All You Need To Know About Google Shopping Promotions

Did you know that ads with promotions can see improved conversions by as much as 28%? That means showing these special offers or promotions can significantly boost your sales. 

Now if you are a merchant who is looking to increase visibility and attract more customers with these promotions, then there is good news. These promotions can also be displayed on Google Shopping. This blog will guide you through setting up and optimizing Google Shopping promotions. 

We will discuss what Google Shopping promotions are, their benefits, how to set them up, and much more.

So, let’s then start learning and promoting!

What are Google Shopping Promotions?

Google Shopping Promotions, also known as Google Merchant Promotions is one of the Google Shopping ad extensions, that lets merchants showcase special offers and promotions on their product listings across various Google platforms, such as Search, the Shopping tab, and Chrome for a limited period of time. 

When you add promotions to your products on Google, shoppers see a “special offer” link or a promotion badge next to the listing. For instance, you might offer “10% off” or “buy two, get one free.” 

These promotions boost the appeal of products and encourage more shoppers to make a purchase.

Important Things To Note:  Promotions do not affect the ranking of your products on Google. Google will only approve promotions that are accessible to all or the majority of viewers. Promotions exclusive to specific groups, like military members or students, are generally not accepted unless they are aimed at first-time customers.

Types of Google Merchant Promotions

Google Shopping allows several types of promotions:

1. Discounts: Options can range from a fixed percentage off, a price reduction on a second item, or a straight cash discount.
2. Free Gifts: These might include a complimentary accessory or a limited-time gift card with purchase.
3. Shipping Offers: Examples include promotions for free or discounted shipping.

Benefits of Google Shopping Promotions

There are different benefits of Google Merchant Promotions, and these include: 

• Better Product Visibility: Promotions make your products more noticeable, increasing your visibility among shoppers.
• Drive Purchases: Attractive offers can motivate shoppers to buy right away, boosting your sales.
• Expand Reach Across Devices: Google displays your promotions on both desktop and mobile, reaching a wider audience.
• Improved Shopping Experience: Offering promotions can make shopping more rewarding, which might increase customer loyalty and repeat business.
• Edge Over Competitors: Promotions can set your products apart in a competitive market, giving you an advantage.

Surely, after reading till here, you would be left wondering, ‘How do I add Promotions to Google Shopping?’ or ‘How do I apply for Google Shopping Promotions?’ 

To help you answer all these questions, we will share below the step-by-step process for implementing these promotions in Google Shopping. 

Before we begin, we will be looking at some prerequisites and eligibility criteria for the same. 

Prerequisites for Setting Up Google Shopping Promotions 

Let’s look at some important information about eligibility, availability, and participation criteria for these promotions. 

Participation Criteria and Policies

Availability of Google Shopping Promotions

Promotions are accessible for both Shopping ads and free listings in multiple countries. Here is a list of eligible countries where promotions are currently available:

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Korea
• Netherlands
• Spain
• United Kingdom (UK)
• United States (US)

For all eligible accounts, promotions are automatically activated. If you find that the “Promotions” feature is not active in your Merchant Center under the “Manage programs” section, you are required to fill out an interest form to request activation.

Note 💡: You must have an active product feed in your Google Merchant Center account to complete the form and participate in promotions.

Promotion Types Allowed ✅

You can use various promotions:

• Discounts: There must be a minimum value, like $5 or 5% off.
• Free Gifts: Any free item should be described clearly and cannot be in the form of samples.
• Shipping: Free or discounted shipping needs a valid redemption code.

Promotion Types Not Allowed ❌

Some promotions are not allowed and can result in misrepresentation errors:

• Vague Discounts: Promotions like “up to 20% off” need a minimum discount stated.
• Overly Restrictive: Offers cannot be limited to specific groups like the military or students.
• Extended Promotions: All promotions must end within six months.

