Is Google click-tracking regular search results?
http://mboffin.com/post.aspx?id=1830
One thing I have always liked about Google is that they never futzed around
with their search result links. If you clicked a search result, it went
right to the URL. No re-route through some Google click-tracking proxy or
anything like that. It also meant you could do a simple copy-and-paste of
any link in the results without any trouble.
Not so anymore...
Maybe it's been going on longer, but in the past couple weeks I have noticed
links in Google search results being routed through a click-tracking server.
Now it seems to be happening, for me at least, with all results. Here is an
example:
Google search for: lawn mowers
You can check for yourself. Right-click and copy the link location of the
regular search results. Instead of the URL shown in green at the end of the
result, you get some long Google-based URL that tracks your click.
Why did I not notice this before? Because Google is changing the URL right
when you click the link. Not cool. I'm guessing this is to fool browsers
that don't allow sites to change the status text. (The status text is the
little text in the bottom-left of your browser that says where a link is
taking you.) Changing the status text was a long-time way of fooling people
into going to sites other than what the link led you to think. Firefox has
the ability for sites to change status text turned off by default.
So how is Google going about doing this? They're using a Javascript
onmousedown function to change the URL of the link right when you click it.
The function they use and the corresponding onmousedown property for a
search result is this:
function
rwt(el,ct,cd,sg){el.href="/url?sa=t&ct="+escape(ct)+"&cd="+escape(cd)+"&url=
"+escape(el.href).replace(/\+/g,"%2B")+"&ei=0n8JQ7uTEonoaO3Q-N4O"+sg;el.onmo
usedown="";return true;}
onmousedown="return rwt(this,'res','1','')"
Google has had a pretty stellar record of "do no evil", but this is pretty
shady. It also is downright annoying when trying to copy-and-paste URL's out
of search results. Instead of some clear URL for the result, I get a bunch
of crap I have to filter and sift through to get the URL I thought I was
copying.
The code is pretty self-explanatory, but I even verified it by tabbing my
way over to a search result link, then using my right-click keyboard button,
got the context menu and copied the link location. Which URL did I get? The
one I was expecting, and the one shown on the page. Not Google's
click-tracking URL.
To some of you this may be a little thing, but it's to me it's not. It
breaks my trust of Google just that much.
You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit
www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message
may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights
appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
