Google Updates Display URL policy
Google today gave an advance notice of an update to its display URL policy, which will take effect on April 1st.
In response to advertiser and user feedback, and in an effort to provide more relevant advertising results and a higher quality experience for our users, Google has made the decision to no longer allow certain exceptions with regards to our display URL policy. This includes, but is not limited to redirects and vanity URLs. This policy will be strictly enforced regardless of past approvals and will apply to all advertisers, beginning on April 1st.
In line with the company's existing policy, Google will continue to require that your ad's display URL match its destination URL (the URL of the landing page).
For example, if a destination URL is www.google.com, a display URL must also be www.google.com. The following would not be acceptable display URLs for an ad for www.google.com:
www.google.co.uk - because this URL leads to a different site
www.gogle.com - even though this URL simply redirects to www.google.com it is still not acceptable
www.gooogle.com - because this URL leads to a page showing content identical to www.google.com
What about tracking URLs?
Many advertisers utilize tracking URLs within the destination field of their ads. Therefore, if the URL of a landing page matches that of a display URL, ads will be approved.
For example:
Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
--> Landing page URL: www.google.com would be acceptable Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
--> Landing page URL: www.trackingurl.com would not be acceptable
Are sub-domains still acceptable?
Yes, the use of sub-domains and additional text within the display will continue to be acceptable provided the top-level domain matches the URL of your landing page.
For example, display URLs such as the following:
sub.google.com
google.com/extratext
www.google.com/extratext
would all be acceptable for the landing page URL below, as the top-level domain of google.com is matched:
http://sub.google.com/miscellaneous
In light of this update to display URL policy, Google encourages users to make any necessary changes to their ads in advance of the April 1st date to ensure that they'll run without disruption by future disapprovals related to this policy.
In line with the company's existing policy, Google will continue to require that your ad's display URL match its destination URL (the URL of the landing page).
For example, if a destination URL is www.google.com, a display URL must also be www.google.com. The following would not be acceptable display URLs for an ad for www.google.com:
www.google.co.uk - because this URL leads to a different site
www.gogle.com - even though this URL simply redirects to www.google.com it is still not acceptable
www.gooogle.com - because this URL leads to a page showing content identical to www.google.com
What about tracking URLs?
Many advertisers utilize tracking URLs within the destination field of their ads. Therefore, if the URL of a landing page matches that of a display URL, ads will be approved.
For example:
Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
--> Landing page URL: www.google.com would be acceptable Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
--> Landing page URL: www.trackingurl.com would not be acceptable
Are sub-domains still acceptable?
Yes, the use of sub-domains and additional text within the display will continue to be acceptable provided the top-level domain matches the URL of your landing page.
For example, display URLs such as the following:
sub.google.com
google.com/extratext
www.google.com/extratext
would all be acceptable for the landing page URL below, as the top-level domain of google.com is matched:
http://sub.google.com/miscellaneous
In light of this update to display URL policy, Google encourages users to make any necessary changes to their ads in advance of the April 1st date to ensure that they'll run without disruption by future disapprovals related to this policy.
