Google Leak: Why user signals are more important than everything you knew about SEO so far

The SEO world is upside down. I admit: Hardly any other document has given me sleepless nights like this one recently. Recently court documents from the antitrust case against Google give us insight that goes deeper than anything we knew before. For years, we discussed the importance of clicks, dwell time, and user satisfaction—often based on correlations and tests. Now we have it in black and white.

What these documents contain is no longer a vague “user experience is important.” It is the technical blueprint for how Google measures user interactions and uses them as a basis for ranking. If you thought SEO revolved mainly around keywords and backlinks, buckle up. These revelations will fundamentally change your perspective.

We are now diving deep into the most explosive findings and showing you what concrete measures you must take today to survive in the new SEO paradigm.

The central finding is that user data forms the foundation of the entire Google system, not just one factor among many. The documents unequivocally describe user data as critical input for search quality.

A quote from page 50 gets to the heart of the matter:

“user data is a critical input that directly improves [search] quality”

So, user data is a “critical input” that “directly improves” search quality. One could hardly state the importance more strongly.

The documents also show that Google uses user data “at every stage of the search process.” Another quote (page 161) underlines this:

“Google utilizes user data ‘[a]t every stage of the search process,’ from crawling and indexing to retrieval and ranking.”

Google therefore uses user data in every step of the search process, from crawling (finding content) and indexing (processing content) to retrieval (fetching) and final ranking.

This principle is further detailed on pages 91-92, regarding how Google learns from interactions:

“Every [user] interaction gives us another example, another bit of training data: for this query, a human believed that result would be most relevant.”

Thus, every single user interaction provides Google with another training example indicating that a human believed this specific result to be the most relevant for the search query. Every click is therefore a vote for the relevance of your content.

It has long been speculated how Google captures click data. The documents reveal two central systems: Glue and NavBoost.

1. Glue: The Super Query Log

The system named “Glue” is described on pages 152-153 as essential infrastructure for user tracking:

“Glue is essentially a ‘super query log’ that collects a raft of data about a query and the user’s interaction with the response.”

Glue thus functions as a “super log” for search queries. It collects not only the query itself but also a wealth of data about the user’s interaction with the displayed results. According to the document on page 153, this includes clicks, mouse movements (hovers) over the results, and dwell time on the SERP.

2. NavBoost: The Memory for User Behavior

NavBoost builds on this data and is defined on page 153 as a memorization system:

“NavBoost is a ‘memorization system’ that aggregates click-and-query data about the web results delivered to the SERP.”

NavBoost thus “remembers” the aggregated click and query data. It is the huge database that records which results worked best for which queries in the past.

The power of this system becomes clear through the sheer volume of data (page 161):

“The volume of click-and-query data that Google acquires in 13 months would take Microsoft 17.5 years.”

To put this in perspective: Google collects as much click data in 13 months as Microsoft (Bing) would need 17.5 years to accumulate. Phew, that’s quite a statement!

The answer is RankEmbedBERT. According to page 154, this deep learning system combines two main data sources:

“RankEmbed and its later iteration RankEmbedBERT are ranking models that rely on two main sources of data: [redacted]% of 70 days of search logs plus scores generated by human raters”

RankEmbedBERT is therefore based on two pillars: search logs (i.e., user click data) and evaluations from human quality raters. This combination of machine-recorded user behavior and human quality control helps Google especially in answering long-tail queries.

Yes, absolutely. The implications go beyond direct ranking. First, regarding crawling (pages 93-94):

“Google has continuously deployed user data to, among other things, determine which websites to crawl, in what order, and at what frequency”

So Google continuously uses user data to decide which websites to crawl, in what order, and how often. Popular pages with high user interaction therefore receive more crawl resources.

This also gives Google an advantage in niche search queries (long-tail), as detailed on pages 89-95:

“Google is better equipped to handle these types of queries in part because it simply sees more of them.”

Simply put: Google can answer niche queries better because it simply sees more of them. Due to the huge amount of data (see the 80-20 problem on page 139), Google can recognize patterns where other search engines have to guess.

This question is central for SEOs. The documents indicate a new weighting of factors. Regarding on-page quality, it states on page 143:

“Do you understand that most of Google’s quality signal is derived from the webpage itself?”

The majority of Google’s quality signal is therefore derived from the webpage itself.

In contrast, PageRank (traditionally seen as a measure of backlink authority) is put into perspective as follows:

“PageRank […] is a single signal relating to distance from a known good source”

In plain terms: PageRank is just a single signal that measures the distance from a known good source. The interpretation: Inherent content quality and user signals (popularity) could trump traditional link authority in many cases. That’s worth its weight in gold for your SEO strategy!

The evidence is mounting. The documents indicate that a popularity signal (called P*) uses Chrome data (pages 143-144):

“popularity signal (P*) ‘uses Chrome data'”

At least one popularity signal therefore uses data from the Chrome browser. This means Google potentially sees how users interact with your website even if they didn’t come through Google search. Strong user retention and returning visitors thus become even more valuable.

Okay, enough theory. What do you do with this information now? Running away isn’t an option! Here are your concrete next steps to adapt your SEO strategy to reality:

1. Optimize beyond the click: It’s no longer just about the Click-Through Rate (CTR). Analyze user behavior on your site rigorously.
   • Reduce pogo-sticking: Does the user jump right back to search from your page? That’s a negative signal. Ensure the initial viewable area (Above the Fold) immediately satisfies the search intent.
   • Increase dwell time: Offer real value, internal onward links, and engaging content to keep users longer.
   • Encourage interactions: Ensure users take actions on the page (watch videos, leave comments, click through galleries).
2. Master the long-tail: Win on niche queries by creating comprehensive content that solves very specific problems.
   • Answer W-questions: Use tools to research “People Also Ask” questions and answer them in detail in your content.
   • Semantic depth: Cover not only the main keyword but all relevant subtopics and entities to qualify as the best answer for complex queries.
3. Prioritize E-E-A-T and content quality rigorously: If the quality of the page itself carries so much weight, your content must be outstanding. In my comprehensive guide to E-E-A-T, I show you how to achieve this.
   • Show expertise: Demonstrate knowledge that goes beyond superficial summaries.
   • Build trust: Invest in transparency, author profiles, and real user reviews.
4. Encourage returning visitors: Build a brand that users trust. If Google uses Chrome data, brand loyalty becomes a direct ranking factor.
   • Newsletter and community building: Tie users to your brand to generate direct traffic.

The Google Leaks mark a turning point. They confirm what many top SEOs have been preaching for years: Long-term success is based on genuine user satisfaction, not signal manipulation.

Google has created a sophisticated system to precisely measure whether your content offers added value. Every shortcut, every trick that ignores the user, is exposed by systems like NavBoost and Glue. The most important takeaway for your work is therefore: Create content that users not only click on, but also interact with satisfactorily. Because Google is watching—more closely than we thought.