SEARCHENGINES
Yandex Search Ranking Factors Leaked & Exposed
Yandex had a boatload of its source code across all its technology allegedly leaked by a disgruntled employee and part of that was the source code for Russia’s largest search engine – Yandex. As you can imagine, SEOs and others are diving in and seeing what they can learn from the source code.
I personally did not download the source code, so I did not go through it myself but I wanted to share what people did find via Twitter from their investigations of the source code.
Here’s the alpha version of an explorer tool for the leaked #Yandex Search code.
It lets you browse through the ranking factors, view by tags, etc, and start to find connections.
Easy to add new features if there’s anything you want to see!https://t.co/AjbYnrDl9P pic.twitter.com/pQ4scOkP6w
— Rob Ousbey : @[email protected] (@RobOusbey) January 28, 2023
I downloaded the code, analyzed it and there is a lot of useful information for Google SEO as well. pic.twitter.com/RWrgnnlpj6
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
Theoretically, what is the difference between algorithms used in Google and in Yandex?
They are quite similar:
– there is RankBrain analogue – MatrixNet;
– they are using PageRank (almost the same as in Google);
– a lot of text algorithms are the same. pic.twitter.com/Djjl8Bmjwn— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
According to Statcounter Yandex is close to Yahoo and Bing by market share: pic.twitter.com/5GKIvKIvAo
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
Main insights after analysing this list:
#1 Age of links is a ranking factor. pic.twitter.com/U47uWvEq9w
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
#3 Numbers in URLs is bad for rankings pic.twitter.com/ECgwGeGUfb
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
#5 Hard pessimization equal PR=0 pic.twitter.com/RRbhuJyZr1
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
#7 Fun fact – there is a separate ranking factor for uplifting Wikipedia pic.twitter.com/799F8KFpkE
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
#9 Document age and last update both are ranking factors. pic.twitter.com/ay1GTMVEtJ
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
Right now I checked ~40% of the list, there are a lot more (about text relevancy, behaivor factors, page rank, internal links,etc).
Will continue this thread after some time.
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 27, 2023
The first thread got a lot of impressions (500k views for the moment, thanks for you retweets and likes!), so I decided to finalize.https://t.co/UQiQsnpWd2
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#2 Additionnaly: ranking factor for orphan pages.
You can easy find them via Screming Frog or other crawlers. pic.twitter.com/zIPwAelpD0
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#4 Number of search queries of your site/url is a ranking factor.
Obviously more = better. pic.twitter.com/xXQ6FMDghP
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#6 If your url whould be the last for search session (user will find what he needs) – it whould impact rankings.
There are strict factors for this and predictible factors as well. pic.twitter.com/Zx3sBZORCs
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#8 Special ranking factors for short videos (tiktok, shorts, reels) pic.twitter.com/oKPzL09MID
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#10 Keywords in URL is a ranking factors.
As we can see from the description – the optimal would be include up to 3 words from the search query. pic.twitter.com/Q1euKWSiST
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#14 One more ranking factor for content quality – broken embedded video on the page.
Embed videos – good for rankings.
Broken embed videos – bad. pic.twitter.com/2SUys65PHp— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#16 If you backlinks anchors contain all words from the keywords – it’s good for SEO.
If it is in a one link – it’s more beneficial. Especially if the order of words is the same. pic.twitter.com/WrbESJ8Da5
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#18 The quality rank of texts on the domain is a ranking factor.
Pages with low quality content affect the entire domain. pic.twitter.com/MJUCTVB9CH
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#20 Funny, there is a random as a separate ranking factor.
When you don’t understant why some of page is on top – it could be just random (to test behaivor factors). pic.twitter.com/TGtzFrmBOV
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
#22 Backlinks from the top 100 best websites by PageRank impacts on rankings.
That’s not news. pic.twitter.com/ikxldWLJqy
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
Wow, I just found the list with initial weights of Yandex ranking factors.
Do you need one more thread? 😁
P.S. final weights calculated by AI (matrixnet), but initial values are useful as well. pic.twitter.com/WeroYQy7Yu
— Alex Buraks (@alex_buraks) January 28, 2023
That said, I’ve been digging into the codebase myself to find things of interest.
I’m doing this live, so I don’t know how long it will take between tweets.
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 27, 2023
A lot of the code related to Yandex Search lives in the Kernel, ExtSearch, Search, and Robot archives, but again I won’t be able to be comprehensive here until I’ve looked through everything.
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 27, 2023
Some really interesting things in the web_meta_factors_info/factors_gen.in file as it relates to content features and factors.
For instance, some things that we’d expect like a minimum expectation of the proximity of words in a title to the words in the query. pic.twitter.com/YRsrCpVsqU
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 27, 2023
Interestingly, there are a lot of scrapers in here Google News, Shopping, YouTube and even other Yandex services.
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 27, 2023
Hmm…this might be the structure of how Yandex stores documents in their version of a doc server.
