• Google claimed they don't use a "domain authority" metric, but the docs show they totally do - it's called "siteAuthority."
• G said clicks don't affect rankings, but there's a whole system called "NavBoost" that uses click data to change search results.
• Google denied having a "sandbox" that holds back new sites, but yep, the docs confirm it exists.
• G assured us Chrome data isn't used for ranking, but surprise! It is.
• The number and diversity of your backlinks still matter a lot.
• Having authors with expertise and authority helps.
• Putting keywords in your title tag and matching search queries is important.
• Google tracks the dates on your pages to determine freshness.
• A lot of long-held SEO theories have been validated, so trust your instincts.
• Creating great content and promoting it well is still the best approach.
• We should experiment more to see what works, rather than just listening to what Google says.
From: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/s/ChlTrhjPnG
I wonder how chrome data works. Are they using every chrome browser to sniff what users are clicking on?
Guess I should look into that Kagi thing people keep mentioning.
Part of the most recent Google update was penalizing high authority trusted sites for publishing off topic content from third parties. There is a concept called "goog enough" explaining how the likes of Forbes ranked for just about everything. https://www.blindfiveyearold.com/its-goog-enough
2, even if some of this wasnt widely known, its not like you can take advantage of it overnight. Theres no quick hack to building a trustworthy domain or getting lots of trustworthy links for example
Sure, but there are other potential hacks that this leak exposes that marketers may now be focusing on more so now they would have otherwise based on the information in the leak.
Still wont change much though, its very hard to game since Google has a lot of ways of mitigating click farms or it would have discovered a long time ago.
I don't know what to say.
The main lies that were uncovered is that they are indeed using clicks, and chrome browser data for ranking purposes.
Summary of their lies here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1d2gllz/google_caught_...
Can you think of even a single metric that can't be gamed?
A great marketing tactic is to pose as reddit users. If you have just 2-3 realistic accounts, you can ask a question as account 1, and write your answer with account 2. Now imagine a company with $$$. They can guide an entire thread.
(You have to astroturf really hard or be a part of an existing wave, astroturfing reads different, so the best you can hope for is bending the narrative a step or two)
Or Google could go with a lower risk approach of keeping their results as they are with their current algorithm, but only randomize 3 slots out of the top 10 based on this new threshold approach.
Have you considered that it would make it also pretty lame user experience?
Then could find that article that you remember read 6 months ago by adjusting the keywords until it is on the first page.
Now it does not matter at all what you enter in the search box. No matter the inputs you get one set of results and will never find something specific.
At the end of this enshittification, users will be looking for other options. Imagine a salesman that is ignoring the elephant in the room to tell you that if you bought this brand of shoes, you would run faster instead of giving tips on the skills to learn to be a better runner.
Search is a great way to find high-quality references and non-hallucinated answers by tweaking the keywords slightly. A salesman-like LLM might be pushing products when you just need information. ChatGPT's authority is going to dwindle, and search is a good tool to find authoritative sources
Its not really sales if I go into a shoe store and say I want a pair of Air Jordan 4s in size 11, that's just customer service.
- They claimed that clicks were not a ranking factor, it turns out it is.
- Also turns out that they are using Chrome data for ranking purposes (Not good for the ongoing lawsuit)
- There is also a field called something like "is small personal site" and it presumed that those sites are penalized.
You can find a summary here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1d2gllz/google_caught_...
