2024 Google API Leak and its Impact on SEO
Google’s internal algorithm data found itself in the public domain a few months ago and spilled a lot about how Google’s SEO Algorithm worked. Until the Google API leak, Google’s ranking factors were complicated and opaque at best. The answer to “How can I rank higher in my niche ?” was often responded to by complicated think-pieces and opinions, all bothering on being on good terms with over 200 Google ranking factors. With the latest revelations, it is important to revisit key discoveries on the Google API leak, its impact on SEO, and what it means for your business and the world of SEO.
Key Revelations From the API Leak
1. Authority (Ranks) Score Matter on Google SEO
A key discovery from the API leak was that of Domain Authority. The leaked documents revealed that Google prioritized the Authority Score metric in its Search Engine Ranking. This is a damming revelation as Google has often denied the use of Domain Authority in its ranking, misleading marketers away from the factor while they prioritized the factor. John Mueller, the Head of Google Search Relations, was quoted in 2020 to have stated Google’s stand on Domain Score/Authority as a factor. Stating that “Google doesn’t use Domain Authority when it comes to Search crawling, indexing, or ranking.” The revelation did not come as a surprise to many marketers who had always believed that the Authority Score was a major factor.
2. E-E-A-T Does (Not) Matter on Google SEO
The famous acronym E-E-A-T, coined by Google to mean Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, has always been an overall content quality guide and not a ranking factor. However, recent Google leaks show that E-E-A-T is actually a ranking factor, referred to as but ONLY in relation to who wrote the content. In other words, your page content will potentially rank higher when written by a renowned, authoritative figure.
3. Google Treats Links Like Humans Treat Vegetables
The Google Search Algorithm ranks your website based on the freshness of its links and the source of its content. The greater the link diversity, the greater the chances of ranking.
4. The Better the User Experience, The Higher the Ranking
The APi leaks also reveal Google’s Algorithm monitors interactions on your website. To this end, they try to equate the relativity of your website content to the search queries and intent of visiting users. A positive coefficient on this end means your content gets to rank higher, while a negative coefficient potentially means low ranking and overall traffic.
5. Exact Domain Match Is No Longer A Free Pass to Ranking
Exact-match domains often have the advantage of ranking due to the obvious. The Google leaks suggest that the free meal ticket to ranking on the search engine has ended. The algorithm ignores the domain match to focus on content relevance and quality. Google is literally saying, “Everyone has to earn their ranking.” Your webpage’s technical SEO, off-page SEO, and content must be fully optimized.
SEO Implications For Businesses Hoping To Rank on Google
The Google API leak, just like the Google algorithm updates, shed light on the direction most businesses hoping to rank have to tow to benefit from the windfall. Some of the key takeaways from this revelation include the following:
- Building Domain Authority is key: Websites have to invest time, effort, and resources into building Authority. This can be achieved by linking your website (in and out) with highly reputable websites. It is also important to note that it is much easier to link your website to higher authority sites than to have the reverse. The only way to legitimately gain backlinks is to create content that is helpful, intriguing, and authoritative.
- Content Authors must be trustworthy: Since content ranking is also impacted by Author trustworthiness. These authors should endeavor to earn mentions across the internet, especially on sites with a greater authority score. Building profiles and actively contributing to conversations across Reddit, Wikipedia, and bigger sites in your niche will boost their profile and the content they publish on your site.
- Link Building: Emphatically speaking, backlinks and inbound links on your website should be to and from websites already ranking higher than you do. To avoid low-quality links while doing this, you are better off ranking low than getting penalized by Google.
- Content will still be king: High-quality, helpful content on your website is indispensable. Regularly update old posts so they do not become obsolete. Also, ensure to post content to meet user query and intent. Remember that SEO is built around consumer queries. When your website meets all the conditions in SEO except matching intents and queries, trust us, you are working in vain. Ensure your web content meets and satisfies customer intentions rather than stuffing keywords. While both goals might help, the latter will definitely prove harmful in the long run.
Conclusion
Realistically speaking, the Google API leak scandal was a molehill that was blown up into a mountain. There is very little telling on the documents, no long-lost secret. It failed to reveal the long-craved secret hack to the 1st position ranking we all sought. What the documents eventually did was reinforce what experts have been speculating over the years. It is with very little surprise that the buzz around what was supposed to be the news of the year has tremendously slowed down! A testament to the fact that the marketing community has come to terms with the fact that the said leaks only reinforced what was already known.
