Google as the referrer but no query string

[agent_x]

Hope this is the right section for this, wasn't sure where else to ask.

I have seen this for a while now, hits to my sites which apparently come from google.com or other Google tlds, but there is no query string in the referrer string.

Is there any possible way these can be real surfers, or should I just regard these hits as bots trying to fake the referrer string and not being very good at it?

[Demaestro]

I am not positive but this could be a result of the "preview" that google does in the SERPs. I know that it makes a hit to the site to generate it, but I am not sure if it passes anything in the URL when it does this.

Perhaps do some looking to see what Google does when it makes a hit to preview.

[wilderness]

Is there any possible way these can be real surfers,

There's no way that anybody could be aware (or even assist) of the answer unless you provide a line from your raw logs.

[wilderness]

fake google [webmasterworld.com]

[walkman]

I get the too.
a normal line on my custom script is [google.com...?keyword+blah...] and then
I get [google.com...] once or twice a day

[dstiles]

As far as I know a legit user could hit your site with a bare google referer if they hit "I Feel Lucky" instead of searching properly - the first hit is supposed to go direct to the most appropriate site (as decided by google!).

I have also seen this in various guises from bots and hackers, so I block a bare google referer.

[agent_x]

As far as I know a legit user could hit your site with a bare google referer if they hit "I Feel Lucky" instead of searching properly

Ahh, thanks for that, I never thought of that! You are right, I just tested it by searching for my domain name and the hit does indeed have no query string.

[lucy24]

As far as I know a legit user could hit your site with a bare google referer if they hit "I Feel Lucky" instead of searching properly - the first hit is supposed to go direct to the most appropriate site (as decided by google!).

Inquiring minds want to know: Does "most appropriate" mean #1 on the regular SERP... and if it doesn't, is that material for a whole nother thread?

[dstiles]

What do you think, Lucy? :)

Google itself has no idea what is appropriate any more. Since google is top of the junk and virus links sources it could be anything. Quite as likely to be a virus site as a genuine one. Which is why I would never use it and feel quite justified in banning it. :(