What court testimony revealed about Google and SEO

How Google Actually Ranks Websites (It’s Simpler Than You Think)

A Google engineer just revealed in court testimony how their ranking algorithm actually works—and it’s way simpler than most SEO “experts” make it sound.

The ABC Framework That Rules Search

Google uses what they call the “ABC framework”:

**A = Anchors** (backlinks pointing to your page)

**B = Body** (how well your content matches what people search for)

**C = Clicks** (how long people stay before bouncing back to Google)

Google calls this “topicality”—their fancy way of saying “how relevant is this page to what someone searched for?”

While most people obsess over 200+ ranking factors, this shows you really only need to nail these 3 core elements: get quality links, write relevant content, and keep visitors engaged.

The Game-Changing Revelation About Authority

The testimony also revealed that quality scores are **static**. Once Google decides your site is trustworthy, that authority sticks across ALL your related content. They’re not recalculating your trustworthiness for every single search.

This means you should focus on site-wide signals instead of trying to game individual pages:

** Build brand mentions:** Reach out to industry publications, podcasts, and roundup articles to get your name mentioned alongside established competitors.

**Create content hubs:** Build clusters of related articles around each main topic, then interlink them strategically to show Google you own that subject.

**Establish expertise markers:** Add detailed author bios, link to original studies, and showcase real client work across multiple pages.

Your Action Plan This Week

Take a step back from chasing every shiny SEO tactic and focus on:

- Auditing your site’s overall trustworthiness signals

- Checking how long people actually stay on your pages (not just bounce rate)

- Mapping whether your backlinks make sense for your topic

- Ensuring your content matches actual search intent

**Bottom line:**

Master the ABC framework, build real authority, and create content humans actually want to read. Everything else is just noise.

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