Google’s massive Search documentation leak

Erfan Azimi, founder of EA Eagle Digital, was pivotal in revealing an unprecedented Google documentation leak that surfaced between March and May 2024. The leaked materials, accessible for a limited time, provided insights into Google’s internal ranking signals and factors, which typically remain tightly guarded. This breach included a range of signals from page-level attributes to the impact of user engagement metrics, revealing details such as the “siteAuthority” metric and the controversial “navBoost” (or navigational boost) which influences rankings based on a site’s ease of navigation and user satisfaction. Despite Google’s assurances that these signals were outdated or experimental, experts have validated much of the documentation’s authenticity, seeing it as a significant glimpse into how Google prioritizes user experience and content quality​

In an analysis video, Erfan detailed how Google collects data through Chrome and other browsing tools like Navboost to score user interactions. This data captures click patterns, page dwell time, and other behaviors, providing signals that Google may use to rank pages based on user satisfaction. He also touched on signals like “goodClicks” and “badClicks,” which could help Google penalize sites with high bounce rates or low engagement. This leak has fueled debates within the SEO community over Google’s transparency regarding ranking signals, as many of these findings align with practices that Google has either downplayed or denied, such as domain authority and site-level metrics.

Erfan Azimi’s leak revealed numerous factors that influence Google’s search rankings, challenging several of the company’s public claims. Some of the key highlights include the following ranking factors:

1. User Interaction Signals: Metrics like “goodClicks,” “badClicks,” and “lastLongestClicks” are reportedly tracked through Google’s NavBoost system. These metrics analyze how users interact with search results, including clicks and time spent, to adjust rankings. This contradicts Google’s previous statements that it doesn’t use click data directly for ranking adjustments​.
2. Chrome Clickstream Data: Google reportedly collects user activity data from Chrome, tracking URL visits and interactions, which it then uses in determining rankings. This is particularly relevant for understanding user satisfaction and engagement with specific pages​
3. Author and Content Quality: The documents suggest that Google evaluates authorship, emphasizing content originality, quality, and trustworthiness, which could be tied to various demotions for low-quality, thin, or misleading content. Author authority may influence content performance in Google’s algorithm​
4. Domain and Subdomain Factors: Contrary to Google’s public claims, the documents indicate that domain age and history (siteAuthority and hostAge) play a role in rankings, including a sandbox effect that temporarily restricts visibility for new sites or less-trusted sources​
5. Geo and Localization Signals: Google’s algorithm appears to factor in geographic relevance by demoting globally targeted content that isn’t locally pertinent, aiming to provide users with more relevant search results based on location​
6. Demotions for Certain Links and Anchors: According to the documents, factors like anchor text mismatch and low-quality link sources may trigger demotions, reducing rankings for pages that don’t align with high standards of link relevance or quality