diff --git a/exporters/zipkin/zipkin.go b/exporters/zipkin/zipkin.go
index d9fb1604fda..8de40472224 100644
--- a/exporters/zipkin/zipkin.go
+++ b/exporters/zipkin/zipkin.go
@@ -91,10 +91,10 @@ func New(collectorURL string, opts ...Option) (*Exporter, error) {
 	}
 	u, err := url.Parse(collectorURL)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid collector URL: %v", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid collector URL %q: %v", collectorURL, err)
 	}
 	if u.Scheme == "" || u.Host == "" {
-		return nil, errors.New("invalid collector URL")
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid collector URL %q: no scheme or host", collectorURL)
 	}
 
 	cfg := config{}
diff --git a/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_test.go b/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_test.go
index bac8cdc2950..3e8e9c910ff 100644
--- a/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_test.go
+++ b/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_test.go
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func TestNewRawExporterShouldFailInvalidCollectorURL(t *testing.T) {
 	)
 
 	assert.Error(t, err)
-	assert.EqualError(t, err, "invalid collector URL")
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "invalid collector URL \"localhost\": no scheme or host")
 	assert.Nil(t, exp)
 }