About the different types of URLs

Ads you create using Google Ads have two URLs: a display URL and a landing page URL. With two URLs, you can show a simple, easy-to-read URL in your ad that directs to your website, but also define a more specific URL where you can include rich information like tracking. This article explains the different types of URLs you choose for your ads, as well as some rules for each.

Display URLs

The display URL is the website address that's shown in your ad. In text ads, the display URL appears in green, next to the "Ad" icon. Here’s an example:

Eco-Friendly Alaska Tours - Book Now For 10% Off!
Ad www.example.com
Our Guides Know and Love Alaska! Summer Special
Running Now. Book Today!

In standard text ads, you define the display URL yourself. If your website address begins with a subdomain (for example, the "support" in "support.google.com"), your display URL can include that subdomain.

In expanded text ads, your display URL is the combination of the domain (and, where applicable, the subdomain) of your website and the text in your “Path” fields.

Landing page URLs

Advertisers use a landing page URL to send people to a specific area of their website.

Your landing page URL can have two components:

  • Final URL (required): The URL address of the page in your website that people reach when they click your ad. For most advertisers, your landing page URL is the same as your final URL.
  • Tracking template (optional): If you use tracking, you can also define a tracking template. When someone clicks on your ad, your tracking template is used to create your landing page URL.

URL policies

Your ads’ URLs should give customers a clear idea of what page they'll arrive at when they click an ad. For this reason, Google's policy is that both display and landing page URLs should be within the same website. This means that the display URL in your ad needs to match the domain that visitors land on when they click on your ad.


If your display URL is www.ads.google.com, your landing page URL can be www.ads.google.com/Google Ads, because the domain (google.com) of the display URL matches the domain of the landing page URL. Keep in mind that you have to use the same domain for all the URLs in your ad group.

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