Google has announced that it is updating its AdWords ads to include display URLs in headlines. The company believes this will help search marketers catch more clicks and promote brand awareness.
The display URL “can be an important deciding factor” when users are determining which ads to click, according to Google. To this end, the company will be pushing URLs up to ad headlines, separating them from the rest of the text with a vertical bar. As a result, users will know exactly which site they'll be taken too when they click an ad.
Google explains this will also help with branding, as site names will now appear prominently within search ads. The “www.” will be eliminated to place the emphasis on the branded URL.
This is a global launch that has already been rolled out among top ad placements, so search marketers will want to look for changes in their own AdWords campaigns immediately.
The update stands to impact a large number of businesses. Paid search is being used by 79 percent of marketers this year, according to the latest survey from the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization. Of course, as Brafton has reported, most brands are investing more heavily in SEO, with 86 percent of respondents indicating they will be using search engine optimization techniques this year.
