A display URL is the web address shown in a Google search ad. It is made of your website’s domain, taken from the ad’s final URL, plus up to two optional path fields you write yourself, such as example.co.uk/Boiler-Repair/Croydon. It tells the searcher where they are going; it is not where the click actually goes.
How the display URL works
In a responsive search ad you set the final URL, the real page people land on, and Google takes the domain from it automatically. You then add Path 1 and Path 2, each up to 15 characters. The paths are text, not links: they do not need to match a real folder on your site, and nobody reaches a page called /Croydon because you wrote it there.
A few rules apply:
- The domain shown must match the domain of the final URL. You cannot display one site and send people to another.
- Paths follow the same editorial standards as the rest of the ad, so no excessive capitals or symbols.
- On some results pages Google shows your business name and logo next to the link, and may shorten what is displayed, so the paths will not always be visible.
Tracking parameters and redirects are handled separately, through a tracking template or final URL suffix, and never appear in the display URL.
Why it matters for a UK business
The path fields are a small piece of free ad space. They reassure the searcher that the click leads to something specific, which supports ad relevance and often the click-through rate. Someone in Leeds searching for “commercial cleaning contract” is more likely to trust an ad showing example.co.uk/Office-Cleaning/Leeds than one showing a bare homepage address.
Paths are most useful when an account is split into tightly themed ad groups, because each group can carry its own wording. Some patterns that work well:
- A conveyancing solicitor: example.co.uk/Conveyancing/Remortgage for one ad group and /Conveyancing/Leasehold for another.
- A garden centre selling online: example.co.uk/Furniture/Rattan-Sets.
- A training provider: example.co.uk/Courses/First-Aid-Work.
In each case the path repeats what the searcher asked for and hints at the page they will see, without stretching the truth.
A familiar domain matters too. A .co.uk address signals a UK business to UK searchers, and a domain that matches the brand named in the headline looks more credible than an unrelated one.
Common mistakes
- Leaving both path fields empty, which wastes the space.
- Stuffing paths with keywords, such as /Cheap-Plumber/Plumbers, which looks spammy.
- Writing a path that promises something the landing page does not deliver, such as /Free-Quote when the page has no quote form.
- Using a domain in the final URL that differs from the brand people know, such as a separate landing page domain.
- Thinking the paths control where the ad goes and building URL structure around them.
How to act on it
- Fill Path 1 with the service or product category and Path 2 with a location, offer or variation that narrows it.
- Keep the wording consistent with the ad group’s keywords and headlines so the ad reads as one message.
- Make sure the final URL lands on a page that matches the path, not on the homepage.
- Check ads in the ad preview tool to see how the display URL appears on mobile and desktop.
Writing ads where every element, including the display path, points to the same clear promise is part of the Google search ads management I offer.