Policies

Google sets clear policies to ensure promotions are beneficial and fair:

• Value: Promotions should offer a clear monetary discount or extra service.
• Transparency: All conditions and limitations must be clearly stated.
• Accessibility: The offers that you set must be available to all customers and not just any specific group. 

Editorial Requirements

Your promotion titles must be concise and clear:

• Value and Terms: Clearly state the discount amount and any conditions.
• Correct Usage: Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• No Misleading Information: Titles should accurately reflect the promotion.

Redemption Requirements

Promotions must be easy to redeem without additional, undisclosed conditions. For example, customers shouldn’t need to sign up for a credit card to access a discount.

Combined Promotions Policies

Some promotions can be combined to add more value. However, each element of the offer must meet Google’s standards independently.

How To Set Up Google Shopping Promotions?

Setting up Google Shopping promotions involves a few essential steps. These steps help merchants ensure that their products and offers are displayed properly across Google services.

The first one involves configuring your accounts. 

Account Configuration  

Important 💡: If your Merchant Center account already has an active product feed, and your Google Ads account is set up for Shopping campaigns with promotions enabled, you can skip to the next section, creating promotions.

Setting Up Your Merchant Center Account

Your product information is managed through the Merchant Center. To get started:

1. Create a Merchant Center account to manage your product feed.
2. Enter business details to configure your account properly.
3. Verify and claim your website URL to ensure it meets Google’s requirements.
4. Create a product feed to tell Google about the products you offer.

Setting Up Google Ads Account

Your product information is also used to run advertisements on Google.

1. Create a Google Ads account to manage your ads.
2. Link this account to your Merchant Center. This connection is necessary to run Shopping campaigns.

Creating Promotions

There are four different options for creating Google Merchant promotions. And below, we will discuss all of them in detail. 

Option 1: Use the Promotion Builder

For a small number of offers, use the Promotion Builder in your Merchant Center account. This tool helps you enter promotions manually.

Steps to Add Promotions Manually:

1. Go to your Merchant Center account.
2. Click “Marketing” in the navigation menu.

3. Select “Promotions”, then click the plus button.

4. Choose the country and language. This sets the currency.

5. Pick where to show the promotion: Shopping ads, Free listings, or Local inventory ads.

6. Choose the right promotion category. Options include:

Amount Off: Offer a fixed monetary discount.

• Buy a quantity of products, get a fixed discount on them.
• Offer a monetary discount when a certain quantity is bought.

Percent Off: Provide a discount in percentage.

• Buy a quantity of products, get the same item at a discount.
• Offer a percentage discount when buying multiple of the same product.

Free Gift: Include a free item with purchase.

• Offer a free gift or a specific item from your inventory.
• Provide a gift card with a purchase.

Free Shipping: Provide shipping at no cost.

• Options include free standard, overnight, or 2-day shipping.

7. Follow the prompts and click “Continue”.

8. Define Promotion Title and ID

• Title: Enter a title that clearly describes your promotion including any value and requirements. This helps your promotion get approved quickly.
• Promotion ID: Assign an ID to track your promotion effectively. This ID is internal and won’t be visible to customers.

9. Select Eligible Products

• Decide which products in your inventory will be eligible for the promotion. You have several options:

• Creating Custom Filters:

If you want the promotion to apply to specific products:

• In the Promotion Builder, select “Create custom filters based on product attributes”.
• You can then include or exclude items from your product feed using attributes like ID, product type, brand, or item group ID.

Note: Filters are case-sensitive.

• Promotion-Specific ID: Apply this promotion only to products in your product feed that carry the specific promotion ID you’ve assigned.
• All Products: Apply the promotion across all products in your product feed.

10. Set Up a Promo Code

• Promo Code: If applicable, provide a promo code that customers will use to redeem the promotion through Shopping ads. This makes the promotion exclusive and trackable.

11. Schedule the Promotion

• Start and End Dates: Choose the dates for which the promotion will be active. Ensure that the promotion is set up at least 24 hours in advance to meet Google’s validation needs and to be live at the desired start time.

