Doubts Emerge Over Alleged Google Data Leak

Intro

Recent discussions among SEOs reveal a growing consensus that the alleged Google data leak, initially thought to contain ranking algorithm secrets, does not show anything new and may be outdated. Here are the key points and expert opinions regarding the situation.

Initial Reactions and Context

As reported previously, there were early indications that the alleged leak was not a significant dump of ranking algorithm data. Instead, many questions remained unanswered. Our initial take was:

“At this point in time there is no hard evidence that this ‘leaked’ data is actually from Google Search… and not related in any way to how websites are ranked in Google Search.”

Expert Opinions and Caution

Many SEOs have advised caution, urging the community to examine the data objectively without jumping to conclusions. Ex-Googler Pedro Dias emphasized the need for context and warned against interpreting the data to fit preconceived notions.

Pedro Dias tweeted:

"There's nothing worse than information without context. Also, there’s no point in trying to explain anything to someone that only accepts what aligns with their predefined assumptions and biases."

Ryan Jones echoed this sentiment, advising SEOs to remain objective and avoid confirmation bias.

Skepticism and Clarifications

As more information emerged, it became clear that many SEOs doubted the significance of the alleged leak. Pedro Dias pointed out that the data might be from an external-facing API for building a document warehouse, not from Google’s ranking algorithm.

Dean Cruddance, a search marketing expert, stated:

"There isn’t anything that gives away the secret sauce."

Pedro Dias responded:

"100%. But the impact of this, fuels a lot of tinfoil hattery and simplistic takes on search, which is suboptimal. In the end, I believe it’s more detrimental than beneficial. Not for the information it contains, but by how it’s gonna be spun and interpreted."

Insights from Veteran SEOs

Long-time search marketing expert Trevor Stolber and Kristine Schachinger noted that the data appeared outdated, with many files dating back to 2019. They emphasized that there was nothing revolutionary or new in the information, suggesting it was an old and unused code base.

Trevor Stolber posted:

• It’s from a deprecated code base.

• It’s not actually from their ranking algorithm; it is an API used internally.

• We already knew most of the things that are in there.

• Good production code documentation would specify ranges and values – I see none of that here.

• Google doesn’t use DA (Domain Authority) – DA is an analog to PR (Page Rank) which was Google’s stand-out differentiator.

Kristine Schachinger commented:

"I have been reading the raw dump and they are all dated 2019 and there is literally nothing you can gather from 90% of the pages."

Analysis by Industry Leaders

Brett Tabke, founder of PubCon and WebmasterWorld, spent significant time analyzing the data. He concluded that the data was not a leak of Google's ranking algorithm but rather documentation for API calls, with no direct relevance to how websites are ranked.

Brett Tabke’s observations (paraphrased):

• This is not a leak.

• There is zero in it that’s directly algorithm related but rather they are API calls.

• He found nothing that points to how any of the data could be used as part of a ranking algorithm.

Conclusion: Where Are the Facts?

The SEO community is increasingly recognizing that this alleged leak is not the groundbreaking revelation some expected. It is not an algorithm data dump but likely an outdated API document. Many experts agree that it is a distraction rather than a source of actionable insights.

Ash Nallawalla, an enterprise SEO expert, commented:

"Like I said a few times, it is merely an API document with a list of calls and not an algo code dump. At the most, we can learn some more internal Google terminology."

Final Thoughts:

It's essential to approach such information with skepticism and caution, ensuring a thorough understanding before drawing conclusions. The SEO community should focus on verified, current data and avoid being swayed by unsubstantiated claims.