[Alvin]

OK you geeks translate this,looks like google is recording every little click you make.?


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Alvin

[awebapart]

Hi Alvin

It looks like we both had a revelation moment last night on the other forum! I'm glad you also feel strongly about this to make other people aware of this issue, an issue that before last night I had a very different and very wrong opinion about.

I think this issue is very important. So much so, that it has given me the push I needed to set up, albeit in a rush, a separate website on SEO and write about this as the site's first SEO article.

One of the reasons for needing a separate site and article to explain this fully, is rather than just talk about the code, I have also set up a dummy google results page which demonstrates what logging information is sent back to google and when. The dummy page's code, when you view source, has also been beautified to make it easier to understand what is going on.

Now I'm off to the other thread on this forum, to correct what I wrongly said earlier about google not monitoring clicks!

[Nicksyb]

Ok I have just read that and am confused, could I have that in plain english and be told what the effect would be on my/your website?

Or am I missing the point totally?! I haven't had caffeine yet

[boxby]

Ditto - for non techy!

[Alvin]

Thanks for deciphering it Paul.

I too never thought google was such a sneaky sod,although have long given up on the idea they were whiter than white and believe there motivation is self interest naturaly.


From my position as an SEO I just wish there awesome power over the web and commerce could be cut down to size.?

Would be so nice to have an even playing field.

Alvin

[awebapart]

Sorry, I did say that the website and article were a bit of a rush job, and they both need refining.

Ignoring all the technical stuff, it just means that Google is monitoring what users click on in the natural results of google search pages, and in my opinion they are doing it in quite a secretive way, which tends to go against their "Don't be evil" motto and corporate code of conduct.

There will be little or no effect on your site at present, it is just a google monitoring and privacy issue, however google might use this information in the future as part of its algorithm to determine how sites rank for search terms - see the google and user intent thread for more information on this.

[Martin-Subbynet]

If you look at "Web History" once logged in to Google, you'll see every search term used and sites clicked are listed. If you have the Google Toolbar installed you will also see every site you've browsed.

I don't think this has been kept a secret at all.

[davewilkinson]

I agree with Martin. Unless Google monitors absolutely everything users do, it's unlikely they'll keep one step ahead of black hat SEO's. It's their job to watch what we do.

Google make no secret of this. In fact, as Martin mentioned, they share the information in Web History to 'help' you manage your own web activity. Of course it would be nice if they'd share other people's history, but I'd imagine there may be a couple of issues with that.

[sally]

I have simply always assumed they watch every click I make, surely that is the point of a search engine so they can bring the most relevant results for me?