Policy & compliance · also called Ad labelling, Sponsored label
Ad disclosure
Ad disclosure is the clear labelling of paid content as advertising, so people know when a link or listing is an ad before they click.
People treat ads and independent content differently, so the law and platform rules require ads to be recognisable as ads. In search arbitrage disclosure matters at three points: the upstream ad (a native widget headline must be marked as sponsored), the lander (related-search units and sponsored listings must not be dressed up as editorial links or navigation) and the results page (Google's code applies its own ad labels, which publishers may not remove or restyle away).
Google's Product-Integrated Feature policies forbid editing or hiding elements of the unit and forbid placements that encourage accidental clicks. The FTC's native advertising guidance says disclosures must be clear, prominent and close to the content they refer to, and it prefers plain words such as "Ad" or "Advertisement" over vague ones like "Promoted".
Hiding the label may lift Lander CTR for a while, but those extra clicks come from confused people. They convert poorly, drag down RPC and can be treated as a policy violation.
Think of it like this
A shopkeeper may recommend a product he is paid to push, but he has to say so. Hiding the commission turns advice into a trick.
Related terms
Native ad disclosure
Native ad disclosure is the label that tells readers a headline or article styled like editorial content is actually paid advertising.
Sponsored listing
A sponsored listing is a paid search ad that looks like a search result and charges the advertiser when someone clicks it.
FTC Act (deceptive advertising)
The FTC Act is the US law that empowers the Federal Trade Commission to stop unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce, including deceptive advertising.
Misleading ad
A misleading ad promises or implies something the landing page does not deliver, tricking people into a click they would not otherwise have made.
Accidental click
An accidental click is a click on an ad that the user did not mean to make, usually because of where or how the ad was placed.
Sources: FTC: Native Advertising, A Guide for Businesses, Google AdSense Help: AdSense for Search Product-Integrated Feature policies