{"id":1231,"slug":"rule-keep-dates-separate-from-causation-when-citing-google-history","title":"Rule: When telling the Google history story publicly, keep dates and product launches separate from causation/motive claims — the documented record is the former, not the latter","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","editorial-discipline"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Public-facing marketing content that tells the \"history of Google\" story must keep two registers separate: (1) **verifiable** — dates, product launches, named updates, official Google statements; (2) **interpretive** — claims that any given shift was *designed* to push businesses toward ads, or that organic was *deliberately* buried. The first is well-sourced. The second is largely SEO-industry speculation.\n\n**Why:** Conflating them looks confident in private and makes the brand look credulous in public. The Florida update is a classic example — the update is verified ([[florida-update-nov-16-2003-organic-relevance-shake]]); the \"Google did it to sell ads before holidays\" motive is contemporaneous industry speculation, not documented. Same applies to the [[google-2016-layout-shift-4-ads-above-organic-feb-22]].\n\n**How to apply:** When drafting timeline copy, label or footnote any motive/causation claim as interpretation, OR omit it. Lead with the change Google made and the documented effect; only then offer the interpretation, clearly framed as such.\n\n**Related:** [[recurring-pattern-google-shifts-early-adopters-win-laggards-lose]], [[caveats-google-history-smb-brief-cost-coercion-vendor-data]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"florida-update-nov-16-2003-organic-relevance-shake","title":"Florida update (November 16, 2003) — first major organic algorithm shake-up; wiped out keyword-stuffing, link-farm, thin-affiliate tactics","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"google-2016-layout-shift-4-ads-above-organic-feb-22","title":"Google February 22, 2016 layout shift — right-rail text ads removed on desktop; up to four ads stacked above organic on commercial queries","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-businesses-found-on-web-google-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: How businesses got found on the web — a then→now timeline (Google-focused, SMB lens, June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"caveats-google-history-smb-brief-cost-coercion-vendor-data","title":"Caveats for the June 2026 Google-history SMB brief — cost/causation claims are weak; \"now\" data is mostly US/global not Canada-specific; vendor sources were used skeptically; rollout state is moving fast","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.904Z","updated_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.904Z"}