Michael Roebuck's Blog: Google URL Policy Update

Google will be updating it's display URL policy beginning April 1st. This change marks the beginning of a stricter stance on display URLs. No more re-directs or vanity URL's will be allowed. Google states that this policy will be strictly enforced regardless of past approvals and will apply to all advertisers.

Basically, the new rules state the display URL will need to match the destination URL. Most exceptions that were allowed before will no longer be approved.

Here are a few examples that will not be approved:

www.Google.co.uk - this URL leads to a different site

www.Gogle.com - this URL simply redirects to www.Google.com

www.Gooogle.com - this URL leads to a page showing content identical to www.Google.com
Google will also not allow the use of multiple domains or branding and vanity URLs.

What about Yahoo Tracking URLs?
Google understands that many advertisers utilize tracking URLs within the destination field of their ads. Therefore, if the URL of your landing page matches that of your display URL, your ads will be approved.

For example:
Display URL: www.mydomain.com/widget
Destination URL: http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?yhst1234567+a1B2C3D4E5+widget.html
--> Landing page URL: www.mydomain.com would be acceptable

Display URL: www.mydomain.com/widget
Destination URL: http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?yhst1234567+a1B2C3D4E5+widget.html
--> Landing page URL: http://store.yahoo.com would not be acceptable

Are sub-domains or extra text 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

Finally, note that you don't have to change your ads. Existing ads within your account will not be immediately affected by this change. However, if Google receives complaints regarding specific violations of this policy, they will review and take the appropriate action. (Usually at 5:00pm on a Friday night). I would however, suggest that everyone check their account for potential blatant violations.

For more information regarding the update, look at the Google Blog

Labels: adwords, google, ppc, tracking