Google responds to leak: Documentation lacks context
Google won't comment on the specific elements in the document, in order to keep its ranking system safe and secure.
The search community is still unpacking and processing the huge reveal of the Google Search ranking documents. Everyone has been asking why Google hasn’t commented on the leak.
Well, Google has finally commented. Search Engine Land spoke to a Google spokesperson about the data leak.
What Google told us. Google told us that a lot of assumptions are being published, out of context, based on incomplete information from the data leak.
Google added that search ranking signals are constantly changing. This is not to say Google’s core rankings principles change – they do not – but the specific and individual signals that go into Google rankings do change, Google told us.
“We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information. We’ve shared extensive information about how Search works and the types of factors that our systems weigh, while also working to protect the integrity of our results from manipulation.”
Google, however, won’t comment about the specific elements – which are accurate, which are invalid, which are currently being used, how are they being used and how strongly (weighted) they are being used.
Google would not comment about specifics because Google never comments on specifics when it comes to its ranking algorithm, a spokesperson told me. Google said if they did comment, spammers and/or bad actors could use it to manipulate its rankings.
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Google also told us that it would be incorrect to assume that this data leak is comprehensive, fully-relevant or even provides up-to-date information on its Search rankings.
Did Google lie to us. That is hard to say for sure. There are some clear details about ranking signals Google historically told us they do not use, that were specifically mentioned in the leaked documents.
Google communication. Google told me they are still committed to providing accurate information, but as I noted above, they will not do so in specific detail on a ranking signal-by-signal basis.
Google also said that its ranking systems do change over time and it will continue to communicate information that it can to the community.
What happened. As we covered, thousands of documents, which appear to come from Google’s internal Content API Warehouse, were released March 13 on Github by an automated bot called yoshi-code-bot. These documents were shared with Rand Fishkin, SparkToro co-founder, earlier this month (An Anonymous Source Shared Thousands of Leaked Google Search API Documents with Me; Everyone in SEO Should See Them on SparkToro).
Why we care. As we reported earlier, we have been given a glimpse into how Google’s ranking algorithm may work, which is invaluable for SEOs who can understand what it all means. As a reminder, in 2023, we got an unprecedented look at Yandex Search ranking factors via a leak, which was one of the biggest stories of that year. This Google leak is likely going to be the story of the year – maybe of the century.