Google has implemented a new method for handling links in its Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) by rewriting organic result URLs to a format beginning with google.com/goto?url= instead of displaying the destination URL directly in the HTML. When users click these links, Google redirects them to the actual page using a custom encoding that is not a simple base64 representation of the target URL. Instead, it appears to be an opaque reference tied to Google's index.

This update, observed consistently since late August 2026 for users who are logged out or browsing in private mode, represents a shift from the previous redirect format (google.com/url?q=), where the destination URL was visible in the query string. The new goto links require an additional request to Google to resolve the true destination URL via the HTTP Location header, rather than revealing it upfront.

The significance of this change lies in its impact on automated tools that scrape Google’s SERPs. Previously, scrapers could extract thousands of URLs directly from the HTML without further interaction with Google. Now, each URL resolution demands a separate request to Google, increasing the complexity, slowing down scraping operations, and generating detectable traffic patterns.

This move aligns with Google's broader efforts to deter large-scale automated scraping, complementing earlier measures such as removing the ability to display 100 results per page and enhancing bot detection systems like BotGuard and SearchGuard. These steps collectively raise the operational cost for entities attempting to harvest search data indiscriminately.

Autom.dev, a provider of search data APIs, has monitored this rollout and adapted its systems to handle the new google.com/goto redirects. Their updated pipeline resolves these links by reading the Location header without following the redirect, ensuring that API users continue to receive accurate destination URLs without needing to modify their integrations.

For developers and businesses relying on SERP data, this update underscores the increasing challenges of extracting search results at scale and highlights the need for adaptive strategies when working with Google Search data.