Maybe an A/B test?
You only test what you in principle are prepared to field and this is in production, not some Google internal test.
Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
41–50 of 337 posts
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#42They also do open most links in their own google.com wrapper. Time to break them up
I just tried it on my phone and for some reason, links are wrapped except when I select "desktop version".
Depending on some conditions that aren't always you get the true link or you get the wrapped link.
My guess is that they have an array of techniques for tracking your clicks (js trickery, "ping" attribute,...) and resort to wrapping only when the other ones are less likely to work.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#43I've used Yahoo for search since basically forever. My understanding is its backed by Bing these days. It's really not bad. Don't understand why everyone sticks to google other than marketing and momentum.
You'll probably hand over your search data to Verizon then. Why not use e.g. DDG (or Searx as mentioned elsewhere in this thread):
> DuckDuckGo's results are a compilation of "over 400" sources, including Yahoo! Search BOSS, Wolfram Alpha, Bing, Yandex, its own Web crawler (the DuckDuckBot) and others.
> DuckDuckGo positions itself as a search engine that puts privacy first and as such it does not store IP addresses, does not log user information, and uses cookies only when required.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#44Remember AOL, anyone? And so, we've come full circle.
Between google and facebook, we have AOL. You can stay in their silos all day and never "really" be on the World Wide Web as it was originally envisioned.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#45It's still regular for me but if true this will probably be the last straw for me. It's already absolutely impossible to send someone a link to a pdf you've found through google, this would make it impossible to send any link. That bloody wrapper is also a fine piece of shit. Search engines should link to content, not appropriate that content, hide who supplies it or mess with the links.
Have you tried these Firefox addons: Google search link fix https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/google-search... Google Search URL Fixup https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/google-search...
Honestly at this point I'd be more inclined to add the Google domain set to PiHole and treat them as hostile. Except I would have to greenlight those damn CAPTCHAs.
Adding an addon feels more like gaslighting myself that they're not abusive really. Was bad enough when they "innovated" search by adding a JS redirect to every visible URL so what you saw wasn't what you got - just what you eventually got after they've logged and tracked you.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#46I've used Yahoo for search since basically forever. My understanding is its backed by Bing these days. It's really not bad. Don't understand why everyone sticks to google other than marketing and momentum.
You'll probably hand over your search data to Verizon then. Why not use e.g. DDG (or Searx as mentioned elsewhere in this thread): > DuckDuckGo's results are a compilation of "over 400" sources, including Yahoo! Search BOSS, Wolfram Alpha, Bing, Yandex, its own Web crawler (the DuckDuckBot) and others. > DuckDuckGo positions itself as a search engine that puts privacy first and as such it does not store IP addresses,…
Not something I'm particularly concerned about to be honest.
My main point is that there are several completely adequate replacements for google, DuckDuckGo being one of them.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#47I think it's a little too early to come to a full conclusion here. Google is constantly testing layout changes in SERPs and it seems like OP ended up in a test. The thread is 4 weeks old and I haven't seen or read anything on these changes anywhere but on this thread. I still think Google's general direction is clear with more webmaster incentives for structured data, amp and also Google just straight up answering qu…
It's less the specifics and more the trend. Google's direction is, as stated elsewhere, to be seen as the source of information - not a route to it. As you note, they're incentivising structured content - which means they can appropriate it and present directly rather than providing a link to the originator.
No doubt some will find it helpful (as with AMP). Some will find it unacceptable appropriation. I'm most definitely in the latter camp. I don't use Google search anymore, having transitioned to DDG 2+ years ago. I rarely find situations where reverting to Google is necessary, and when I do, a `g!` in DDG is as close as I get.
I realise I may be in a minority, but as far as I'm concerned both Google and Facebook have jumped the shark. They're become corporate behemoths, a malaise that seems to come to all companies of a certain age and scale. They've lost focus on providing useful, innovative services for real people. Instead, they're all about "shareholder value". Both are ripe for disruption.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you tried these Firefox addons: Google search link fix https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/google-search... Google Search URL Fixup https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/google-search...
It's not worth it. Just use DuckDuckGo or Searx.
startpage.com is pretty good to, been using that as my primary search engine for a while now.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#49It's still regular for me but if true this will probably be the last straw for me. It's already absolutely impossible to send someone a link to a pdf you've found through google, this would make it impossible to send any link. That bloody wrapper is also a fine piece of shit. Search engines should link to content, not appropriate that content, hide who supplies it or mess with the links.
Google isn’t really a search engine anymore. They’re a data harvesting company who then try find ways to profit off sharing that data with you. Google penalises other websites for stealing content or re-hosting stuff without adding value, then goes ahead and does exactly that all the time.
Google is an organism and uses attack and defense against its perceived enemies.
Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?
#50This is a purely anti-user move.
No user gains anything by it, this actually helps phishing sites. Oh, and it happens to help Google's AMP effort, which can now pretend to be the original site even more effectively. Time to get everyone to use Duck Duck Go, and to get rid of those Google CAPTCHAs which are an even bigger data harvesting operation than search.