12. Finalize and Create a Promotion

• Review all the details you’ve entered and make any necessary adjustments. Once everything is set, click “Create promotion” to submit your promotion for review. Google will then review the promotion to ensure it complies with all guidelines before it goes live.

Option 2: Create a Promotions Feed

To manage high volumes of promotions, you can set up a promotions feed using a spreadsheet. This method is effective for organizing and automating your promotional offers.

Steps to Set Up a Promotions Feed:

1. In your Merchant Center account, go to ‘Marketing’ and then ‘Promotions.’
2. Click on ‘Promotions feeds’ in the upper right-hand corner, then on the plus sign to add or manage feeds.

3. Select Basic Information:

• Choose the country of sale, for example, the United States.
• Then, select the currency and language.

4. Name Your Feed and Choose an Input Method:

• Name your feed.
• Choose how to upload your feed data: Google Sheets, scheduled fetch, or direct upload. For direct uploads, you can use formats like XML, TSV, or a Google Sheet.

5. Upload and Configure Your Feed:

• If using direct upload, specify the file name.
• Optionally, upload your file immediately or set it to test mode to preview your data.

Reviewing Your Promotions Feed

Once your feed is set up, you can review and manage its effectiveness and compliance with Google’s standards.

How to Review Feed Results:

1. Access the Promotions Dashboard. 
2. Select and Review Your Feed:
   • Choose the promotions feed you want to review.
3. Analyze Feed Data:
   • Properties: Check the key properties of your feed, such as input method, time zone, file size, and detected delimiter.
   • Attributes: Examine all attributes in your feed, identifying recognized and unrecognized attributes. Adjust with Feed Rules as necessary to align unrecognized attributes with Google’s specifications.
   • Processing Data: Review the total items processed and identify any item issues. This section helps you understand and rectify any problems with the feed.

Option 3: Use the Content API for Promotions

You can manage and distribute your promotions data through the Content API. This tool lets you automate the sharing of promotional details with Google efficiently.

Supported Regions and Languages:

The Content API is accessible to merchants in several countries, each supporting specific languages:

• Australia, United Kingdom, United States: English
• Brazil: Portuguese, English
• Canada: English, French
• France: French, English
• Germany: German, English
• India: English
• Italy: Italian, English
• Japan: Japanese, English
• Netherlands: Dutch, English
• South Korea: Korean, English
• Spain: Spanish, English

Option 4: Use Promotions from Third-Party Partners (US Only)

Integrate promotions from platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce into your Merchant Center to streamline management and enhance your marketing strategies.

Shopify Integration:

1. Install the Google & YouTube Sales Channel App: This app syncs your Shopify promotions directly with your Merchant Center.
2. Create and Sync Discounts:
   • Navigate to the ‘Discounts’ section in your Shopify admin.
   • Set up discount codes or automatic discounts.
   • Go to ‘Sales channels’, click ‘Manage’, and choose the Google & YouTube channel to showcase your promotions.
   • Confirm by clicking ‘Done’.

WooCommerce Integration:

1. Install the Google Listings and Ads Extension: Make sure it’s version 1.6.0 or higher.
2. Configure Coupons:
   • In your WordPress dashboard, click ‘Marketing’ then ‘Coupons’.
   • For a new coupon, click ‘Add a coupon’, or edit an existing one.
   • Under ‘Channel visibility’, select ‘Show coupon on Google’.
   • Changes sync automatically with your Merchant Center.

FreshReach™ Integration (Powered by FMTC):

• Automatic Sync: Participating in FreshReach™ ensures your promotions sync with Merchant Center and display across Google.
• Promotion Types: Include fixed product discounts or percentage discounts with a redeem code.

Benefits of Using Third-Party Platforms:

• Simplified Management: Seamlessly integrate and update promotions within your Merchant Center.
• Improved Performance: Promotions on these platforms often lead to higher clicks and conversions due to increased visibility.

