Google Search Leak 2024: What Wellness Brands Can Learn

Recently, a major leak of Google’s Search algorithm has provided unprecedented insights into how the search giant ranks content. In the competitive world of health and wellness, mastering SEO is essential for brands looking to establish authority and reach their target audience. Discover some of the biggest takeaways for wellness brands from the Google Search leak and grab actionable strategies to enhance your online presence.

Google Search Algorithm Leak: What Happened

In 2024, a significant leak of internal Google documents revealed intricate details about the company’s search algorithms. These documents shed light on how various ranking factors are weighted and provide a clearer picture of the strategies brands should adopt to improve their visibility on Google.

The Google Search leak of 2024 has provided the first solid confirmation of Google’s search ranking algorithms and internal processes. It involved a massive leak of 2,596 internal documents containing 14,014 attributes. Google has verified the leak, but the official statement cautions against making assumptions based on the “out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information” present in the documents.

The leaked documents can be found online, but to save you time trawling the web, I’ve condensed the highlights here.

Background: How Google Search Works

Google’s search algorithms are complex systems designed to provide the most relevant and authoritative content for user queries. The algorithms consider hundreds of factors, including keyword relevance, content quality, user engagement, and website authority. Google continuously updates its algorithms to refine search results and improve user experience.

Google has always been incredibly secretive about how the algorithm works, although they do provide general guidelines and best practices for content creators and webmasters to follow. The data leak provides confirmation for previously assumed SEO practices as well as debunking some myths. Read on to find out what it actually means to brands wanting to improve their online search visibility.

Key Insights and Actionable SEO Tips for Wellness Brands

The 2024 Google Search leak provided crucial insights into the inner workings of Google’s search algorithms, highlighting key areas that brands need to focus on to improve their online visibility. For wellness brands, these insights are particularly important given the stringent criteria imposed by Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and YMYL (Your Money Your Life) algorithms. These algorithms are designed to ensure that users receive the most credible, authoritative, and trustworthy information, especially on topics related to health and wellness.

By understanding these insights and implementing the following actionable tips, wellness brands can enhance their SEO strategies and establish themselves as authoritative voices in the industry.

So, what did we learn:

Credibility matters: Entity Optimization and E-E-A-T (N-E-E-A-T-T)

Google is under pressure to reduce the spread of misinformation online and deliver high-quality, credible content. As such it’s placing increasing importance on entities, particularly authors and publishers, in its ranking algorithms. The leak highlights the necessity of optimizing for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, Notability, and Transparency (N-E-E-A-T-T). Brands should ensure that their content is authored by credible individuals with a strong digital footprint, as Google’s focus on person entities has intensified​​. Here are three actionable tips:

1. Highlight Author Credentials:
   • Ensure that each piece of content has a clear author bio highlighting the author’s expertise and experience. Optimise your About Me page with details of your key staff members. Link to the author’s professional profiles and other publications.
   • Example: Include detailed author bios with links to LinkedIn and other relevant sites.
2. Cite credible references
   • Ensure your content is well-referenced with citations and links to credible sources.
3. Consistent Entity Information:
   • Audit your digital footprint to ensure consistent and accurate information about your brand (and the people associated with it) across all platforms.
4. Build Authoritative Backlinks:
   • Obtain backlinks from trusted and reputable sources in the wellness industry through guest blogging and collaborations.
   • Example: Write guest posts for well-known wellness blogs, mainstream media or guest on industry podcasts.
   • Learn more here: Building Backlinks For SEO

Brand Recognition is important for SEO

The importance placed on brand awareness was one of the biggest surprises to SEOs, who’ve previously believed that backlinks and content were king. However, it seems that building a notable and well-recognized brand outside of Google search is crucial. The leaked documents reveal that Google places significant weight on brand signals, including mentions across authoritative sites and positive user interactions. This underscores the need for wellness brands to foster a strong presence and recognition in their industry​​. Here are three actionable tips:

1. Engage in PR Campaigns:
   • Get featured in major industry publications and news outlets through strategic PR efforts.
   • Example: Hire a PR agency to pitch your brand’s story to wellness magazines.
2. Leverage Social Proof:
   • Showcase testimonials, reviews, and case studies from satisfied customers prominently on your website and social media.
   • Example: Create a dedicated testimonials page and share customer success stories.
3. Host and Participate in Events:
   • Organize webinars and workshops to position your brand as a thought leader. Participate in industry conferences to increase visibility.
   • Example: Host a monthly wellness webinar series with guest speakers from the industry.

