💣 GOOGLE BOMBSHELL: Internal Docs Leaked

+ more SEO news for May ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [View in Browser]( [Log in ▸]( Hi - Straight up—this email was written and ready for publication…and then the leak of all leaks landed on us. Internal documentation for Google Search’s Content Warehouse API has been published on a code repository for everyone to see. Let's get you up to speed. The Leak That Changes Everything (and Nothing) The cat, no, the whole damn ZOO is out of the bag. Google's leaked Content Warehouse API documentation confirms what many SEO professionals have suspected for years: the search giant has been less than forthcoming about the inner workings of its algorithms. The leak sheds light on the complex interplay of over 14,000 ranking features. Here are our biggest takeaways: - Despite years of denial, Google does have a site-wide authority metric called “siteAuthority.” - Google's “NavBoost” system heavily relies on click-through rates (CTR) and post-click behavior. Something Google has also previously denied. - New or untrusted sites can be temporarily sandboxed, but this isn't always the case. Google's algorithm is complex; and other factors like EMDs (Exact Match Domains) can sometimes override the sandbox effect. - Google leverages data from Chrome user clickstreams to inform its ranking algorithms, including sitelink generation and overall page quality assessment. - Google employs whitelists for sensitive topics like travel, COVID-19, and politics, potentially limiting the visibility of non-whitelisted sites. - Feedback from Google's quality raters appears to be integrated into the ranking algorithms, suggesting that human evaluation of content and user experience still holds significant weight. - Click data is used to classify links into different quality tiers, meaning not all links are created equal. Dig into all the juicy details: [Rand Fishkin]( and [Mike King]( have individually written breakdowns. Correction for Last Month’s Newsletter Turns out, Google's March core update [finished a whole week]( before they announced it. This caught a few people with their pants down (including us). So, here’s a slight correction to our reporting for last month: On April 19th, the rollout of the March core was completed 45 days after its release. Helpful Content System Update & Recovery Some hope: If Google's recent content updates dinged your site, a potential recovery path may have emerged. Google's own John Mueller was asked this question [on X]( “Assuming a site hit by HCU in 2023 has fixed everything that caused the sitewide classifier to be applied, what is the timeframe for the site to start climbing again?” In response, John said: “‘Fix’ is hard to say when it comes to relevancy, but I'd assume bigger changes would be visible when the next core updates happen.” Of course, take this with a healthy dose of salt. The question put to John implies that we all understand what needs to be “fixed” in order to recover. Google’s search team has so far only offered the usual generic solutions: remove unhelpful content, focus on UX, and disavow spammy links. Not exactly groundbreaking advice. Screaming Frog Goes AI Our favorite SEO tool just got a whole lot smarter. Screaming Frog has integrated OpenAI (the brains behind ChatGPT) directly into their platform, opening up a new world of possibilities. What does this mean for you? Imagine automating some of those tedious, repetitive SEO tasks that eat up your time. Chris Long gave us a [sneak peek]( and it's pretty exciting. The new integration will allow us to: - Auto-generate meta descriptions that actually sound good. - Create alt text for images in bulk. - Generate unique content for category pages. - Structured data? Done and dusted. The Case for Diversification People in the know have long warned us about diversifying traffic sources. Google's recent algorithm updates serve as a stark reminder of the risks of over-reliance on a single platform. So, here’s some friendly advice: Own your audience, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Explore new avenues for reaching your audience, from email campaigns to social media engagement. Build a resilient online business. And, by doing so, withstand unexpected changes that are out of your control. This is the key to sustainable, long-term success. And with that said, that’s us for another month. What did you think? Anything we missed? As always, reply and let us know your thoughts. Adam Steele Partner & COO / [loganix.com]( Your premium SEO partner for agencies & in-house teams. [Book a Strategy Call](   Choose from over 15+ services (starting from just $7), [place your order now]( >> Not interested in this email? [Click here]( to let us know your email preferences or [unsubscribe](. Loganix, Inc., 13110 NE 177th Pl, Woodinville, Washington 98072, United States