Google just changed how links work on SERPs and most people missed it.
You may have noticed google.com/goto?url= appearing in search results recently. Google has now confirmed it officially.
Instead of linking directly to pages, Google is now routing every click through an internal redirect layer.
Why?
Officially to protect against abuse.
Unofficially this is a direct hit against automated SERP scraping.
Who gets impacted immediately:
Rank tracking tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz)
AI companies pulling live Search data
Custom scrapers and automated indexing tools
Data brokers built around Google Search
Will scraping die completely? No tools always adapt.
But the message is clear: Google wants total control over who accesses Search data and how it’s monetized.
As AI models rely more on real-time web retrieval, Google is building a bigger moat around its ecosystem.
The real question: Will SEO tool prices go up as scraping becomes more expensive or will platforms bypass this redirect layer easily?
Drop your take below. 👇
#SEO #Google #SERP #AISearch #GEO #AEO #DigitalMarketing #SearchEngineOptimization
0 likes · 0 views · Nov 7, 2026
Google just changed how links work on SERPs and most people missed it. You may have noticed google.com/goto?url= appearing in search results recently. Google...