Still looking for an idea of how they structure their inverted index. pic.twitter.com/1lwTbOirnx
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 27, 2023
Here’s a protobuf of link factors. pic.twitter.com/1RM6o1xzRg
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 27, 2023
In the “link prioritizer code” they talk about decreasing the priority of links with the same text from the same host. In other words, don’t count the links from duplicate content. pic.twitter.com/dQTUnScCUy
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 27, 2023
How did y’all come up with that number of ranking factors?
I see 481 factors just related to “Rapid Clicks” pic.twitter.com/sw5A3ia3Bk
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 28, 2023
Similar to the Googs, Yandex has multiple ranking models to choose from.
In this select_ranking_models.cpp file, they talk about having different models for different languages and locations. pic.twitter.com/m210tpOUDb
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 28, 2023
I’m gonna go watch TV, but I obviously have to add this to my book so I’m gonna add more over the next couple days
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 28, 2023
Been digging into how this robot archive is structured.
It looks like the Zora directory is where a lot of interesting things are happening. There’s a limits.pb.txt file that stores the requests per second rate for the host and the IP address for 204k hosts. pic.twitter.com/0oulKm58dx
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 28, 2023
Here’s where the Document and Query factors are collected and scored.
Looks like it goes to storage after this tho. pic.twitter.com/qJAiLfSrsU
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 29, 2023
Ok, real quick, top 5 most positively and negatively weighted ranking factors and their coefficients in the initial weighting in Yandex’s document relevance calculation. Negatives first
#1 FI_ADV: -0.2509284637
This factor determines that there is advertising on the site.
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 29, 2023
#3 FI_QURL_STAT_POWER: -0.1943768768
Factor is the number of URL impressions for the request
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 29, 2023
#5 FI_GEO_CITY_URL_REGION_COUNTRY: -0.168645758
Factor is the geographical coincidence of the document and the country that the user searched from.
Ok, now for the top 5 positively weighted factors.
— Mic King (@iPullRank) January 29, 2023
Here is a starting point for link related factors.https://t.co/fwP8TxuOrM
— Christoph C. Cemper 🇺🇦 🧡 SEO (@cemper) January 30, 2023
Will this help you do SEO on Google? Probably not but hey, it is super interesting.
Ah, but once they find the optimal word count …
BOOM
— John Mueller is watching out for Google+ 🐀 (@JohnMu) January 29, 2023
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
SEARCHENGINES
Daily Search Forum Recap: March 27, 2024
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google Local Service Ads is asking for more photos. SEOs, please don’t remove the contact us and about us pages. Hotels can remove pricing details from its Google listings. Google Local reviews is testing reactions. Google Analytics real time reporting had issues today. Google help documentation is testing using AI features.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
-
SEOs, Please Don’t Remove Contact Us & About Us Pages
Google’s John Mueller asked if it would be alright not to list a contact us and about us page on their website. The reason is, they would only add it if Google wanted it, but not for users. John Mueller responded, “I can think of good reasons for some sites to have these kinds of pages, but, after double-checking, there’s nothing in our search developer documentation that suggests this is needed.” -
Google Local Service Ads Sends Email Asking You To Upload Photos
Google is sending some Local Service Ads advertisers emails asking them to upload photos to their profiles. The email says, “Photos are coming to your Local Services Ads. Upload images to your profile to help your business stand out.” But don’t LSAs already contain photos? -
Google Search Developer Docs Gain AI Generated Help Features
A week ago Monday, March 18th, I noticed Google’s search developer documentation had generative AI features to help you find the answers to your question. This is in the form of an improved search, summary of the page content, a chat feature and more. I was told this was rolled out on some developer docs earlier in the year. -
Google Local Reviews Reactions Notice
In November 2023 we started to see Google allow reactions on local photos and some reviews. Well, it seems to be rolling out more widely now. -
Google Analytics Real Time Data Lagging Today
There are countless complaints across the forums and social media that Google Analytics real time data is lagging and not reporting accurately. It seems like those complaints are legit after checking a number of sites. -
Google Cafe Cleaning & Delivery Robot
You probably have seen these cleaning and delivery robots in some restaurants and lounges but have you seen them in the Google cafes? Here is one doing its thing at one of the cafes at the GooglePlex in Mountain View, California.
