Eric Schmidt Tired of Being Asked About Google’s Ranking Factors

Danny Sullivan has posted a few videos from Google’s Zeitgeist event, and one of them is a fairly entertaining banter between Sullivan and Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Sullivan asks why Google doesn’t list its 200 ranking factors. Schmidt’s response:

"Because we change them. What would happen is, you’ve asked me this question for the eight years I’ve worked with you, so it’s the same question. Why don’t we publish these things. And the fundamental answer is we’re always changing. We’re always changing, and if we started saying here’s how the black box works, then all of a sudden huge incumbencies would come out about this change and that change, and we just don’t want that pressure."

He also says it’s a "business secret".

"I agree, Google’s exact ranking formula is a business secret," writes Sullivan at Search Engine Land. "But I wasn’t asking for the secret recipe, exactly how all the things are mixed to create Google’s special sauce. I was asking what harm there was in listing the 200 various ingredients that are in the sauce."

He provides more perspective here.

We do know one thing. People obsess over PageRank too much. There are 200 factors.

There are 6 Comments. Add Yours.

Tom Roberts
September 17, 2010 at 5:02 pm

DS is a tool!
Lisa
September 18, 2010 at 6:20 am

Its like Google vs SEO!

Well what i can predict better than google here is the factors:)

Title Tags
Anchor Text
Site Structure
XHTML based sites
Tagging
Location based Keywords
Links from Traffic based sites – Location Based
Content from various referal sites
Realtime traffic visits from TWITTER, FACEBOOK
Speed
Cleaning up Duplicate issues
Social Integration
Blogging

Plz leave Eric Schmidt Alone!

All this factors do reflect the RANKINGS!
morestar
September 19, 2010 at 8:58 am

it’s sort of like they are active as if Google is a government agency that SHOULD be transparent in all ways. I wonder if these questioners know what would happen to the search industry if the spammers knew the ranking factors. I wonder if they care. Media and trouble makers who want to chatter chit about anything to get traffic to their sites ask or rather, insist on receiving such information. Thank GOD once again that the regular internet or search engine user cares less for these.

As Lisa said, leave ES alone.
Rada Knives
September 19, 2010 at 11:14 am

Well, why should they give it to us? They don’t want their listings flooded by SEOs selling top rankings.

And good for them – I’m glad I can still find info on Google, not just ads!
Tom Aikins
September 19, 2010 at 9:37 pm

It’s too bad Eric’s tired of questions about Google’s ranking factors but considering how important they are to many people’s livelihoods he should start getting used to it.
jarcher
December 6, 2010 at 11:42 am

Imagine, in an ideal scenario for those in the SEO business, if Google were to announce it’s “secret recipie” what would happen.

Overnight those golden google searches that provide you with the most accurate resources would be ruined.

I’m sure this very site as an example would be buried in the search results in favour of hundreds of porn sites/ugg boots sales that have aggressive online marketing campaigns.

By keeping their ranking factors to themselves they are saving us from ourselves!

I see Google as a beautiful woman – where would the fun be if it was easy??