Google has suffered the ‘mother of all leaks’ after 2,500 documents surfaced online exposing how its algorithm determines what users see.
The internal documents show that the system, which determines how pages rank in search results, has focused on the number of clicks a site receives, rather than how reliable the source is.
This could push fake news sites or misleading stories to the top of a Google search, trapping people in receiving more poorly obtained information, according to former SEO expert Rand Rishkin.
Google has previously denied that it uses click-through rates (CTRs) to improve algorithm results, and an analyst on the Google Search team said in a post on Reddit that it is “generally made up nonsense.”
An SEO expert claimed that 2,500 leaked documents show that Google uses the number of clicks a website receives to improve its rankings
Rand Fishkin, who has worked in SEO for over a decade, has released his initial judgement of the documents sent to him on Monday from an anonymous source.
‘Song’ is harsh, but it’s the only correct word to use here,” SEO expert and iPullRank founder Mike King wrote in his own article. breaking down of the documents.
“While I don’t necessarily blame Google’s public representatives for protecting their proprietary information, I do take issue with their attempts to actively discredit people in the marketing, technology, and journalism worlds who have made reproducible discoveries ‘, he said.
Google’s algorithms take into account several factors when displaying search results, including the words used in the search query, how relevant the pages are, the source’s expertise, and the user’s location, depending on the website.
However, Fishkin reported that the algorithm reportedly generates results by focusing on the number of clicks a site receives to measure its success, Chrome data, domain authority, and the author’s byline.
DailyMail.com has yet to independently verify the documents, but the company appeared to confirm in a statement that the documents are legitimate. but claimed they are no longer relevant.
“We caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Google Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information,” a Google spokesperson said.
“We’ve shared extensive information about how Search works and the types of factors that weigh our systems, while also working to protect the integrity of our results from manipulation.”
Google reportedly uses NavBoost – a system that focuses heavily on click data to enhance and improve results – and includes information about short clicks on a site versus users who stay on a page longer. This could be damaging in the upcoming presidential elections, as fake news is allowed to flourish
Google has also denied using these methods in the past, which is telling The Wall Street Journal in 2019: “Our systems strive to deliver relevant results from authoritative sources,” adding that organic search results alone “are not representative of the information made accessible through search.”
The company also claimed that it provides results “from the most reliable sources available,” but the leaked documents claim that Google is more dependent on user clicks for its search results than previously thought.
NavBoost is a system that focuses heavily on click data to enhance and improve results and includes information about short clicks on a site versus users who stay on a page longer.
Google noted that at this point there is only speculation about the contents of the document and what the information means, adding that it cannot provide details about the algorithms because they are constantly changing.
Google also denied claims that it is using CTR (click-through rates) for its algorithm in 2019 Reddit post.
Gary Illyes, an analyst on the Google Search team, wrote at the time: “Dwell time, CTR, whatever Fishkin’s new theory is, those are generally made up nonsense. Searching is much easier than people think.’
The thousands of documents reportedly outline that search optimization (SEO) efforts, which use embedded links to improve a website’s ranking in Google Search, are only a small piece of the puzzle.
Google said it does not directly tell individuals how to land in the top search results and appears to change its algorithm regularly to combat spammers and bad actors trying to game the system.
However, the company claims that it focuses on trending content that readers and users are interested in.
If the documents are accurate and the search algorithm relies on CTRs, it could be detrimental in the upcoming presidential elections as people turn to Google for additional information about the candidates.
Similar to the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, which led to thousands of people storming the Capitol on January 6, it could lead to similar conflict and violence as the results from Google propaganda sites would yield based on clicks on links. Fishkin warned.
