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Is Google Killing Web Analytics?

It seemed like another minor ripple, a small movement from a weighty web giant. But it seems that the beta of Google secured web search has disturbed more of the already choppy SEO and web analytics waters than was predicted.

We talked earlier about the beta launch of Google's SSL secured search and the advantages that it can bring to users. It seems that for many webmasters this news was not received with such bonhomie.

The issue that has ruffled feathers, is contained in the nuances of how SSL encryption works; HTTP headers normally include a 'referer' with information about the web page you arrived from, and info about the search request that delivered you to their page. It’s the system that allows web analytics tools to gather information about how and why people are on your site. It's this very system that is subverted by using the SSL secured Google search.

Google does indeed acknowledge that referrers are disabled when using the Google search SSL beta:

“As another layer of privacy, SSL search turns off a browser's referrers. Web browsers typically turn off referrers when going from HTTPS to HTTP mode to provide extra privacy. By clicking on a search result that takes you to an HTTP site, you could disable any customizations that the website provides based on the referrer information.”

At the moment Google's secure search is in beta, so its effect on people's analytics data will be limited, but if this becomes the default choice for users then this has the capacity to create sizable problems for website owners. A rich stream of information could be dammed.

More information can be found on The Register.



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