Display Link

What is Display Link?

A display link is the URL text presented with a link ad to tell a person which advertiser or destination sits behind the click. It is not automatically the same value as the destination URL. The destination is the address that opens after the click and may contain a path, query parameters, or a redirect used for measurement. The display link is the concise, readable URL shown in the creative when the placement supports it. Meta's Marketing API makes the distinction through creative fields. In object_story_spec.link_data, link is the destination and caption is the link caption displayed under the title. Meta says caption must be an actual URL and accurately reflect the URL and associated advertiser or business reached after the click, and that this setting is not used for Instagram ads. The Ad Creative reference also documents object_url as the URL opened from a link ad and link_destination_display_url as an override for the display URL when object_url is a click tag. A field named link_url also exists, but Meta currently defines that top-level field for identifying a landing tab on a Facebook Page, so it should not be treated as the generic website destination field. In Ads Manager, advertisers normally encounter these concepts at the ad level while entering the Website URL and previewing the link card. Placement previews matter because a display link is not guaranteed to appear in every surface.

1. 1

   Keep the visible URL faithful to the click destination. Meta's link-data reference requires the caption to be an actual URL that accurately reflects the URL and the associated advertiser or business. Do not use a famous, cleaner, or parent-company domain if the click resolves to an unrelated host.

2. 2

   Put tracking parameters on the destination URL, not in the text people need to read. A display link can communicate the domain and a meaningful path while the destination preserves UTM parameters or other measurement data. Test the final redirect chain after the tracking template is applied.

3. 3

   Match the field to the creative structure: link_data.link is the destination and caption the visible URL. Meta reserves top-level link_url for a Facebook Page tab; click-tag setups use object_url with link_destination_display_url.

4. 4

   Preview every selected placement. Meta states that caption is not used for Instagram ads, and compact placements can present link information differently. Make sure the headline, domain, call to action, and landing page still form a coherent promise even where the explicit display link is absent.

5. 5

   Avoid misleading display values. Check for an unrelated domain, a promised path the click does not open, an effective host changed by redirects, or text copied from another advertiser.