Google /goto Redirects: What the New Search URL Change Means for SEO

Google is rolling out a change to links within its search results, replacing some direct destination URLs with a new google.com/goto redirect.

The change could have implications for SEO tools, rank trackers, SERP scrapers and AI platforms that collect Google Search data.

Instead of a search result linking directly to a website, Google can now serve a URL structured like:

google.com/goto?url=[hashURL]

Clicking the result still takes the user to the intended website. But rather than travelling directly from Google Search to that page, the click first passes through Google's /goto URL.

For the average person using Google, very little changes. For the technology attempting to read and process millions of Google Search results, the difference could be much more significant.

What is the Google /goto redirect?

Google's /goto system acts as an intermediary between a Google Search result and the website being displayed.

Previously, third-party systems could generally identify the destination URL directly from the search result.

With /goto, the link exposed within the result can instead be a Google-owned URL containing an encoded value. Google then resolves that URL and redirects the user to the actual destination.

This distinction matters because SEO platforms, rank trackers and other services process Google Search results at a scale that a normal user never would.

The change was first being reported during testing in June and July 2026. By August, Derek Perkins of Nozzle reported seeing /goto across nearly 100% of results fetched through several residential IP providers.

Google has since confirmed that new technical measures are being deployed.

Why has Google introduced /goto redirects?

Google has provided a relatively limited explanation.

A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land that the company has a long history of introducing technical measures against evolving forms of abuse and regularly takes steps to protect its services and users.

What Google hasn't said is equally important.

Google has not publicly confirmed that /goto was specifically introduced to prevent SEO companies, AI platforms or SERP providers from collecting its search results.

However, the technical effect could make this type of large-scale data collection more difficult.

Nozzle's Derek Perkins explained that the /goto links cannot simply be decoded to reveal the destination. Providers may instead need to follow the individual redirects to determine where each result leads.

Doing that once is simple. Doing it across thousands or millions of search results creates another technical hurdle.

Does Google's /goto change your website URLs?

No. This is an important distinction for businesses reading about the update.

Google isn't changing the URLs on your website. Your existing pages, URL structure and internal links remain the same.

The change is happening within Google Search itself.

For someone clicking your organic result, Google should still redirect them to the correct page.

There is therefore no /goto optimisation that businesses need to implement on their websites.

What does Google /goto mean for SEO?

The immediate impact is more relevant to SEO software than individual websites.

Rank trackers, SERP monitoring platforms and SEO data providers often collect information directly from Google Search results.

If those systems previously relied on reading destination URLs directly, they may need to change how they collect that information.

That means businesses using third-party SEO platforms should keep an eye on their reporting as the rollout continues.

If rankings, URLs or SERP reports suddenly behave differently, don't immediately assume your organic visibility has changed. Check whether the platform itself has been affected by Google's change.

Google Search Console is different because the data comes directly from Google. There is currently no evidence that Search Console performance reporting has been affected by /goto, although Google has not specifically confirmed this.

Could /goto affect AI platforms?

Potentially, but this needs some context.

AI companies and search products need access to current web information from a range of sources. Google Search results are one potential source of that information.

Making the destination URL less directly accessible creates an additional step for any automated system attempting to collect Google Search results at scale.

That doesn't mean AI platforms can no longer access websites.

The open web still exists. Websites can be discovered and crawled directly, and different AI products use different search providers, indexes, partnerships and retrieval methods.

The more accurate conclusion is that Google is making its own Search results harder to process in the same way they previously could be.

Does /goto affect Google Analytics or website tracking?

For most businesses, normal website analytics should continue working because the visitor ultimately reaches the same destination page.

However, this is an area worth monitoring as the rollout develops.

Businesses should keep an eye on organic traffic within GA4 alongside clicks and impressions within Google Search Console.

If Search Console remains stable but a third-party SEO platform suddenly reports significant changes, that could point towards a reporting issue rather than an actual ranking loss.

What should businesses do?

For now, very little. There is no reason to change URLs, redirects or website structure because of /goto.

Instead, businesses and marketing teams should monitor:

• Google Search Console clicks and impressions

• Organic traffic within GA4

• Third-party keyword rankings

• Landing page reporting

• Any unusual changes reported by SEO platforms

The important point is to compare multiple data sources before reacting to an unexpected change.

The bigger picture for Search, SEO and AI

The /goto rollout is interesting because of what it tells us about the direction of Google Search.

Search-result data has become increasingly valuable.

SEO platforms need it to monitor rankings. Businesses use it to understand competitors. And AI-powered products increasingly rely on access to fresh information to answer questions and complete tasks.

Google adding another technical layer between its results and the organisations attempting to collect that information doesn't end SERP scraping. Third-party providers will almost certainly continue adapting.

But it does show Google taking greater technical control over how information contained within its Search results can be accessed at scale.

For businesses, there is no immediate reason to panic or change SEO strategy.

For the SEO and AI industries, however, /goto is a development worth watching.