Is Google’s New Search Function Good for Privacy, Bad for Business?
- Posted on October 20, 2011 at 2:35pm by
Liz Klimas
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Up until this week, Google SSL was in a test stage. You may have noticed it the last couple months if you were searching while logged into your Google account.
Google officially launched its SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) search function, an option that allows you to encrypt your searches on Google when you’re logged into your Google account.
This feature was created to protect your searches and results on Google from being intercepted by a third party. But, as Technorati points out, it also prevents websites from effectively using and monitoring SEO terms, which is a traditional marketing strategy for getting people searching certain terms to notice your website.
SEO — Search Engine Optimization — terms are those that help you find businesses in your searches and by knowing what terms got you to the site. Businesses are able to tailor terms on their site to get the most traffic. Technorati explains further:
These words are used strategically in your site to help the search engines find your site and match it with appropriate search terms. The better your SEO the better you will turn up in the search results. Really good SEO can result in you being one of the first few websites found in a relevant search.
Searches conducted using SSL will also prevent businesses from seeing the link that brought users to their site.
So is Google SSL a double-edged sword? More privacy but marketing challenge for businesses? Technorati notes that Google is still collecting the information of searches:
This is giving users the option of increased privacy in their searches. Of course, Google still has this information and that information is still feeding into their ads, sponsored links, stories, etc. So you will not likely notice the increase in privacy.
They also note that currently, only about 10 percent of people with Google accounts are signed in when they conduct Google searches, so this may not affect business too much.
If you don‘t have a Google account or don’t want to login but still want to conduct searches under SSL, you can got to https://www.google.com or to https://encrypted.google.com.
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SamIamTwo
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 9:24pmWoW on one of the articles there were 18 tracking cookies…I think it was on the Cain abortion one…
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 8:30pmThis will give google an exclusive data set. I wonder how much that is worth?
Report Post »imbiasedtowardstruth
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 6:53pmDoesn’t matter. Perhaps businesses can’t, but Big Brother IS monitoring you under the deceptively named ‘Patriot Act’. The same principles portrayed in movies like ‘V for Vendetta’ and books like ‘1984’. Please, for the good of the country, research all of the candidates in 2012 and vote for the one(s) who will repeal the not so patriotic ‘Patriot Act’.
Report Post »SquidVetOhio
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 4:44pmWho cares if businesses don’t like it. I don’t get to snoop on them!
Report Post »LTinUT
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 5:26pmIf you understand SEO Marketing or the Internet in general, you know that businesses have NO idea who you are personally unless you tell them by logging into their site with a username and password. For example, The Blaze. Businesses only want and need to know how people learn about their business and if the money they are paying for keywords or even for publishing a website is giving them a return on their business investment.
Report Post »RighteousTyrant
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 6:05pmOr until they add Facebook integration that tracks you after you log out.
Agree with Squid. Privacy > marketing.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 8:44pmI use FF with Ghostery and a bunch of other FF plugins. On the blaze there are 14 on this web site.
http://www.ghostery.com/
And when I leave a site I delete all cookies, dump the history etc etc. Lots of work… ;)
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on October 20, 2011 at 8:51pmhttp://www.ghostery.com/apps/chartbeat
http://www.ghostery.com/apps/vertical_acuity
http://www.ghostery.com/apps/media6degrees
The above are three of the 14 tracking cookies that are on the blaze…
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