New Adwords URL Policy – Starting April

Google have decided to change their policy on Display URLs to make it more strict. Below is from the Google Adwords notice:

What do I need to know about the updated Display URL policy? 

Based on feedback from both our advertisers and users, and consistent with our efforts to present relevant results, we will no longer allow certain exceptions to our Display URL policy. These include, but are not limited to, redirects and vanity URLs. In line with our existing policy, we will continue to require that your ad’s Display URL matches its Destination URL (the URL of your landing page). This policy will be strictly enforced for new ads, regardless of previous exceptions. For more details about the current Display URL policy, please visit Here.

Here are some other important aspects of the policy you may want to keep in mind:

Tracking URLs

Your ads will be approved if the URL of your landing page domain matches that of your Display URL domain.

For example, the following would be acceptable:

• Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
• Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
• Landing page URL: www.google.com

However, this example would be unacceptable:

• Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
• Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
• Landing page URL: www.trackingurl.com

Sub-Domains

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, the Display URLs below would be acceptable for the landing page URL of http://sub.google.com/miscellaneous, as the top-level domains match:

• sub.google.com
• google.com/extratext
• www.google.com/extratext

Quality Score

Note that changing your display URL may affect your ad’s Quality Score and ad position.

Keyword URLs

Keyword URLs are considered as your Destination URL (the URL of your landing page); your ad’s Display URL must match its Destination URL.
Next Steps

While no immediate action will be taken on existing ads, we encourage you to make the necessary changes to all ads within your account. This will ensure that your ads run without being disrupted by future disapprovals related to this policy enforcement. Visit Here for step-by-step instructions for editing your Display URL.