Google SEO Leak: What You Need to Know

If you're the classic TLDR person, I got you. I'll sum it all up in a minute.

For the record, this is the biggest SEO leak in SEO history as core ranking factors and documents were leaked in 2024.

Comparison: This is like if someone sneaked into a secret lab and spilled all the beans on how Google decides which websites show up first when you search for something. That's pretty much what happened when thousands of pages of Google’s ranking algorithm were leaked to SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King.

Key Takeaways from the Google's SEO Leak

Here are the most important points you need to understand from this leak:

1. Chrome User Data in Rankings:

• Google uses data from people browsing the web with Chrome to help decide rankings.
• Action: Make sure your website is engaging and easy to use. User experience is more important than ever!

🔥 Matt's Hot Take: You should always be trying to improve things for your customers and potential users. No surprise here, but if you're not using UX tools like Howuku you should check it out

2. Click Data and User Engagement:

• Google looks at different types of clicks like good clicks, bad clicks, and how long people stay on your site.
• Action: Create high-quality content that keeps users interested. Pay attention to your click-through rates and how long visitors stay on your pages.

🔥 Matt's Hot Take: This is one that has been heavily debated recently, especially for mobile users. If people want their answers quick and go back, Google is servicing up this survey asking "How satisfied are you with this result?" and using it to help see if information is helpful or not and if people found what they were looking for. Although I'd love to keep people on my website forever, this is one of the leaked elements that I'm not putting as much stock in. 

3. PageRank & Link Diversity:

• Getting a variety of high-quality links to your site is still important.
• Action: Focus on earning diverse, fresh backlinks to boost your site's authority.

🔥 Matt's Hot Take: No spoiler alert here. Good quality backlinks are harder to come by and it's important to get all kinds in your SEO strategy. Here's how I would breakdown backlink diversification: 

4. Authorship:

• Google can identify and rank authors, treating them as entities.
• Action: Highlight the credentials of your content creators. Show who is writing your content and why they are experts.

🔥 Matt's Hot Take: This should make perfect sense to everyone. One of the only ways to show E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is when a message comes from someone who has the track record of each of those things. It would be very different if you received an anonymous email from the hospital talking about your health vs sitting down with a doctor practicing medicine for 30+ years. Work specific timestamps into your author box to show how long you've been in an industry as it'll help.

(See my full authorship box at the bottom of this blog)

5. Special Treatment for YMYL Websites:

• Websites that impact happiness, health, financial stability, or safety (like financial advice or medical information sites) have unique ranking factors.
• Action: If your site falls into these categories, focus on credibility, accuracy, and user trust.

🔥 Matt's Hot Take: YMYL stands for "Your Money / Your Life" and refers to websites that cover topics that can have a significant impact on users' lives. E-E-A-T is even more important for those niches IMO.

6. Freshness Matters:

• Google prefers fresh content and newer links.
• Action: Regularly update your content and aim to get links from new pages across the web.

🔥 Matt's Hot Take: The best real-life comparison I always make is Wikipedia. Why do you think it's almost at the top of search engines? It's always updated! This is why SEO is not a set it and forget it practice. You need to make updates ALL THE TIME!

7. Topical Relevancy:

• Google checks if a page is related to the core topic of a website.
• Action: Build up topical authority by creating content where you have expertise. Stay focused on your main topics.

🔥 Matt's Hot Take: This is so simple but stay on topic. Whatever your core service is, talk about that until the end of time. If you are interested in improving painting SEO, answer every questions under the sun about painting. Dominate the topic of your core service.

What This Means for You

This leak gives us a rare peek into how Google’s ranking system works. But remember, Google warns that some of the information might be outdated or incomplete. So, while it's exciting to get these insights, don’t overreact. Stick to proven SEO services and practices, test new strategies, and always focus on providing the best experience for your users.

How to Stay Informed with Breaking SEO News

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