Google has just surprised a lot of people with the release of their browser called Chrome.
Although the browser is the best thing that has been released to the market in a long time (check the awesome features), there’s something else that I wanted to address.

I’ve expressed my “paranoia” about Google for years now. I’ve always suspected Google to use data from services such as Analytics and Webmaster Tools in their search algorithms. If site A links to site B but both A and B are found in the same analytics or webmaster tools account then the link is less valuable, that sort of thing.
Far fatched as that may be, here is something that isn’t.

Quite recently, Microsoft announced they were “looking into” utilizing “search intent” data in their ranking algorithms. In English, this means using their Internet Explorer browser to determine how long you’re visiting a page and other data on how you are interacting with the site.

We’ve all seen expired-domain sites that are nothing but a bunch of advertising links wrapped in a nice design. A computer cannot (yet) distinguish these from ‘good’ sites, at least not with 100% certainty.
The average user, and moreover, the more advanced users (which as it may are the people most likely to download Google Chrome ASAP) however can easily tell when he/she has landed on such a site, and will click away / x-out in a matter of seconds.

You probably figured where I’m going with this but first let me point out this sentence in Google Chrome’s EULA:

Optional: Help make Chrome better by automatically sending usage statistics and crash reports to Google.

In fact, it’s not even a sentence in the text itself, it’s a separate line below the EULA and you have to check it.
At least it’s optional!

Now in my spare time I make websites with high quality content (for money). I am all for using behavioral patterns in search engine ranking algorithms as it’s one of the best metrics to determine the validity of a website.
It’s only the logical next step in the ever-lasting fight against black-hat marketing.

Obviously, Google has no obligations to release any information on their algorithms so for all we know they’ve been using behavioral data to a certain extent as gathered from their toolbar. Now though, there’s an “official” and legit way to gather this data and more, but please be open about it?

So instead of letting us check this box:

“Help make Chrome better by automatically sending usage statistics and crash reports to Google.”

Just make it

“Help make our Search Results better by automatically sending usage statistics to Google.”

What do you think? Behavioral patterns tossed into search algorithms, good or bad?

Don’t you hate spam to?