With each frenzied year that passes, something mysterious yet completely predictable happens in the SEO corners of the internet’s digital marketing realm.
A swarm of blog posts descends upon the web, many of which profess to predict the future of SEO for the following year. You might see extreme titles as:
- 2025 SEO Hacks That the Ancient Egyptians Revealed to Us!
- The Greatest Threat to Democracy is Ignoring Our 2025 SEO Secrets!
- Why Haven’t You Clicked Yet? 2025 SEO Insights Await!
The truth is, these articles are almost always the same regurgitated information, regifted to us in shiny new packages with grandiose titles for clicks.
And why?
Because no matter what minor shifts, changes, or evolutions have occurred in the SEO world in the past decade, every website’s ability to rank well on Google has always boiled down to just two things:
- Having content that doesn’t suck.
- Having UX that doesn’t suck.
The Great Google Leak of 2024
In early May of this year, just as the first droplets of “2025 SEO Secrets” blog posts had begun to appear on the internet’s lawn, something actually shocking hit the SEO world:
Someone discovered a treasure trove of internal Google SEO documents that had been leaked on Reddit by some nameless, faceless digital hero.
SEO professionals went wild. They began drafting up podcast episodes, brainstorming on how to weaponize – I mean monetize! - the information for webinars and blog posts. They burned the midnight oil, devouring every word and digesting the bottom lines of these documents, outlining thought pieces that would surely bring them fame, fortune, and internet glory.
But when the celebratory cartwheeling and clinking of pint glasses had ceased, we were all left with one burning question:
What new information did we learn from this leak?
The honest, anti-climactic answer?
Not much.
So now that all the hoopla around this event has simmered down, let’s talk about what it all means and how you can benefit from it.
SEO Takeaways from the Google Leak
Not surprisingly, no magic SEO bullets were revealed in this leak.
And even less shocking – everything still boils down to two fundamentals: your website should have content and UX that doesn't suck.
With that said, though, here is a non-exhaustive list of items that SEO professionals had long suspected to be true but were confirmed with this leak (along with a couple of surprise zingers tossed in):
- Site Authority Metric
- The leak confirmed that Google uses a site authority metric, which evaluates the overall credibility and trustworthiness of a site, significantly influencing its organic ranking.
- Click Data Utilization
- Contrary to Google's public statements, the documents revealed that user click data does impact rankings. This means user interactions with search results play a role in determining a website's position in search rankings.
- Sandbox for New Websites
- The concept of a "sandbox" for new websites was confirmed. New sites undergo a probationary period where their rankings are closely monitored and often suppressed until they establish credibility and authority.
- Historical Page Versions
- Google maintains a record of every version of a webpage, but it primarily uses the last 20 versions for ranking purposes. This means historical versions do carry weight, but their impact diminishes over time. Say WHAAAAT?
- Fresh Links vs. Existing Links
- Links from newer webpages are given more value compared to older content, challenging the previous belief that older, established links held more weight.
- Disavowing Backlinks
- The document revealed that disavowing spammy backlinks from your site is mostly unnecessary as Google has mysterious mechanisms in place that handle them automatically. You should only worry about it when you get a message from them in Search Console.
- Short Content Can Rank
- It was confirmed that short content does not necessarily equate to thin content and can rank well if it is of high quality and relevance.
- Temporary PageRank Value
- New pages are assigned a temporary PageRank value until their actual PageRank can be calculated. This ensures that new pages can still rank despite having no established links.
- Chrome Browser Data for Rankings
- Google representatives have often stated that data from the Chrome browser is not used in search rankings. However, the leak disclosed that page quality scores and other ranking factors do incorporate data from Chrome, showing that user behavior and performance metrics gathered from the browser do play a role in SEO.
- Twiddlers
- No, these aren't candies made from delicious Red #40. Twiddlers are re-ranking functions that adjust search results after the primary scoring by the main algorithm. These functions are designed to enhance result diversity, quality, and relevance by applying additional rules and adjustments.
