Since at least early 2004 Google have on occasion been looking at which of the links in the main body of the search results their users are clicking. Doing this enables Google to place sites which have high click through rates towards the top of their results, improving the search experience for users. This technology has been openly used to rank the paid keyword specific adverts on Google since their inception. Over the past few weeks Google have massivley increased their user tracking effort with apparantly all links from their search pages being not direct links, but redirects via Google - enabling tracking.
Below is an example of link to a Google redirect to Sci7’s site - obtained by using the “copy link location” menu option:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=5&url=http%3A//www.sci7.com/&ei=kEARQ_-dLK_gRKjGrNUK
Analysis of the tracking being used reveals that their is a unique identifier associated with each search term - present at the end of the above link. While it is certain that Google will have taken steps to ensure that rogue search engine optimisers will not be able to skew the results of searches easily it does open the possibility that through controlling cookie use and the careful use of proxies such organisations could seek to artificially increase the click through rate of their entries in the search engine results.
Any automated systems designed to artificially affect click through rates may well be reasonably seen as unacceptable.
One common response recieved by Sci7 following site optimisation is “we’ve started seeing our own site appear in search results when we’re researching topics”. Following a period of controlled experimentation to determine if any effect can be obtained, Sci7 may start to recommend that users should click on their own links when they see in order to improve their site’s rankings.
Google does enable users to turn off link tracking in their preferences.