Google has begun rolling out a change to the way links work within its search results, and if you’ve seen it mentioned online you may be wondering whether it affects your website. The short answer, for most businesses, is reassuring. Here’s what’s actually happening and what, if anything, you need to do about it.
What has changed?
Google has confirmed it is rolling out what are known as “goto” redirect URLs across its search results. Rather than a search result linking straight to a website, the link now passes through a Google-owned intermediary address that looks something like google.com/goto, which then forwards the user on to the actual page.
In practice, when someone clicks a result they still arrive at the same website they always would. The difference is behind the scenes: the link now travels through Google’s own redirect first, rather than pointing directly at the destination. Google confirmed the rollout in late August 2026, having quietly tested it over the preceding months.
Why is Google doing this?
Google has described the move as a technical measure to protect against evolving forms of abuse and to safeguard its services and users. Beyond that official explanation, the change is widely understood within the industry as a way to make it harder for automated systems to scrape and harvest Google’s search results at scale. That includes third-party SEO tools, rank trackers and, increasingly, AI platforms that collect search data.
In other words, this is primarily about how Google manages access to its own results pages, not about the websites that appear in them.
Does this affect my rankings or traffic?
This is the question that matters most, and the answer is no. The goto redirect is not an algorithm update and it is not a ranking factor. It does not change how Google ranks your website, and it does not directly affect your search visibility or the traffic you receive.
If your site ranked well yesterday, it will rank exactly the same today. Real visitors still reach your website in the normal way, and the experience for the person searching is almost unchanged. So there is no need to panic, and nothing about your website needs fixing in response to this.
So what is the actual impact?
For everyday searchers, the change is barely noticeable. The real website address still appears beneath each result title, so people can still see where a link will take them before they click. The only practical difference is that copying a link directly from the results, or hovering over it, may now show Google’s redirect rather than the clean destination address, which is a minor inconvenience rather than a problem.
The more meaningful impact is on the tools that read search results automatically. Rank trackers, SEO platforms and reporting tools that gather data from Google may need to adapt to the new format, and in the meantime you might notice occasional gaps or oddities in the data those tools report. Many providers have already updated their systems to handle it. It’s also worth knowing that AI Overviews are among the areas most affected as the rollout continues.
What should you do?
For the vast majority of businesses, the answer is simply to carry on as normal. There’s no technical fix required and no reason to be concerned about your rankings.
It is, however, a good moment to keep a closer eye on two things: your website analytics, so you have a clear picture of your real traffic straight from the source, and the SEO reporting tools you rely on, in case the data they show is temporarily affected while providers adjust. If you work with an agency, they’ll be monitoring this on your behalf.
Staying ahead of Google’s changes
Google makes changes like this constantly, and while most have little effect on the average business, knowing which ones matter and which don’t is exactly where good guidance pays off. The goto redirect is a change to watch and understand, not one to worry about.
At Giraffe Digital, we keep a close eye on developments across Google Search so our clients don’t have to, and we make sure the reporting we provide reflects what’s genuinely happening with your visibility and traffic. If you’d like to understand how your website is performing in search, or want expert support with your SEO agency in Milton Keynes, our team is always happy to help. Get in touch for a straightforward conversation about your search performance.
