Glossary
Destination mismatch
A Google Ads policy violation: the ad does not accurately show where the click leads, and it gets disapproved. Typical triggers are a display URL on a different domain from the final URL, or a redirect to another domain.
Also called: destination mismatch policy, display URL mismatch.
The policy lists the cases: a display URL domain that differs from the final and mobile URLs, a subdomain that does not clearly identify the site, a final URL that redirects to a different domain, and a tracking template that does not lead to the same content as the final URL. Cross-domain redirects are now allowed in some cases with prior approval, with consumer goods brands sending users to approved retailers as the example.
Affiliates trip it in predictable ways: a tracker link pasted as the final URL, a /go/ link that forwards to the merchant, or a destination swapped behind an approved ad after a program changes networks. Meta has its own version: the product in the ad must match the landing page, and automatic redirects to a substantially different domain count as deceptive. On both platforms the fix is to send the ad to your own page and do the swapping on its outbound clicks.
Related terms: Final URL, Tracking template, Redirect, Cloaking, Bridge page.