I guess I would just say it's my educated opinion. I have thousands of ads across dozens and dozens of accounts using vanity urls (which Google clearly states are ok) that don't have any QS issues. Accounts range from days to years old with varying levels of spend. It seems odd to me that Google would clearly state that it's ok and then turn around and shut down (that's essentially what $5 and $10 mins do) accounts when people followed their advice. That's costing them and can't be good for business. If vanity urls needed to point or redirect to live pages I think Google would just come out and say it. I don't see how not saying/admitting it would benefit them in any way shape or form. And to answer your second question, I've restored minimum bids to reality in bad accounts while still using vanity urls. As a final note, I've never seen any evidence that the AdWords bot even attempts to follow or resolve display urls.
I have thousands of ads across dozens and dozens of accounts using vanity urls (which Google clearly states are ok) that don't have any QS issues. As do I but I think its something to look at for those accounts that are having this issue. Perhaps something only now being enforced upon, for which google may issue a release in the future. They have done this before. I've restored minimum bids to reality in bad accounts while still using vanity urls. Using what techniques? Do you have a checklist? I've never seen any evidence that the AdWords bot even attempts to follow or resolve display urls. What method did you use to test this?
It really varies, most of time it's just a big "do over". Pause everything and rebuild in new campaigns using proper setup. For me that's usually a lot easier than trying to decipher what's going on in the current campaigns. I don't really have a check list...I'm a "wing it" kind of guy. Also, I really don't work with a lot of accounts that are in that bad of shape. Most of time I work on accounts that are already doing ok but need to go to the next level to make an impact on the business. Looking for access attempts (via whatever analytics package is being used) on those urls. Nothing formal and by no means am I saying it's fact. More of an observation.