Google confirms that the recent leak about search algorithms was real

Google has confirmed that the leaked documentation about its search engine was genuine, but also partially outdated and “out of context,” The Verge reports.

We are talking about documentation that describes in detail the data collected by Google. It is known that some of it can be used in the search engine ranking algorithm, but there are no specifics on which data and how. Today, it is the largest source of information about the search engine, and now the company confirms that the information from there is indeed true.

“We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information,” Google spokesman Davis Thompson wrote in an email to the media. “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.”

The leaked materials indicate that Google collects and potentially uses information that, according to company representatives, does not affect the ranking of web pages in search. This includes clicks, Chrome user data, etc.

However, the information released is likely to cause a stir in the search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, and publishing industries. Google usually maintains a high degree of secrecy about how its search algorithm works, but this leak has brought more clarity to what Google pays attention to when it comes to ranking websites in the SERPs.