Other Great Search Threads:
- It’s also not a request for the site’s homepage nor for a comprehensive sorted list – it’s a restrict. Sometimes the homepage doesn’t show on top, I wouldn’t take that as a sign of anything in particular. It’s a bit easier with small sites, but not always, John Mueller on X
- It’s really refreshing to see this level of detail after an appeal is denied in GBP. This saves us a lot of time trying to get everything ship shape! Also – make sure you know who has admin access to your GBP, y’all.., Carrie Hill on X
- That’s correct – hreflang is not geotargeting, it’s all about alternate versions., John Mueller on X
- When I joined Google in early 2021, it was clear that regulatory & privacy changes and AI (automation) advancements would be key focus areas for marketers over the next several years. Fast-forward three years, and we’re now at the inflection point., AdsLiaison on X
- Hey Brett, This is currently in closed beta. I don’t have further details to share at this time, but we’re continuing to test it., AdsLiaison on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
SEO
- All about Core Web Vitals: INP (Interaction to Next Paint), Yoast
- Google Shopping GTIN Requirements Explained!, ZATO Marketing
- Google’s Helpful Content Update & Ranking System: What Happened and What Changed in 2024?, Amsive
- How to Do Keyword Mapping for SEO (+Free Template), WordStream
- Managing decentralized marketing for international SEO, Oncrawl
- Structured data for SEO: What you need to know, Wix SEO Hub
- The helpful content system has changed, Marie Haynes
- Why Site Speed Matters for SEO, Lumar
- Content Pruning: Why It Works, and How to Do It, Ahrefs
- Does Google rank AI content?, SERP’s Up SEO Podcast
- How To Survive 3 New Threats to Your SEO Strategy, Content Marketing Institute
PPC
Other Search
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
SEARCHENGINES
Daily Search Forum Recap: March 26, 2024
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google Search Console is testing an Android App. Google is testing places and places sites in the search bar menu. Google spoke about if a business should have a website and a blog. Google added 3D models to product structured data. Google Search does not support AVIF images, yet. Mikhail Parakhin stepped down as the head of Bing Search and Microsoft Advertising.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
-
Google Search Console Tests Android App
Google seems to be testing an Android App for Google Search Console. This comes several weeks after I reported that Google has no plans for a mobile app for Google Search Console. -
Google Tests Places & Places Sites Search Bar Filter Tabs
Yesterday we reported Google is testing products and products sites in the search bar tab in the European regions. Today, Google is testing places and places sites in the search bar tab in the European regions. -
Google: Should Small Service Businesses Start A Website & A Blog?
Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, was asked about if a business should always have a website and if so, should they also have a blog. Sullivan replied that he believes all businesses should have at least a basic website, but when it comes to a blog, that depends on what they have to say on that blog. -
Google Adds 3D Models Markup To Product Structured Data For Linking
Google has added new 3D models markup support to the product structured data documentation so that you can connect, associate or link your products to the appropriate 3D model. -
Google Search Does Not Support AVIF Images Just Yet
Did you know that Google Search does not support the AVIF image format? At least not yet. Google Search doesn’t list it on its supported image formats and Google Image Search simply won’t index them. But John Mueller of Google said on X, “I’m sure this won’t be necessary long term.” -
Mikhail Parakhin Steps Down As Head Of Bing Search & Microsoft Advertising
Mikhail Parakhin, the head of Bing Search and Microsoft Advertising, is stepping down from that role as Parakhin “decided to explore new roles.” We’ve quoted Mikhail Parakhin here countless times over the past couple of years, to hear that he is leaving the role makes me super sad. His transparency and willingness to listen to the community was amazing. -
St. Patrick’s Day Dancers At Google Ireland
Here is a video I found on Instagram from the Google Ireland office of dancers performing at the Google office in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It looks like they call themselves the Golden Beats.
Other Great Search Threads:
Search Engine Land Stories:
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
SEO
PPC
Search Features
Other Search
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
SEARCHENGINES
Daily Search Forum Recap: March 25, 2024
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google is begging SEOs to stop trying to show Google things and work on showing their users things. Google is testing the Search Generative Experience in the wild to a subset of US users. Google says publishing more content doesn’t improve site quality. Google is testing products and product sites in the search bar. Google shares how to remove a subdomain of a subdomain in Google Search Console.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
-
Google Tests SGE AI Overviews In The Wild (Subset Of US Users)
On Friday, Google began to test SGE-based AI overviews in the real Google search results. That means you may see AI overview snapshot answers in Google search results without being opted into the Google search labs experiment. This is being tested on a small subset of searchers based in the U.S., Google told me. -
Google Begs SEOs To Stop Showing Google Things; Show Visitors Things Instead
Google’s Search Liaison responded to a series of posts on Twitter, leading him to beg SEOs to stop trying to “show Google” things, explaining that the process of doing things to your site to rank better in Google is the opposite of the advice Google is giving. Instead, show things to your users/visitors that those people will like. -
Google: Publishing More Content Doesn’t Improve Quality For Faster Indexing
A couple of weeks ago, Gary Illyes and Lizzi Sassman of Google had Dave Smart as a guest on the Search Off The Record podcast and they spoke about crawling. In one part, they said again that the quality of your site can impact how fast and how much Google will crawl your website. -
Google Tests Products & Product Sites Search Bar Filter Tabs
Google is now testing placing “product sites” as its own search bar filter tab in the search results. Also, Google is testing replacing “Shopping” with “Products” in that search bar. -
How To Remove A Subdomain Of A Subdomain Via Google Search Console
Let’s say you have a subdomain of a subdomain, such as sub.sub.domain.tld, how do you remove sub.sub.domain.tld from Google while keeping sub.domain.tld in the Google search results. The answer is to verify the sub.sub.domain.tld property directly in Search Console and remove just that property. -
Flock Of Geese At Google
Here is a flock of geese near the new Google Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. I guess the geese are making its way from the GooglePlex to the Bay View campus?
Other Great Search Threads:
Search Engine Land Stories:
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
SEO
PPC
Search Features
Other Search
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
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