In May 2024 a large amount of information on how Google’s algorithm works was leaked to the public. Now, to be clear, this hasn’t cracked the code completely and we don’t suddenly have all the answers. However, it’s still a huge insight into how Google search works, and has confirmed quite a few theories we already had from our own testing and experience.
The actual information is highly technical, consisting of documents from Google’s Search division that was uploaded to Github on March 13th. This was sent to SEO expert and co-founder of Moz, Rand Fishkin, who verified it and released it publicly on May 27th. If you’d like to read up on the technical side of things, then we’d point you towards Mike King’s article on iPullRank. However, we’ve pulled together the key points in a more digestible overview here.
Google Has Been Deceptive About Ranking Factors
One of the main takeaways from these leaks is that Google has mislead users when previously asked about its algorithm. In the past, Google representatives have denied speculation that user clicks affect search rankings, but the new leaks indicate otherwise (more info on that later).
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to industry specialists that Google hasn’t been 100% honest. At Clear, we’ve had our own doubts about the word of Google, and this set of leaks only confirms things. Unfortunately, it’s in Google’s interest to keep their secrets so that competitors don’t get a step up, so it’s unlikely these leaks will change this point.
In Fishkin’s words, “Journalists […] need to stop uncritically repeating Google’s public statements, and take a much harsher, more adversarial view of the search giant’s representatives.”
User Experience Impacts SEO
Remember we mentioned earlier that clicks affect search rankings? The leaks indicate that a lot of user data from Chrome browsers is being fed into the algorithm. This includes click through rates, engagement rates, and dwell time.
It seems like a no brainer that Google would want to use user behaviour as a ranking factor as it functions as an indirect review of the site. We’ve always had our suspicions about this one, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to hear it confirmed.
On-Page Content & Meta Tags are Still Key
On top of the newer information, the leaks also provided confirmation of other SEO best practices. For example, page title relevance to the search query is hugely important, and you’ll be penalised for keyword stuffing. It’s also indicated that font size can play a part in ranking factors, and bold content has more weight for SEO.
We’ve also had confirmation that there are no character length limits for meta tags, so you won’t get marked down for mile long meta titles. However, we still think it’s better to keep those meta tags shorter so all your messaging shows on screen, as its better for CTR.
Authority Is Important – in One Way or Another
We’ve known for a while that demonstrating expertise and authority correlates to successful SEO, and these leaks both confirm and uncover some new factors around this.
As far as E-E-A-T, the Google policy on Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust, goes, it’s indicated that newer blogs and articles have higher search weighting than older ones – so keep that content fresh. Having an author and date on the post also helps raise E-E-A-T scores.
On the other side of the authority equation is domain authority, or, as we now know Google calls it, Site Authority. What the leaks have uncovered about this is that Google’s backlink systems are more sophisticated than any tool available on the market. It’s clear, again, that fresher backlinks are given more weight and that a sudden influx of backlinks may be discounted if it’s not part of the overall trend.
Domain Changes Slow Things Down
Another long-suspected theory that Google has denied is the idea of a sandbox that new domains go into where they rank poorly before Google gives them the all clear.
The exact effects of the sandbox have long been debated, but these leaks seem to indicate that the sandbox is, in fact, real. For domains that are new, recently changed, or have had certificates re-registered, the sandbox will cause these to see lower rank for a period of time, even when 301 redirects are correctly put in place.
For us, at Clear, this just goes to show the power of diversifying and investing in multiple forms of marketing. Google may be the largest source of organic traffic on the web, but other marketing avenues like paid search or social media might be good to explore if you’ve got a newer domain.
SEO Going Forward
So, what does all this mean for SEO? First off, it’s good to note that this article is just a summary of our key takeaways, and doesn’t cover the full extent of the leaks.
In practice, the top new information is on the importance of user experience, so this may become a growth area. However, a lot of what we’ve found out was suspected and used as best practice already – although confirmation has been pleasant! A key takeaway from these leaks is that many questionable SEO tactics, such as keyword stuffing and spam backlinks are penalised, so it’s worthwhile getting an expert to help out. If you’re looking for SEO support then we might be the agency for you – check out our SEO services or get in touch here.
