Encrypted URL Submissions, Brought to you by Google

What – Captcha?!

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As you may or may not know, Just Outsourcing is the developer of the Submit 2 Search Google Chrome extension – a tool that facilitates old-school URL submissions at Google’s Add URL Form. (You can see the extension at Google’s Chrome Webstore). Today, January 11th, 2012, I noticed the tool will work as designed only when users are signed into Google. Even more, Google now intercepts Submit 2 Search’s submission automation with a CAPTCHA program.

Encryption, Too?!

Google additionally encrypts submission data now where it hadn’t indicated encryption before:

See the mesd parameter? Yeah… we don’t know what that is either. This is new behavior, discovered today, so I’m assuming Google just recently enacted a program designed to archive webpage submissions in a user database somewhere. That’s recently, as in just three hours prior to this post’s publication.

Sorry Charlie, Account Required

Yup – even for simple URL submissions. If you access http://www.google.com/addurl/ without being logged in (which, consequently, redirects to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/submit-url?continue=http://www.google.com/addurl/), you’ll be prompted to create a Google account.

There’s just no way to submit a page through Google’s traditional Add Url Form without being logged in now, and we suspect it has something to do with an untimely push toward Google’s Webmaster Tools program. (Why now? Why this way?) How this will impact Submit 2 Search, or all URL submissions at the site, is uncertain at the moment. For all we know, it could indicate a trend already discovered with Google’s encrypted searches.

We’ll keep you updated in regards to our little Chrome extension. Until then, please notify us if you have a different experience.