- Golden Document Flag
- One of the more unexpected revelations was the "Golden Document" flag, which marks certain documents as highly authoritative or trustworthy. These documents receive preferential treatment in rankings, suggesting that some content is manually flagged for higher visibility based on its perceived quality.
Misleading Statements
Among the least surprising elements of the leaked documents was that many of Google’s public statements about their ranking processes were misleading. They downplayed certain factors while emphasizing others, utilizing the art of misdirection like an internet magician, as a strategy to protect the integrity of its algorithm.
Ways to Leverage Insights from the Google SEO Leak
Dare I say it a third time?
That your website should have content and UX that doesn’t suck?
It is true, but with “suck” being a subjective word, let’s quickly explore...
Characteristics of High-Quality Web Content
In short, you should create content that an internet searcher wants to read. Content that provides them with information they need. Content that makes them nod approvingly like the ancient Robert Redford gif we all know and love.
When content doesn’t suck, here is what it achieves:
- Provides answers to internet search queries.
- Increases engagement and dwell time on your website.
- Reduces bounce rate.
- Encourages backlinks from other sites.
- Helps establish you as a topical expert.
Those bullets are like smooth whiskey for algorithms. A fuzzy bathrobe. The puffy shirt episode of Seinfeld.
And How About Great UX?
You ask the best questions. For starters, UX is short for “User Experience.” And as the term relates to websites, it simply means that your site is easy for people to use. It does not make them rage-click away to scream into the void. But if you prefer a bulleted list of good UX characteristics, here is one:
- Clear navigational options.
- Intuitive hierarchy of information.
- Mobile friendly design
- Fast load- times for pages.
- Accessible content for all visitors.
- High- quality content.
Okay, so I snuck the last bullet point in there to tie everything together, but it is also true. Good UX is a collection of things that keeps a site visitor hanging around on your content longer (dwell time). And let’s face it – no matter how clear and intuitive your site’s navigation is, if the content you create is terrible... it is straight to the rage-click and void-screaming people will go.
Focus on These Things First
While none of the items below are huge revelations that came from the Google leak, it is important to note that the leak validated their importance.
- Acquire High-Quality Backlinks
- Focus on earning backlinks from reputable and relevant sites. Quality is better than quantity and as the Google leaks revealed to us, even a brand mention on a reputable site (without a link) can have positive SEO effects on your website. Remember – creating quality content will make people want to link to it or talk about it.
- Keep Things Fresh
- Add new content to your site as often as possible but also refurbish and republish old content. Maintain an active site!
- Optimize for E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
- Ensure your content is created by experts, is factually accurate, and is backed by reputable sources. Read about EEAT.
- Compelling Headlines and Meta Descriptions
- Create engaging headlines and meta descriptions that attract clicks from search results.
- Optimize User Experience (UX)
- Ensure your site is easy to navigate, fast-loading, and mobile-friendly. A good user experience reduces bounce rates and increases dwell time.
- High-Quality and Diverse Content Types
- In addition to comprehensive copy, produce a variety of content types (e.g., articles, videos, infographics) to maximize engagement and visibility and appeal to different user preferences.
- Focus on Quality Signals
- Ensure your content meets high-quality standards, as Twiddlers will favor it. Engage users with content that is not only informative but also interactive and visually appealing.
Post-Leak, Not Much Has Changed
As the dust continues to settle in the aftermath of the Google document leak, we are left with the understanding that truly, not much has changed.
While Google has its mechanisms for determining what content to push to the top of search results, our two fundamental truths remain. The algorithms favor websites with:
- Content that doesn’t suck.
- UX that doesn’t suck.
There is no need to worry yourself with the whims and mechanics of algorithms. Your only concern is to build a website that answers the questions of your industry and fulfills the needs of those who seek answers in your field.
If you focus on building out a strong digital strategy and strive to create high-quality content - the internet will find you.
Recommended Reading
Interested to learn more about this topic? Check out the following articles:
An Anonymous Source Shared Thousands of Leaked Google Search API Documents with Me; Everyone in SEO Should See Them by Rand Fishkin
Unpacking Google’s massive search documentation leak by Andrew Ansley
4 Insights From the Google Leak by Tom Capper
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