Insights
Google Data Leak Reveals Site Quality Scoring System
Last year, Mark Williams-Cook and the Candour Agency team uncovered a huge tranche of internal Google data.
Mark disclosed this at the Search Norwich event two weeks ago, and his discovery sheds new light on how the search giant evaluates and ranks websites.
How Google really scores your site
AKA, the Google Site Quality Score (SQS).
Google uses a sophisticated scoring system that rates websites on a scale from 0 to 1 at the subdomain level.
Perhaps the most striking finding is the threshold requirement: websites must achieve a minimum score of 0.4 to be eligible for premium SERP features like featured snippets and "People Also Ask" boxes.
Key factors influencing your site's quality score
- Brand visibility, e.g., searches for the brand name, or searches that include the brand’s name
- User clicks—even when the site isn’t ranked first
- How often the site’s name appears in links across the web—anchor text relevance
You might remember that I discussed anchor text relevance and user clicks after the document leak earlier this year, and later when I analyzed exhibits from the latest antitrust trial.
The brand authority connection
The findings align with patterns observed after Google's Helpful Content Update.
There's an interesting paradox: websites with strong technical SEO signals but weak brand recognition face increased scrutiny.
This appears to be part of Google's strategy to combat the surge in AI-generated content.
Sites may initially rank well for high-quality content (including AI-generated material) but can face subsequent penalties if they lack established brand authority.
Implications for marketers
The key takeaway for digital marketers and SEO professionals is clear: while technical SEO remains important, brand building must be a core strategic priority.
This means investing in:
- Building genuine brand recognition and authority
- Creating content that reinforces brand identity
- Developing a holistic digital presence beyond just search optimization
I believe this reaffirms what many SEO experts have long known.
Google's evaluation of websites goes far beyond traditional ranking factors.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt stated back in a 2008 interview that “brands are the solution, not the problem” when it comes to combating low-quality content online.
Schmidt added, "Brands are how you sort out the cesspool.''
He's not wrong.
The point: Prioritize building brand authority alongside creating helpful content.
Additional Resources
Watch Mark's presentation.
Google exploit reveals insights into consensus scoring, query classifications, and more.
The Rise of LLM Traffic
The most interesting part of this analysis from Previsible is that the finance sector receives 84% of all LLM referral traffic. We're seeing a significant shift in how users seek financial information.
If your clients are in the finance sector, make sure you create and maintain high-quality, comprehensive informational content.
The reason I emphasise written content is because the study showed that 77.35% of LLM referral traffic goes to blog posts.
Top tip: Design your blog posts to capture leads and conversions.
Dumb Things SEOs Keep Doing
Who's guilty?
In his article, "Dumb Things SEO Experts Keep Doing," Michael Martinez slams experienced SEOs for continuing to share tips and methods that are inefficient.
While there are far too many "you shoulds" in this post, my opinion is that some of these practices have led to an increase in low-quality content (web spam).
The flood of AI-generated, low-value material has degraded the overall user experience even further.
Google insists that its focus is on original, high-quality, people-first content (rather than the method of creation), so there is hope.
Recent spam updates, together with enforcement of site reputation abuse, appear to reinforce this approach.
Are you seeing less untrustworthy content?
I hope these insights help. For more tips, follow me here.
