A collection of 2,500 leaked internal Google documents full of details about the data the company collects is authentic, the company confirmed today. Until now, Google had declined to comment on the materials.
The documents in question detail data that Google is tracking, some of which may be used in its closely guarded search ranking algorithm. The documents offer an unprecedented, if still murky, look under the hood of one of the most important systems shaping the web.
“We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information,” Google spokesman Davis Thompson told The Verge in an email. “We have shared extensive information about how search works and the types of factors that weigh our systems, while working to protect the integrity of our results from manipulation.”
The existence of leaked material was first described by search engine optimization (SEO) experts. Rand Fishkin i Mike King, which earlier this week each released initial analyzes of the documents and their contents. Google did not respond to The Verge’s multiple requests for comment yesterday about the authenticity of the leak.
The leak is likely to send ripples through the SEO industry
The leaked material suggests that Google collects and potentially uses data that company representatives say does not contribute to the ranking of web pages in Google Search, such as clicks, Chrome user data, and more. The thousands of pages of documents act as a repository of information for Google employees, but it is not clear what detailed data is actually used to classify search content – the information could be out of date, strictly used for purposes training or collect, but not specifically used for search. The documents also do not reveal how the different elements are weighted in the search, if at all.
Still, the information being made public is likely to cause ripples in the search engine optimization (SEO), marketing and publishing industries. Google is usually very secretive about how its search algorithm works, but these documents, along with recent testimony in the US Department of Justice antitrust case, have provided more clarity on what signals Google thinks about when it comes to ranking websites. .
The choices Google makes in search have a profound impact on anyone who relies on the web for business, from small independent publishers to restaurants and online stores. In turn, an industry has sprung up of people hoping to crack the code or beat the algorithm, giving sometimes contradictory answers. Google’s vagueness and mincing of words haven’t helped, but the flurry of internal documents at least gives an idea of what the company that dominates the web is thinking.
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