Internal Google documents leaked this week revealed that the company’s Search Division may be using data to rank websites in a way that’s at odds with its public statements.
Search engine optimization (SEO) specialists who advise businesses and websites on how to gain traction online (i.e. through Google Search) took to the internet to vent frustration as they reviewed the 2,500 pages of leaked code. Their issue: Google — the most powerful search engine across the globe that determines which information reaches the masses — is persistently opaque about its Search algorithm, making it difficult for lesser-known websites to know how they can succeed.
“We’ve been lied to,” said SEO advisor Erfan Azimi, the internet expert who first reviewed and shared the documents.
“‘Lied’ is harsh, but it’s the only accurate word to use here,” said fellow SEO expert Mike King. “While I don’t necessarily fault Google’s public representatives for protecting their proprietary information, I do take issue with their efforts to actively discredit people in the marketing, tech, and journalism worlds who have presented reproducible discoveries.”
“… Google spokespeople have gone out their way to misdirect and mislead us on a variety of aspects of how their systems operate in an effort to control how we behave as SEOs,” King added.
Experts emphasized that the documents, which illustrate which data Google Search collects, don’t conclusively show how it’s using that information to score and rank Search results, if at all. Still, it’s validation that Google prioritizes information such as clicks and Chrome user data, which is at odds with its public statements.
Google confirmed the authenticity of the documents to The Verge, but told another outlet, Search Engine Land, that it warns against users drawing from “out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information.” Experts said the documents appear to be up-to-date, as they were published in March.
Some were pleased to see the documents validate what they’ve felt to be true for years: that Google makes it hard for SEOs to succeed. “For decades, I loudly proclaimed that Google, the marketing industry, and the web as a whole would be a better place if the search giant was transparent with how they worked,” said Rand Fishkin, who analyzed the documents sent to him from Azimi. “[I] hope that this brings everyone in the SEO field some closure around long-disputed topics.”