Did Google just change the links so they can track clicks?

[fredkelley]

I did a search on Google today that I had done yesterday. I noticed that links I had clicked on were showing blue again, rather than a "clicked" purple.

Then I noticed that the URL they are now linking to is a Google address with the specific URL of the site you are going to embedded within the link.

Did this just change? Or has it been like this for a while?

Now Google can track clicks and popularity of listings. What are the implications?

[ciml]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com], fredkelley.

Google track listings now and again. It seems they find the feedback useful for analysing search quality.

From the reports here it seems that Google have been tracking a bit more often than usual, but that's not surprising as the last couple of updates have brought with them more algo changes than normal.

[fredkelley]

Thanks for the info.