What Google’s leaked documents really told us

A no-fluff breakdown of what actually matters for B2B brands

In early 2024, thousands of internal Google Search API documents leaked. Cue the panic.

For a couple of weeks, the SEO world lit up with headlines, hot takes and speculation. Some people claimed these docs “exposed Google’s secrets.” Others said they proved Google had been lying.

But once the dust settled, what were we really left with?

Not a cheat code. Not a scandal. Just clarity.

For those of us doing this for years, the documents didn’t change our approach – they validated it.

If you’re a CMO, Head of Marketing or SEO trying to understand what it means for your strategy, here’s what you actually need to know.

1. Yes, backlinks still matter

There’s been a lot of mixed messaging about backlinks over the past few years. Some SEOs claimed they were becoming less relevant. Others argued Google had stopped counting them altogether.

The leak shows that Google absolutely still uses backlinks in its ranking systems.

But the bar is higher.

Google tracks:

• The source of the link – is it a trusted, high-authority site?
  
• The relevance of the content – does it make sense contextually?
  
• User engagement signals – does the link lead to a page people actually use?
  

So forget shady link-building schemes. Links from random blogs or low-quality directories won’t cut it. What moves the needle now are links from real websites, with real audiences, that are actually visited.

This is where digital PR comes in. When your brand earns media coverage and links from respected industry publications, Google takes notice. And so do your buyers.

2. Brand is a serious ranking signal

One of the most revealing parts of the leak? How Google tracks and elevates brands.

Internally, Google monitors things like:

• Mentions of your brand across the web
  
• Branded search queries (how many people search your name?)
  
• Click behaviour – do users stay on your site, or bounce?
  

Put simply: if Google sees your brand as a legitimate, recognised entity, you get preferential treatment.

For B2B companies, this is big.

If you’ve been relying solely on keywords or product-focused pages, you’re missing a trick. You need a brand strategy that works with your SEO, not as a separate campaign.

That means:

• Clear positioning on your website
  
• Credible media coverage
  
• A consistent message across all your digital channels
  

The strongest brands don’t just rank. They’re searched for by name.

3. User experience is baked into the algorithm

The documents made it clear: what happens after someone clicks matters just as much as the click itself.

Google evaluates:

• Click-through rate from the search result
  
• Dwell time – how long a user stays on your site
  
• Return-to-search behaviour – do they bounce and click a different result?
  

This means if your content gets the click but disappoints the reader, you’re losing.

Ask yourself:

• Is your page helpful, fast and mobile-friendly?
  
• Can users find the answer quickly?
  
• Does it feel like a real company, not a content mill?
  

At Smartmonkey, we’ve seen B2B sites suffer because they’re too focused on producing content at volume, without considering if it’s actually useful to their target audience.

4. SEO is no longer just a technical job

The leak reinforced a shift we’ve been advocating for years: SEO is no longer a silo.

It’s not something a junior team member can fix by tweaking meta tags. It’s a strategic, cross-functional effort that should sit alongside your brand narrative, content marketing, digital PR and web UX.

If you want to compete:

• Stop thinking of SEO as a checklist
  
• Start building a system that rewards trust and authority
  

That might mean:

• Merging or pruning content that doesn’t perform
  
• Creating campaigns that build links and media buzz
  

Investing in clearer messaging that makes your content more helpful

5. Why this matters for B2B marketers

A lot of what leaked confirms what we see every day with B2B brands:

• The businesses struggling to rank are the ones chasing volume, not value.
  
• The brands doing well are those that put the user first and back it up with strong, consistent messaging and a good on-site experience.
  

If you’re in SaaS, FinTech, or professional services, this is your wake-up call.Don’t throw more content at the problem. Step back. Ask: is your site telling the right story, to the right people, in a way that Google and real humans trust?oogle (and ChatGPT, and Brave) want to recommend you.

Let’s wrap this up

The Google leak wasn’t a bombshell. It was a mirror.

It showed us what actually drives performance:

• Authority links, not spammy ones
  
• Recognisable brands, not keyword stuffing
  
• Content people use, not content for content’s sake
  

SEO isn’t about reverse-engineering Google’s algorithm. It’s about building something Google wants to show users – because it’s useful, clear and trusted.

At Smartmonkey, that’s how we work. We don’t chase hacks. We build compound engines that grow over time through strategy, brand, PR and content that speaks to your buyer.

Ready to get serious about it?
Let’s talk about what your site really needs.