Considerations:

• Not all promotion types are supported, such as free shipping without a code or Buy X, Get Y promotions.
• Currently, only promotions targeted at the US market can be integrated.

Managing Promotions

Managing and Updating Promotion Statuses

• Access the Dashboard: Log into your Merchant Center and select “Promotions” to view different statuses such as approved, pending, or disapproved.
• Status Definitions:
  • Under Review: Awaiting approval. If unreviewed for over 24 hours, check if the start date is set correctly.
  • Approved: Complies with policies and is visible on your site.
  • Disapproved: Needs correction. Follow the instructions in the disapproval email to make the necessary changes.
  • Expired: No longer visible after the end date.
  • Live: Actively displayed and can be edited or ended.

Editorial and Policy Requirements

• Compliance: Ensure all promotions meet Google’s editorial and policy standards.
• Fixing Disapprovals: Modify disapproved promotions as per Google’s feedback and resubmit for review.

Strategies for Local and Dynamic Promotions

• Local Promotions:
  • Setup: Utilize the “Promotions” dashboard to create store-specific offers using existing local inventory ads.
  • Eligibility: Available in several countries, including the US, UK, and Canada.
• Dynamic Promotions:
  • Automate Discounts: Uses AI to adjust discounts based on real-time data like inventory levels and sales trends.
  • Setup Process:
    1. Define Discounts: Provide discount details and cost of goods sold.
    2. Integration: Sync with your Merchant Center to apply discounts automatically on eligible products.

Updating and Ending Promotions

• Edit Promotions: Approved promotions can be modified; significant changes may require re-approval.
• End Promotions: Choose to end a promotion via the dashboard. It cannot be restarted once ended.

Approval Process

The approval process for promotions in the Merchant Center includes several steps to ensure compliance and effectiveness. 

After processing your promotions and products feeds, Google reviews and approves your promotions before distributing them. This process is typically complete within 12 hours but can take up to 24 hours. 

Each promotion meets Google’s high standards before going live.

1. Policy Review:
   • Compliance Check: Each promotion is checked against Google’s editorial requirements and promotion policies.
   • Initial Assessment: This review occurs shortly after submission, typically during weekday business hours.
2. Validation Review:
   • Functionality Verification: Google testers verify that the promotion works as described on your site.
   • Final Approval: The promotion is approved and scheduled to go live after successful verification.
3. Going Live:
   • Promotions may become active a few hours after the start time to accommodate testing.
   • If issues arise during testing, there’s an opportunity to modify and resubmit the promotion for re-evaluation.
4. Resubmission for Disapproved Promotions:
   • If a promotion is disapproved, detailed feedback is provided via email.
   • Necessary edits must be made as per the feedback, after which the promotion can be resubmitted for approval.
5. Continuous Monitoring:
   • Even after approval, promotions are continuously monitored.
   • Significant changes to an active promotion require re-approval.

Troubleshooting

In this section, we will be looking at some common issues that a merchant can face in Google Shopping promotions. And we will also at the different ways to troubleshoot these issues. 

Types of Common Issues

• Policy and Validation Disapprovals: If your promotion fails either the policy or validation check, review the reasons provided in your Merchant Center dashboard.
• Troubleshooting Steps: For disapprovals, make the necessary corrections as indicated in the feedback. There is no need for a new promotion ID; simply resubmit the promotion after adjustments.

Preventive Tips

• Shipping Code Required: Ensure every shipping promotion has an associated redemption code. If missed, add the correct code and resubmit.
• Conditions Too Restrictive: Make sure your promotion is available to all customers, not just specific groups.
• Editorial Issues: Review the promotional content for any spelling, grammar, or formatting errors. Adhere strictly to Google’s editorial guidelines before resubmitting.
• Inconsistent Applicability: Align your promotion’s applicability with the offer that you are stating. For example, if a promotion applies to all products, this must be clear in the promotion’s title.
• Minimum Discount Not Stated: Clearly state the minimum discount available in the promotion’s title to avoid misunderstandings.

