URL, path 1 and path2 validations in ExpandedAds

[rafa....@rocketroi.com]

Hi,

what are the guidelines to validate the URL, path1 and path2 in expanded Ads? Is it necessary to validate all the URL or just the domain (e.g. www.example.com).

What characters are not allowed? Is there any known regex to be used?

Thank you very much!

[Vishal Vinayak (Adwords API Team)]

Hi Rafa,

Please find my answers inline;

what are the guidelines to validate the URL, path1 and path2 in expanded Ads? Is it necessary to validate all the URL or just the domain (e.g. www.example.com).

By URL do you mean the display URL? Expanded Text Ads (ETAs), unlike the text ads, do not require you to validate that the display URL matches the domain of the final URL. Instead, AdWords will take the domain from your final URL and show it as your ad’s display URL. Path1 and Path2 attributes have a fixed 15 character limit (7 characters for languages with double-width characters). Your path text doesn’t have to match the exact text of your final URL, but it should help the user understand what to expect from your landing page. More information is available here.

What characters are not allowed? 

AdWords URLs follow the standard URL validation logic as defined by RFC 3986 specification. 

Is there any known regex to be used?

Unfortunately, I do not have a recommendation on the what would be the best regular expression for this purpose. 

Please refer to this table for a complete list of limits on various components of an Ad. For additional questions related to AdWords product in general, I would suggest posting your queries on the AdWords Product Forum.

Regards,

Vishal, AdWords API Team