Problem with site specific search on Google

I recently ran into a problem with one of my macros that does a site specific search using Google. Turns out the problem is with Google and not KM, but I don’t know how or if it’s even possible to contact Google, so I thought I’d try the experts on this forum. Does anyone else have this problem?

For example, if I type

site:forum.keyboardmaestro.com macro

into the Safari URL field, I’m redirected to

https://ipv4.google.com/sorry/IndexRedirect?continue=https://www.google.com/search%3Fclient%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26q%3Dsite:forum.keyboardmaestro.com%2Bmacro%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8&q=CGMSBEtb5KYYtNvrrwUiGQDxp4NLF2nv-LZbsH89AsXFyluzGm2Pjaw

which requires me to enter some characters to prove I’m not a robot. This problem won’t go away no matter how many times I try.

The explanation for the redirection doesn’t make sense to me:

About this page

Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network. This page checks to see if it’s really you sending the requests, and not a robot. Why did this happen?

This page appears when Google automatically detects requests coming from your computer network which appear to be in violation of the Terms of Service. The block will expire shortly after those requests stop. In the meantime, solving the above CAPTCHA will let you continue to use our services.

This traffic may have been sent by malicious software, a browser plug-in, or a script that sends automated requests. If you share your network connection, ask your administrator for help — a different computer using the same IP address may be responsible. Learn more

Sometimes you may be asked to solve the CAPTCHA if you are using advanced terms that robots are known to use, or sending requests very quickly.

I don’t have this problem with Bing or Yahoo! Any suggestions for eliminating the problem with Google or am I going to have to use another search engine from now on?

Carl

I think the issue is that you are are entering a Google search string rather than a URL.

Perhaps something more along these lines ?

If, for any reason, you do want to use a Set Safari URL action, the URL would be something like:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=site%3Aforum.keyboardmaestro.com+macro

PS to expand a bit, while browsers do tend to convert search strings to URLs, it may be that an unconverted search string sent directly by an action (particularly if it starts with a site: filter, inadvertently creates a pattern resembling something of which Google has some kind of immune-system reaction-priming memory … )

No, thats not the problem.
Type “site:macworld.com applescript” into the URL field and you get a normal search of macworld.com for articles containing the word applescript.
Type “site:forum.keyboardmaestro.com applescript” into the URL field and I get the redirection to the CAPTCHA page that I mentioned in my first post.
Do you not get the redirection on the last search?

By the way, I’m on Yosemite 10.10.5 with Safari 8.0.8 if that makes any difference.

Carl

The URL field of a browser, or of the KM action ?

( A browser will translate the search string under the hood into a URL )

I do think the problem seems likely to be at the Google end, with a pattern of activity that has caused them some problem in the past - I suspect that what gets sent by a browser (when a search string is given rather than a URL) is in some respect recognisably different from what gets sent by a KM action.

Fwiw, when I cut-and-paste the above into either the Safari Address Bar or the Google search field, I am directly taken to:

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=site:forum.keyboardmaestro.com+macro&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

I'm in US (mentioned only because of ComplexPoint's use of the UK Google site).

Thanks Kirby. I’m in the US also. I was having the problem on the day I posted and the next day as well, but today I can’t get it to fail, so go figure.

Carl

Captchas appear in Google when it gets too many automated requests from the same IP. Incidentally, Google has an API available that’s the preferred way for doing automated queries.