Google Starts Tracking Clicks of Search Results
It was a matter of time before they caved. Yahoo! started using redirects with their search results a couple of years ago, and today I noticed that Google had done the same. Previously, Google results was a hyperlink direct to the destination site. Today, the URLs lead to a Google redirect script that tracks which result was clicked.
It is an attractive proposition - they more they know about user behaviour (i.e. which URLs are followed), the better they can optimize the search engine and fine tune the results. More data is better than less.
Well, whats the down side? One, performance - every click brings you to Google’s website before leading you to the final destination. Second - Google already places cookies in your browser, and these can potentially be used to capture user behaviour - why wouldn’t they customize your future searches based on your past behaviour? Well, that’s another chunk of privacy down the drain.
I’m a little disappointed, perhaps believing that Google still stood for higher principles than those of its competitors.