AdWords Link Policy

AdWords Link Policy
Objective: To learn how to create ads that comply with the link policy.

Link Policy Overview
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, and is commonly called a web address. There are two URLs associated with each AdWords ad: display URL and destination URL. The two types are explained below, along with the guidelines for each. Also outlined below are the requirements for the website to which your ad links.

Display URL: AdWords ads include a display URL. For example, the display URL in the ad below is 'www.books.com.'

Books
Buy a book
Read and become smarter!
www.books.com

So as not to mislead users, the display URL should give users a clear idea of the website or landing page to which they will be taken when they click on an ad. Display URLs must:

Indicate who owns the destination URL, but does not need to match the actual destination URL of the landing page exactly.
Appear to be a viable website address. It must include the appropriate extension such as '.com,' '.net,' and 'co.uk,' but 'www' and 'http://' are not required.
Represent a website. The display URL also cannot be an email address. For example, 'flowers@flowers.com' would not be allowed.
Comply with editorial policy, which will be discussed in later topics.
Here is an example of a correct and an incorrect display URL:

Correct:
Destination URL: bigbookstore.com/new/a-c.htm
Display URL: bigbookstore.com

Clicking on the ad takes users to a page within the bigbookstore.com website. Even though the display URL is different from the destination URL, it accurately represents where the user will be taken when he or she clicks on the ad.

Incorrect:
Destination URL: http://www.amazon.com/home.html/104-7002842-259
Display URL: bigbookstore.com

The display URL bigbookstore.com does not accurately represent the site to which the user will be taken, which is a page within the amazon.com domain. This is improper use of the display URL. An ad with this display URL would not be approved.



Here are some of the guidelines included in our link policy:

Destination URL: The destination URL is the web address of the landing page to which an ad will actually link. The guidelines surrounding the destination are designed to ensure users clicking on AdWords ads will find what they are looking for easily and quickly. Your ad will not be approved if your destination URL does not meet all three of the following rules:

It must link to a working website. If a user clicks on your ad but your site isn't working, you are charged for a click, but you have no chance to convert this user into a customer.
It must not link to a site that is under construction or broken. The site must have content. Otherwise, users will not find what they are looking for.
It must not require a program other than the browser to view the landing page. In other words, the destination URL must be an HTML page. Some unacceptable formats of destination pages include Adobe Acrobat and MS Word. If your site requires another program to load, not all users will be able to view your site without loading additional software. This detracts from the user experience.
Back Button: After linking to your website, the back button must work properly and return the users to the page on which the AdWords ad is located within one or two clicks.

Pop-Ups: Pop-ups are defined as any browser window that opens in addition to the original window, regardless of content, function, size, or source. When a user enters or leaves your site, no additional browser window, including pop-unders, should appear. Pop-unders are browser windows that open behind the original browser window. This policy is based on research indicating that users find pop-ups distracting, leading to a poor user experience.

Affiliate Policy: Affiliates get paid a commission to promote a merchant's website and drive traffic or create sales on that site. We allow affiliates to use AdWords advertising. Please note that we will only allow one ad for affiliates and parent companies sharing the same display URL per search query.

Please review the complete list of link policies.