Google Experiments with Removing URLs from Search Results Listings

Google tests a new feature that replaces the URL with the site's name in search results snippets. David, who noticed this change, says that he searched for [madvertise] and "most of the results looked normal, with the website title, snippet and URL. However, two search results displayed the website name instead of the URL. In the attached screenshot, the 6th and 7th results show 'LinkedIn' and 'Facebook' respectively, in the place where the URL should be."


Google has always tried to make search results listings more useful, but replacing the address with the site's name doesn't add value and draws unnecessary attention to the results from a list of hand-picked popular sites.

{ Thanks, David. }