content creators to build a better web.
This comes as Google is already antagonizing the search industry and publishers by turning its search engine into an AI-walled garden and moving away from a user-centric focus to drive revenue growth.
What should I be aware of?
Digital leaders should consult with their SEO teams and partners to ensure their current strategies are aligned with what these leaks contain: content strategies will require subject matter creators and regular updates of content, digital PR teams will ensure validation of work and continue building relevant and authoritative links, and user experience will be integrated as a key element of organic channels.
These documents give us a rare sense of clarity about what is and isn't important. This may be a great time to review your SEO practices and make sure they are in line with current SEO. Most SEO professionals already operate according to these principles, and these leaks provide an opportunity for experimentation, nuance, and academic debate.
These findings also serve as a catalyst for accountability for professionals who have not kept up to date or failed to develop a consistent approach to SEO that is compatible with these findings.
This is just another shift in a period of rapid change in the SEO industry, one that shows that at its core, ours is an industry of incredibly curious people who rely on and learn from one another, drawn to the hope of peering behind the curtain and understanding a little more about how the Internet works.
Bruno Rodrigues, Head of Organics, Orange Line