SEO Tip #37: Why is the @ character ignored in search queries?
Matt Cutts: Well, historically, that was a deliberate choice because we didn’t want to index an email address, at least I think it was a deliberate choice. You don’t want somebody scraping Google to find a bunch of email addresses. So it’s kind of nice not to index the @ sign. It depends.
I could imagine us over time starting to treat that differently but at least for the time being that hasn’t been a popular request that we’ve heard enough that we would probably put resources into it right now.
About the Author
Andy Johnson has been on the Internet since the its dawn(ie his first computer program was recorded on cassette tape) and his first hard drive cost about as much his current MacBook. His first byline was in 1993 for a local newspaper rag he eventually helmed, and his last “real job” was at a computer start up which ended when it ended. Throughout it all he’s freelanced and blogged. Now he is mesmerized by Search Engine Optimization forever trying to “rise to the top” for the right reasons. He’s been married to his wife Julia for as long as he can remember and has two lovely, wonderful children. He looks forward to sharing the latest in the technical best for all the online entrepreneurs.