The workings of the Google Search algorithm, one of the best-kept secrets for decades, have now been partially revealed. A set of documents has been leaked, shedding light on the factors that determine the search engine’s rankings.

On 13 March 2024, a robot known as yoshi-code-bot leaked thousands of confidential Google files on Github. These documents found their way into the hands of SEO influencers who were able to examine them in detail (Rand Fishkin of SparkToro and Michael King of iPullRank).
For those who make their living from SEO, this revelation marks a turning point. It gives them behind-the-scenes access to how Google sorts its never-ending web snake. This strategic data is invaluable as it gives SEO specialists the power to refine their techniques to increase their digital presence.

Analysis of leaked documents

The March documents shed light on Google’s inner workings, revealing 2,596 modules and an impressive 14,014 attributes… There are no details on how these attributes come into play, but there is talk of “twiddlers”. These intelligent tools modify the scores of search results (and therefore their ranking).

This means that content is downgraded for a variety of reasons: mismatched links or user dissatisfaction – even when exact match domains appear. Google archives every version of the page it indexes. However, it seems that the last 20 revisions are examined more closely when links are evaluated.

The importance of link quality

It turns out that the diversity and relevance of links are very important for a good ranking. PageRank still carries weight, especially when it comes to your site’s front door, the home page.

User click patterns

Google closely monitors user interactions, particularly clicks – relevant clicks can significantly improve your ranking in search results. Its range of analysis tools includes indicators such as the ratio of relevant to irrelevant clicks and the duration of visits to the site. Content length also plays an important role. The algorithm gives a premium to short, original content that captures attention, while texts that are too long tend to lose readers’ interest and are ranked lower.

Michael King insists on one point: get meaningful clicks and varied backlinks to stay at the top of the rankings. Engage users with quality content – this tells Google that your page has what it takes.

The power of branding

Rand Fishkin strongly recommends developing a strong brand, which will have a significant impact on your organic rankings, both in Google search results and more widely. In fact, when your brand is frequently associated with keyword searches, such as “buy an Amazon book”, it gains increased visibility even for searches that don’t explicitly mention the brand name, such as “buy a book”.

Credibility of authors

The person who writes is just as important as what they write… The credibility of authors is taken into account when Big G itself assesses the value of content.

The myth of site authority

A single weak point can bring down your entire website – at least that’s what the notion of “site authority” suggests… despite the assurances given by Google, which denies the existence of such an overall score within its system!

Chrome usage and exemption lists

This leak reveals that the data collected via Chrome influences your position in searches, which is quite remarkable! And then we saw whitelists emerge around hot topics like elections or COVID-19 updates…

Favouring small sites and the freshness factor

Small sites have an element called smallPersonalSite that works in their favour or against them – it varies… Similarly, freshness dates – in URLs or in the articles themselves – are closely monitored by the Mountain View firm. Google therefore favours recent or regularly updated content.

Clearly, these leaked documents reveal a multitude of subtleties hidden in the ranking algorithms, aspects that would have been very difficult to guess before. SEO pros can no longer afford to ignore this information, which is invaluable in devising their own search engine optimisation strategies.