In an effort to clarify to users where their click-through will take them, Google says it will display the landing page domain as part of the headlines on some top placement ads. We reported on tests of this display earlier this month after they were spotted by Nilaye Thakrar of Workopolis.

Before

After

The change should result in more qualified click-throughs, if not more click-throughs overall. Interestingly, Google will also continue bringing the first line of description into the headline (as described here), so long as the resulting headline is 68 characters or less.

The URLs displayed in the headline will only show the domain name of the landing page, without the www prefix or any subdomains. It will be separated from the rest of the headline by a vertical line.

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

About The Author: Pamela Parker is a contributing editor for Search Engine Land and Executive Features Editor at Marketing Land. She’s a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since 1998, including a stint as managing editor of ClickZ. She’s also worked to help monetize independent publishers’ sites at Federated Media Publishing. She blogs about media and marketing at The River and about cooking, gardening and parenthood at Free Range. She can be found on Twitter as @pamelaparker. See more articles by Pamela Parker

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