The Google SEO leak has been the talk of the industry since it was publicly revealed on May 27 by SparkToro Founder and Moz creator Rand Fishkin, and initially analyzed by iPullRank Founder Mike King.
As more details emerge after SEO experts continue to analyze the nearly 2,600 algorithm modules — which have been confirmed as authentic by the tech giant — concerns over Google’s transparency are growing.
Fishkin and King, as well as other technical SEO experts, found that Google lied about its Search algorithm over the years in at least four instances by denying its use of the following:
- Domain Authority (siteAuthority) pertains to your website’s credibility and relevance and how it compares to others on the same topic. The higher your domain authority, the better your chances of ranking high on search results
- Click-Through Rate/CTR (Navboost) is the measure of the number of clicks over ad impressions. The more people click on your website, the higher you rank on Google Search
- “Google Sandbox” (hostAge attribute) is a theory that the search engine sets aside new websites for a certain time before they are ranked
- Chrome data (sitelink generation) is harvested for Google's organic ranking algorithm
The Google Search algorithm leak proves that the search engine has used or continues to use all of the above when determining ranking, sparking calls for transparency.
Why the Lies Matter
So, why does it even matter that Google lied about its Search algorithm?
At the end of the day, it’s a private company, and it should have a right to protect its own operations.
But here’s the thing: Google is a monopoly, with over 90% of searches being made on Google and taking 90.68% of the search engine market share last year.
And with Google currently valued at an estimated $2.2 trillion and the SEO industry alone predicted to grow to $217.85 in 2023 by The Business Research Company, the tech giant is under heavy scrutiny.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Google and its parent company Alphabet under antitrust laws.
The government is alleging that Google was engaging in anticompetitive actions that allowed them to maintain their monopoly of the online search market and enabled them to dictate industry-wide metrics like the price of search advertising.
While a verdict has yet to be made, it’s clear that whatever the decision is will greatly affect the search industry.
#ThisWeekatJustice DOJ Sued Google for Monopolizing Digital Advertising Technologies; AG Garland and ASG Gupta Met With Reproductive Rights Task Force on 50th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade; DOJ Disrupted Hive Ransomware Variant; and more pic.twitter.com/9tsxrzMYFr
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) January 27, 2023
The Google SEO leak serves as an example of how Google is keeping its search engine operations to itself possibly because it wants to protect its position and continue dominating the industry.
And this is why calls for Google transparency are heightened by the leaked API documents — they proved that the #1 search engine actually lied about its search operations.
A Conundrum of Benefits and Drawbacks
Simply put, online search is a big business, and in Google’s case, being transparent about its operations would mean more chances for new and small businesses to rank on search results and grow their business.
For instance, if Google was upfront about how it uses CTR as a ranking factor, then companies could have made an informed decision to create strategies centered on drawing in more traffic.
Knowing that the search engine is also vulnerable to click manipulation would’ve also allowed brands to be more cautious about click fraud, and so on.
In short, Google's transparency would’ve made the search industry more competitive, unlike what it is now, where big brands rule search results.
“These core signals that they (Google) are looking at, clicks, links — even the relevance of content are all things that align better with bigger brands,” King explained during a roundtable discussion of “The Great SEO Leak.”
“You’re going to get more clicks if you’re a brand that I recognize. You’re going to get more links if you’re a brand that I recognize,” he added.
Although disclosing more of its search operations might also mean that Google will lose some of its market share, transparency establishes trust between regulatory bodies, allowing the tech giant to protect itself from incidents like the DOJ antitrust trial.
Google lying about its search ranking factors only makes it more suspicious.
Come on in, y'all. The water's fiiiiine 🤷🏾♂️ #mainCharacterEnergypic.twitter.com/xeyKvfois7
— Mic King (@iPullRank) June 11, 2024
However, transparency also has its drawbacks, and opening it to abuse is at the core of it.
“It (clicks) being such an important signal to verify that the results are working, they don’t want us manipulating. Like we found out about links, and the link graph is just a complete mess because of us,” King shared.
“They don’t want us destroying such a valuable signal. I think it’s as simple as that,” he concluded.
Another thing is that Google’s algorithms are highly complex that, even with a full disclosure of its entire process, it may prove to be too difficult for businesses and marketers to understand.
But King and AJ Kohn, SEO expert and owner of the blog, “Blind Five Year Old,” are up for the challenge.
"It’s high time we move beyond surface-level SEO practices and understand the deep metrics like vectors and embeddings to truly decode Google’s algorithms,” Kohn argued.
Although the future of the SEO industry remains uncertain when it comes to devising effective strategies, experts are optimistic that focusing on improving the user experience through relevant and quality content is the way to go.