Google Search /goto Redirects Could Complicate GA4 Organic Attribution

Google has confirmed a broad rollout of google.com/goto redirects for Search result links, routing clicks through a Google-owned URL with an encoded destination. The change may reduce the accuracy of organic traffic attribution in GA4 and complicate rank-tracking tools.

• Clicks now pass through google.com/goto?url=ENCODED_DESTINATION
• Near-full deployment observed across tested environments by late August 2026
• Some Search clicks may be recorded in GA4 as Direct traffic
• Rank trackers must resolve redirect chains, raising collection costs