A document has been leaked detailing how search ranking works

Only Google has always known what factors it takes into account when working with its search ranking system. The company only gave users small clues about what features their sites should have in order to rank higher in search results. Presumably the company keeps detailed instructions to prevent exploitation by scammers and unscrupulous sources. Unfortunately, this often leads to the fact that quite good and decent sites go bankrupt and are not shown to users, while fake and speculative ones, on the contrary, rise.

Now that an internal company document has surfaced online, we can shed more light on the matter. Apparently the large file was accidentally leaked; Google accidentally published the file to GitHub on March 27, and developer Rand Fishkin was able to review the file before it disappeared from the web on May 7. However, a copy of the document still exists because the indexing is done by a third-party service.

With his experience in search engine optimization, Fishkin claims: Everyone working in this field should be familiar with this subject.. A document called the “Google API Content Warehouse” contains information about internal APIs and explains which factors and components influence search results. This clearly means that the document is some kind of cheat code for ranking on Google, but it’s not as simple as it seems at first glance.

Total volume of the document 2,500 pagesWhile some components are older and no longer relevant, others can be classified as modern. Site owners and marketers can get a rough idea of ​​what is and isn’t working in their SEO setup, what factors are important for site performance and content quality, and search engine rankings.

Fishkin writes in his report that “the authenticity of the documents was verified by former Google employees.”

We were deceived

Representatives of the SEO industry who have already read the document claim that: Some of Google’s past statements contradict what the document says. For example, about the authority of the domain name and how it can affect search results.

Additionally, the following conclusion emerges from the document: The content and links in your article on the site are secondaryand user behavior plays a larger role. For example, if many people in the area are scrolling through pages of links looking for an event and then click on one of the links at the bottom, Google will see this and quickly move that link higher up and take notice. that this is what people are interested in for a particular query. Even if the Wikipedia article about the event is more informative or someone invests heavily in link building and content optimization in other materials, they are unlikely to beat user intent signals calculated from queries and clicks.

This largely means that page titles are very important because they are what people respond to when they search for something on Google.

Also important are recognition of your brand outside of Google (yes, the company has special tools to track your online presence by recognizing logos or other visual content), exposure, trust, navigation demand, reputation, and some other categories that Google determines. The company was never mentioned.

The company did not make any statement in response to the leaked documents. In March, Google rolled out a major update to Search that prioritized “useful” content over standard content. Algorithms basically work by evaluating and determining whether a particular page on a website is designed to please a search engine or humans.

Fishkin’s discovery provides detailed information about the document and important takeaways that can help page owners rank higher in search.