Contacting Support

• Immediate Help: If issues persist or clarification is needed, contact Google’s support team through the Help Center. Provide detailed information about your issue for the best assistance.
• Request a Review: For disapproved promotions, use the ‘Request a Review’ feature in your dashboard to initiate another review after making the necessary corrections.

Best Practices for Google Shopping Promotions 

To succeed with Google Merchant promotions, follow these key strategies and avoid common mistakes:

Setting Up Promotions

• Accurate Titles: Make your promotion titles clear and specific. 

For instance, “20% off baby sneakers” is better than “20% off select items.” This helps customers quickly see what’s on offer.

• Product Selection: Choose which products to promote carefully to ensure they’re seen soon after submission.
• Label Wisely: Use custom labels on your promotional products to track performance effectively. Label only the items that are on sale to keep your data clean.

Planning and Strategy

• Plan for Peak Times: Prepare for key sales periods like the holidays by planning your promotions well in advance. This helps you capitalize on increased shopping activity.
• Monitor and Adapt: Keep an eye on how your promotions perform. Be ready to adjust based on inventory levels or customer response.

💡Tip: Experiment with Price Drop in Google Shopping to bring in new customers. Plan the price drop around special events and festivals to make the most out of it. Additionally, you can also use Google Shopping Price Tracker.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Vague Descriptions: Avoid unclear promotion details that can confuse customers.
• Poor Timing: Don’t wait until the last minute to set up promotions, especially during busy shopping seasons.
• Overcomplicating Offers: Simple, straightforward promotions tend to perform better. Avoid complex conditions that might deter customers.

Conclusion

Successfully leveraging Google Shopping promotions can help merchants boost the visibility of their products and increase the traffic to their stores. 

By implementing the best practices that we discussed above and steering clear of common pitfalls, merchants can optimize their promotional strategies effectively. 

Remember, clarity in promotion details and timely execution are two important factors for maximizing the offers that you create. 

FAQs 

1. How do I add Promotions to Google Shopping?

To add promotions to Google Shopping, use the Merchant Center’s Promotion Builder. Enter promotion details and submit them for review to ensure they comply with Google’s standards.

2. How do I track my promotion performance?

To track the effectiveness of your promotions, use the ‘Performance’ section in the Merchant Center and the ‘Segment’ option in Google Ads for detailed metrics.

3. How much does it cost to show promotions?

Showing promotions on Google Shopping does not incur additional costs, but regular Costs-Per-Click (CPCs) still apply.

4. Can multiple promotions be mapped to an item? How will they appear on Google?

Yes, up to 10 promotions can be assigned to a single item. Google prioritizes promotions based on their specificity to products over general store-wide offers.

5. How do I determine the status of my promotion?

Check the ‘Promotions’ dashboard in your Merchant Center account to see the status of each promotion. You can also request a review if needed.

6. Why was my promotion disapproved?

Promotions may be disapproved for not complying with Google’s policies or failing validation checks. Common issues include incorrect promotion mappings or non-compliance with stated discounts.

7. When will my promotion be reviewed?

Promotions typically undergo a two-step review process: policy review and validation. Submit your promotions at least 24 hours before the start time for timely approval.

8. What fields of the promotions feed are required?

Required fields include Promotion ID, Products eligible for promotion, Coupon code, Promotion title, Promotion start date, and Online eligibility for promotion.

9. Why am I getting a “server error” message when I upload my promotions feed?

A “server error” can occur if the promotion start date is incorrectly formatted or if the feed template is outdated. Check your feed settings and template for errors.

10. For how long can a promotion run?

A promotion can run up to a maximum of 6 months as per Google’s policies.

11. What types of promotions does Google support?

Google supports various types of online promotions, including discounts, free gifts, and gift cards, as long as they adhere to Google’s promotion policies.

Check Out These Related Articles:

• How to Optimize Google Shopping Descriptions
• Google Shopping Product Feed Audit Checklist
• Top 10 Google Shopping Optimization Software