Content Freshness and Diversity

Fresh and diverse content remains a priority for Google. The leak indicates that newer content, especially fresh links, tends to be more valuable than older content. Additionally, Google can limit the number of certain content types (e.g., blog posts) on a SERP, which means brands should diversify their content formats to include videos, infographics, and other media to improve their chances of ranking​

Here are three actionable tips:

1. Regular Content Updates:
   • Schedule regular updates to your existing content to keep it relevant.
   • Example: Update your top-performing articles every six months. Don’t forget to update your images, check for the latest information, link to any other relevant content you may have added to your site and add any new case studies etc to the content.
2. Diversify Content Formats:
   • Use various content formats such as videos, podcasts, and infographics to engage different audience segments.
   • Example: Create video summaries of your blog posts and share them on social media.
3. Create Timely Content:
   • Produce content that aligns with current trends and events in the wellness industry.
   • Example: Write articles on upcoming wellness trends and seasonal health tips.

User Engagement and Clicks

User engagement metrics such as successful clicks, long clicks, and user interaction data from Chrome are crucial ranking factors. This emphasizes the need for wellness brands to create engaging, high-quality content that encourages user interaction and retains user attention​​. Here are three actionable tips:

1. Enhance User Experience:
   • Optimize your website for speed, mobile-friendliness, and easy navigation.
   • Use Google PageSpeed Insights to improve site performance.
2. Interactive and Engaging Content:
   • Incorporate quizzes, polls, and interactive infographics to engage users.
3. Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs):
   • Use compelling CTAs to guide users toward desired actions.
   • Add prominent CTAs at the end of blog posts encouraging newsletter sign-ups.

Knowledge Panel and Knowledge Graph

Achieving and maintaining a Knowledge Panel is essential for brand credibility. Google’s algorithms now create and manage entity information in the Knowledge Vault more dynamically, reducing reliance on traditional sources like Wikipedia. Brands need to ensure their information is accurate, consistent, and widely corroborated across the web to establish and retain a Knowledge Panel​​. Here are three actionable tips:

1. Use Structured Data Markup:
   • Implement structured data (schema) on your website to help Google understand your content better.
   • Example: Use a plugin like RankMath to easily add Schema to your site, or use Schema.org to add structured data for your organization and articles.
2. Claim and Optimize Your Knowledge Panel:
   • Claim your Knowledge Panel and ensure all information is accurate and up-to-date.
   • Example: Update your Knowledge Panel with the latest information about your brand.
3. Consistent Online Information:
   • Ensure consistent and accurate information about your brand across all platforms.
   • Example: Regularly audit your online presence to correct any discrepancies.

Local and Niche Authority

Local search factors and niche authority are highlighted in the leak. For brands that serve a geographic area, you should focus on becoming authorities within your specific niches and geographic areas, which can help in gaining higher rankings and better visibility in local searches​​. Here are three actionable tips:

1. Local SEO Optimization:
   • Optimize your website for local search by including location-based keywords and gathering local reviews (Prioritise Google and Facebook reviews).
   • Example: Add local keywords to your website content and encourage positive reviews on Google.
2. Niche-Specific Content:
   • Create content tailored to your specific niche within the wellness industry.
   • Example: Produce in-depth guides on holistic nutrition if that is your niche.
3. Engage with Local and Niche Communities:
   • Participate in local events and online forums to build relationships and increase visibility.
   • Example: Join local wellness groups on Facebook and LinkedIn and contribute valuable insights.

Next Steps for Wellness Brands

The 2024 Google Search leak has provided valuable insights that wellness brands can leverage to improve their SEO strategies. By focusing on entity optimization, brand recognition, content freshness, user engagement, knowledge panels, and local authority, wellness brands can enhance their online presence and reach a wider audience.

Contact me for brand-aligned SEO services. With expert guidance and tailored SEO strategies, we can increase your brand’s impact and income. Together, we can position your wellness brand as a leading authority in the industry.