Google verifies the realness of the stolen Search documents

 Regarding the veracity of the treasure trove of records, the organization remained silent till today.

They verified today that a set of 2,500 officially released internal Google documents, which contain information regarding the data the company gathers, are genuine. Google has not released a statement regarding the files up until now.

The documents in question detail data that Google is keeping track of, some of which may be used in its closely guarded search ranking algorithm. The documents offer an unprecedented — though still murky — look under the hood of one of the most consequential systems shaping the web.

“We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information,” Google spokesperson Davis Thompson told The Verge in an email. “We’ve shared extensive information about how Search works and the types of factors that our systems weigh, while also working to protect the integrity of our results from manipulation.”

For Google employees, the thousands of pages of documents serve as a repository of knowledge, but it is unclear what specific data points are actually used to rank search results; the information may be outdated, used only for training, or gathered but not specifically for search. Furthermore, the records do not disclose how, if at all, various elements are weighted in search.

Nevertheless, the disclosure of this information is probably going to have an impact on the publishing, marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) sectors. 

Though these documents and recent testimony in the US Department of Justice antitrust case have shed more light on the signals Google considers when ranking websites, the search engine giant is still generally quite secretive about how its algorithm operates.

Anyone who relies on the internet for business, including independent publishers, eateries, and online retailers, is significantly impacted by the decisions Google makes over search. Consequently, a sector of the economy has emerged with individuals seeking to decipher the code or beat the algorithm, offering occasionally contradictory solutions. Although Google's ambiguity and wordplay have not helped, the flood of internal docs at least provides insight into the company's thoughts.

Search engine optimization (SEO) specialists Rand Fishkin and Mike King initially revealed the existence of the leaked material when they separately released preliminary evaluations of the documents and their contents earlier this week. Regarding the legitimacy of the leak, The Verge asked Google several times yesterday; Google did not reply.

According to the paper that was released, Google may gather and use information on clicks, Chrome users, and other things that company spokespeople have stated have no bearing on how websites rank in Google Search.