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Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

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Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#201

Post by reaperducer »

0xffff2 wrote: post #162
greenyoda wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On DuckDuckGo, when I searched for "Crate and Barrel Canada" (without the quotes), their home page (www.crateandbarrel.ca) showed up as the first search result: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Crate+and+Barrel+Canada&t=ffcm&ia=... DuckDuckGo has mobile apps: https://duckduckgo.com/app

I get the exact same result in Google, so I'm not sure what this proves.

I get the exact same result in Google, so I'm not sure what this proves.

It proves that you don't understand how Google works.

Each search is custom to the person, profile, IP address, geolocation, search history, surfing history, purchase history, social media, and a thousand other trade secrets that Google holds. No two searches are the same.

This is why when Sally in Accounting searches for something on her work computer, and Mike in Facilities searches for the same thing on his phone they get different results.

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#202

Post by reaperducer »

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #45
Nokinside wrote: post #24

Earlier 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...

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 l…

I'd be more inclined to add the Google domain set to PiHole and treat them as hostile

I've been thinking about adding google.com to my hosts roundfile. Do you what other domains/IP ranges I should use?

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#203

Post by jimmaswell »

reaperducer wrote: post #196
flyGuyOnTheSly wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was trying to find the URL of Crate and Barrel Canada yesterday on Mobile on Google and I found myself dropped into some google clickbait hell... I ended up in their google maps product on mobile and was clicking around between their reviews, their location on google maps, the opinions of other google users about what they thought crate and barrel was good at, pictures of crate and barrel stores, etc... But I could…

But I couldn't help but think that Google really doesn't want me even going to the actual URL. I've stated this before, but it bears repeating: Google does not make money from you finding what you're looking for. Google only makes money from you hunting for what you're looking for.

Same problem dating sites ran into.

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#204

Post by reaperducer »

jacquesm wrote: post #163
emrehan wrote: post #129

Whether this claim is true nor not, Google is able to pull such a move due to its monopoly. Most of us are against monopolies but don’t care about Google’s central position on our precious Internet. We should act up though. One day, it could be too late. I’ve been using DDG for around a year now after numerous failed attempts in the past. I, too, had been frustrated with some search results, but I don’t miss Google a…

Why on earth is this comment downvoted?

A fair number of HN users work for said monopoly.

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#205

Post by ben509 »

kd3 wrote: post #139

Anyone know of a good replacement for Google recaptcha?

This thread digs into the notion that you probably don't need a solution as comprehensive as reCaptcha: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20158386

And the article suggests some alternatives towards the end.

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#207

Post by matt4077 »

reaperducer wrote: post #201
0xffff2 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get the exact same result in Google, so I'm not sure what this proves.

I get the exact same result in Google, so I'm not sure what this proves. It proves that you don't understand how Google works. Each search is custom to the person, profile, IP address, geolocation, search history, surfing history, purchase history, social media, and a thousand other trade secrets that Google holds. No two searches are the same. This is why when Sally in Accounting searches for something on her work c…

I doubt OP had never heard about individualisation. It's just generally overrated.

There is little doubt that Sally, Mike, and everyone else, will get that website as the first result for that query on desktop, unless they specifically block English-language results.

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#208

Post by birdyrooster »

dehrmann wrote: post #121
journalctl wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do we have any recourse against this monopoly...? Once upon a time, Congress used to write and pass laws to protect Americans from egregious abuses of power like this. Of course, that time is long gone.

> egregious abuses of power like this Do you honestly think removing URLs from search results is an "egregious abuse of power?" This is the company that buys credit card transactions from Visa et al. and associates them with your maps and and history for the benefit of advertisers, and you're complaining about them removing a design element 95% of people probably don't care about?

Yes it is when taken in aggregate with all of the other changes which have been hostile to users and good for their ad business. One example is how they used AB testing to justify, over the course of a decade, a slow redesign of Sponsored Results so they look nearly identical to like regular search results.

Their unethical behavior lead me to quit, divest, and delete all of my Google accounts.

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#209

Post by MayeulC »

jjohansson wrote: post #144

Google just last week announced a drop in profit, so expect more of these types of “optimizations” over the coming months. Over the past 6 months they’ve already increased the font size of SERPs, made their ads look even more similar to organic results, and started showing multiple results from the same site in the top 5 results for highly competitive terms. All of these “optimizations” are designed to encourage more…

But isn't Google going to realize that there isn't such a thing as infinite growth?

I get that they got used to tremendous growth in the early days. But it has to stop at some point. Same is true for the economy (we "fix" that with inflation). And they're probably going to be split up before they reach the theoritical maximum.

Couldn't they just be nice neighbors and not squeeze the last drop of milk out of us.

I'd wager that the drop in productivity caused by Google, Facebook and the advertisement-based business model that they encourage dwarfs their revenue by several orders of magnitude.

Re: Google are removing URLs entirely from search results?

#210

Post by danShumway »

zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #159

I’m not sure what Google is thinking here, this is an easy win for phishing sites - not just a lifeline but they are going to flourish. It’s also a huge win for all the sites that are just mirrors of other sites, and low quality sites like Pinterest that flood google with links that only work in their app (which I thought was against Google’s TOS but they have condoned Pinterest for years). the only possible upside I…

I don't think it's a secret. Google's been pretty open for a while about the fact that they want to get rid of URLs entirely on the web.[0]

De-emphasizing the URL in search is a necessary step on the path to that end. The less of a role the URL plays in ordinary people's lives, the less that people will understand it, and the more evidence Google will see that it can be de-emphasized in other places, and eventually removed or replaced entirely.

And to a certain extent, I get it. I myself would like to move away from URLs to a DAT-adjacent system. I'm not fond of DNS as it works today. I just think Google's approach to all of this is naive and user-hostile. I think their solution will be worse than the problem.

Proponents of DAT systems are advocating that URLs as we use them today aren't great for a lot of stuff, including protecting against phishing, and we should be more up-front about that and stop aiming for readability in domain names -- in short, don't promise something that we can't guarantee. On the other hand, Google is advocating that there should be centralized authorities that tell you Walmart is Walmart and everything should be highly tied to trademarks and brands. Their position is, "phishing won't be a problem because we'll just get good at blocking phishers." When you search on Google for Walmart, it'll be the first result and you'll click on it and trust Google.

It's a very centralized, brand-first, Capitalist approach to the web, where reliability is tied to being big enough that you can tell potential customers or users to just Google your name.

Sometimes Google does bad things and we theorize that maybe they're trying to change the web; but in this case we don't have to theorize. They're just openly trying to change the web. Google doesn't like URLs.

[0]: https://www.wired.com/story/google-wants-to-kill-the-url/

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