# How do I get Google to not send me links to the SDMB?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 22, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548 "2012-04-22T01:45:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/1 "2012-04-22T01:45:53Z")
Or the place I get clothes, or the site I went to a few months ago. I know where they are. I need Google to send me someplace fresh, not to the SDMB thread I have open in another tab.
FWIW, I use Chrome as my browser.
---
### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/2 "2012-04-22T01:51:45Z")
How is google supposed to know where you’ve been?
---
### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/3 "2012-04-22T01:53:46Z")
It talks to my browser? Now I feel violated!
---
### Author:  [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/4 "2012-04-22T01:55:47Z")
The [Verbatim option](http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1734130) should remove “personalization” in the form of prioritizing sites you’ve visited before (I also find it useful for those times you don’t want Google to “correct” your spelling but want it to, you know, search for what you actually typed…)
---
### Author:  [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/5 "2012-04-22T02:17:59Z")
> [@dropzone](#):
>
> Or the place I get clothes, or the site I went to a few months ago. I know where they are. I need Google to send me someplace fresh, not to the SDMB thread I have open in another tab.
>
> FWIW, I use Chrome as my browser.
To search only on [xyz.com](http://xyz.com), you can specify
```auto
site:xyz.com
```
at the end of your search. To specify that you want to avoid [xyz.com](http://xyz.com), you can specify
```auto
-site:xyz.com
```
Try this search string:
```auto
ask about the constitution of canada
```
and you should end up with [this recent thread on the SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=648688) . Now try:
```auto
ask about the constitution of canada -site:straightdope.com
```
and you shouldn’t get anything from the Straight Dope site.
---
### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/6 "2012-04-22T02:31:45Z")
If you have a Google account sign in, go to _advanced search_ (at the bottom of a search result page), choose _customize your search settings_ (bottom of page) and go to _blocking unwanted results_. At _block unwanted sites_ you can list up to 500 you don’t want in results.
---
### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/7 "2012-04-22T05:04:53Z")
I know you guys are trying to help, and I appreciate it, but turning off Google fixing my spelling, adding a bunch of characters to every search, and blocking every result from sites I actually use are not the solution. This is a recent development–the past few months–and it’s annoying to have to scroll through links I have open to get to new stuff about that topic.
---
### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/8 "2012-04-22T05:49:55Z")
Are you talking about Search History Personalization?
[Try this.](http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=54048)
If that doesn’t work, tell us:
1. Does it happen if you log out of Google?
2. Does it happen if you log out of Google and try a different browser?
---
### Author:  [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/9 "2012-04-22T06:05:37Z")
Try [duckduckgo.com](http://duckduckgo.com/)
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/10 "2012-04-22T07:03:51Z")
Wait, so you want to avoid SDMB links, but without shutting out the SDMB from results? I’m not sure what exactly the problem you’re having is.
---
### Author:  [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/11 "2012-04-22T07:27:31Z")
Try [https://www.startpage.com](https://www.startpage.com)
> [@](#):
>
> Startpage offers you Web search results from Google in complete privacy!
>
> When you search with Startpage, we remove all identifying information from your query and submit it anonymously to Google ourselves. We get the results and return them to you in total privacy.
>
> Your IP address is never recorded, your visit is not logged, and no tracking cookies are placed on your browser. When it comes to protecting your privacy, Startpage runs the tightest ship on the Internet. Our outstanding privacy policy and thoughtful engineering give you great search results in total anonymity.
Startpage and Duckduckgo are the only search engines I use these days.
---
### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-google-to-not-send-me-links-to-the-sdmb/619548/12 "2012-04-22T18:53:44Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> Are you talking about Search History Personalization?
>
> [Try this.](http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=54048)
Seems to work so far. Thanks!