... SEO campaign measurement and success. Google has apparently (I'm unable to simulate the test) been trailing an AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) based search results page, which could make rank checking and analytics software useless.

Several industry experts have weighed into the discussion, pointing at the idea that Google could be using the AJAX results to force more people across to their analytics service. Peter Da Vanzo, via Aaron Walls SEObook blog, had this to say:

"Trouble is, what happens to existing tools? Plugins? Rank checkers? Stats and other referral tracking packages? All tools that rely on Google passing data in order to work... Perhaps the only place you'll be able to get this data is Google Analytics? Is this the next step - a lock-in?"

Matt McGee reached out to the team at Google to garner some more insight on the tests, and these are the responses he received.

"We're continually testing new interfaces and features to enhance the user experience. We are currently experimenting with a javascript enhanced result page because we believe that it may ultimately provide a faster experience for our users. At this time only a small percentage of users will see this experiment. It is not our intention to disrupt referrer tracking, and we are continuing to iterate on this project. For more information on the experiments that we run on Google search, please see: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/this-is-test-this-is-only-test.html."

"Currently AJAX results are just a test on Google. At this time only a small percentage of users will see this experiment. It is not our intention to disrupt referrer tracking, and we are continuing to iterate on this project and are actively working towards a solution. As we continue experiments, we hope that this test may ultimately provide an easier solution for our customers and a faster experience for our users. For more information on the experiments that we run on Google search, please see http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/this-is-test-this-is-only-test.html"

Del.icio.us

Digg

Reddit

Furl