Google is replacing direct destination URLs in its search results with google.com/goto server-side redirect links. A Google spokesperson confirmed the rollout, stating the company "has a long history of deploying technical measures against evolving forms of abuse, and we regularly take steps to protect our services and users."
What changed
When users hover over a search result, the browser status bar now shows a google.com/goto URL instead of the page's actual destination address. Clicking the link still reaches the intended page, but the path goes through a Google-controlled redirect rather than pointing directly at the target URL.
Google began testing this approach in July 2026. As of late August 2026, the change is live across the majority of search results.
Details and scope
Derek Perkins, founder of the SEO monitoring platform Nozzle, reported observing the change at "nearly a 100% rollout across several residential IP providers." He shared data tracking the percentage of search engine results pages (SERPs) that use the goto redirect over approximately four months of testing, showing a sharp increase coinciding with the current rollout.
The goto links cannot be decoded back to their destination without following the server-side redirect. Perkins noted that this creates a practical obstacle for providers that parse Google result URLs at scale: "The goto links can't be decoded, so providers will have to follow the redirect links. While that works in small scale tests, Google seems likely to make that tough, since each SERP will have hundreds of links to decode."
Context
Google Search results have historically displayed direct URLs in the HTML, allowing tools and scripts to extract destination addresses without making additional HTTP requests. The goto passthrough removes that capability. Any system that relied on reading result URLs from the page source — including rank tracking tools, SERP analysis platforms, and automated link checkers — must now follow each redirect individually to determine the destination.
Google has not described the change as affecting organic rankings, crawl behavior, or how websites are indexed. The redirect applies to the search results interface, not to how Googlebot crawls or ranks external pages.
What has not been confirmed
Google did not provide a timeline for full global completion of the rollout. The company did not specify whether the change applies to all Google Search surfaces (mobile, desktop, image search, news) or only to the standard web results page. Google also did not address whether the redirect behavior will extend to AI Overviews or AI Mode results.
It remains unclear whether the rate-limiting or authentication requirements on the goto redirects will increase over time, further restricting automated access.
Sources
- Derek Perkins (Nozzle), public post on X, August 26, 2026: https://x.com/Derek_Perkins/status/2092715097743556736
