Symptoms

When attempting to access Google Scholar through a proxied link, a user will see a “ERROR for site owner: Invalid domain for site key” message with no way to access Google Scholar:

Cause

This is an issue with how Google Scholar sees traffic coming from a specific IP (such a proxy server). Above a certain threshold, it thinks it is being spammed.

Resolution

Attempts to contact Google about this issue have been unsuccessful. There are a number of workarounds identified in this blog post by Chad Haefle at UNC Libraries. Please consider what might be most useful for your patrons and implement that solution.

• Article last edited: 29-May-2020