Google updates AdWords: no more misleading URLs!

Attention companies and individuals who advertise with Google AdWords!

On Tuesday, the Official Google AdWords blog posted information on the updated stipulations concerning their URL policy. The post urged advertisers to take a look at the changes so as not to be penalized in the coming months. Here’s a quick recap:

The updated policy, which is scheduled to go into effect on April 1^st, will “no longer allow certain exceptions with regards to our display URL policy.” What does this mean? Basically, if you advertise with AdWords, the display URL you post in your ad must be relevant to your destination URL… no more shenanigans with clever, misleading, unrelated URL text. The post indicated that this “includes, but is not limited to redirects and vanity URLs.” 

Google contends these changes were initiated by feedback from users and advertisers alike. What does Google hope to achieve with the new policy? After generating an estimated $16 billion in advertising last year, a top priority for Google is likely to retain clients and browsers; thus, the enhancements are geared towards delivering users “more relevant advertising results and a higher quality experience.”

The following are specific examples and explanations of unacceptable URL submissions taken directly from the Official Google AdWords blog:

“…if your destination URL is www.google.com, your 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

While most advertisers will not be affected by the policy change, those who are must reconsider their URLs before April 1^st if they expect to keep their ads hosted by Google.

For more examples of good and bad URLs, feel free to check out the post as well as submit comments directly to Google.