Why It's Time to Go Open Source for Google Search

So by now everybody should have noticed that Google's legacy algorithm got leaked by a dissident Googler.

It's the algo before they added AI Overviews that overshadow everything else.

So what does it mean?

Even though my "brand" name is onReact after a made up JavaScript event handler similar to onClick I'm not a "technical SEO". (I wrote interactive JavaScript poetry back in the nineties.)

So I can't help you much with analyzing the algo from a technical perspective. I still have to refer you to Michael King for that.

He already did excellent work with the Yandex leak. I bet the Onely - Organic growth through practical innovation team will soon come up with some awesome data analysis. Please comment once you did!

No. I'm more of a content and social SEO!

What does the Google algo leak mean from a social SEO perspective?

Well, it reminds me of two things:

1. the leak of Google's quality rater guidelines several years ago. Google just grabbed the opportunity and publicized their own latest version!
2. the Blekko search engine (RIP!) that open sourced its algo back in 2012 I think. You could look up the ranking signals right below each result!

Open Source the algo!

So in this historical moment Google can embrace the opportunity and go with the flow.

Like with the rater guidelines they can open source the search algo.

They can let anyone use the algo for their own customized search engine.

You don't like Reddit? Stop complaining! Tweak your own customized algo a bit! Share it it with fellow disgruntled SEOs. Who knows, maybe others will use it as well?

Google has a custom search for years so why not do it that way?

Let users tweak their search results!

Similarly users could also tweak those results.

Why just change the display of search results? Why not also add a bit of personal taste to the search results themselves?

I'm not much of an SEO these days anyway yet after 20 years of SEO practice I can recognize the huge opportunity.

If I were Danny Sullivan and John Muller I wouldn't fret. If I were Sundar Pichai I wouldn't look for a "traitor" in his own company.

I'd rather become the historic figure that took the opportunity and turned it into a successful launch.

When everybody can tweak Google all the complaints of recent years will be solved at once. You don't like it? Fix it!

We are search engine optimizers on both sides of the table.

I don't buy the us vs them rhetoric you get forced upon from mass media etc.

We can work together on this and make Google the search engine we all need. One way or the other.

That was the big promise of Google+ back in 2012! You could plus what you liked and that would show up on your results more often! I still miss Google+.

Stop focusing on the overwhelming negativity these days. May Google be a Plus again. Recognize the positive impact this could have.

Don't resurrect the failed Google+ social network. Just let people customize their Googles however they like.

This would be true social SEO!