Google Merchant Center Promotions: Showing Offers on Shopping

This guide is based on Google Merchant Center Help: Get started with Promotions, the promotions data specification, creating a promotion, choosing products for a promotion, the promotions policies, the approval process, promotion status FAQs, editing a promotion, the promotion destination attribute, quota limits and 1st Order Promotion, all checked on 8 November 2026. It assumes your products are already in Merchant Center; if not, start with our Google Merchant Center basics guide.

What promotions are and where they show

Google calls Promotions "an add-on feature available in Merchant Center for Shopping ads, Local Inventory Ads (LIA) and free listings that lets you promote offers". When a product has an approved promotion, Google says shoppers "will view a 'special offer' link (for example, 15% off or free shipping)" next to it.

Google lists the places these offers can appear as Google Search, the Shopping tab, Google Chrome, Google Wallet, the Safari browser and other marketing methods. In the US there is also a deals page on Search (shoppers reach it by searching "shop deals"), and promotions eligible to show on Search appear there; in Google's words, "No additional action is needed from you."

Where a promotion runs is set by the promotion destination attribute. The values are Shopping ads, free listings, local inventory ads and YouTube affiliate. The destination attribute page says that if you leave it out, the promotion shows in Shopping ads and free listings by default, and that the free listings value "is only available in the US". A promotion aimed at the YouTube affiliate destination can't use any other destination, or Google disapproves it as unmapped.

For how the ads themselves are set up, see our guide to Google Ads Shopping campaigns.

Who can use them

Google's eligibility rules for the Promotions add-on are:

• You have offers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK or the US.
• You aren't connected to a marketplace (Google notes a closed beta for some marketplaces).
• You have an active Merchant Center account "with at least one active product and one claimed URL".

Google says the add-on may be switched on automatically for eligible accounts. If it isn't, go to Settings, then Add-ons, find the Promotions card under the Discover tab and select Add. Promotions then appears under Marketing in the left menu.

Offers Google accepts and rejects

Every promotion must be redeemable at checkout or by the time of purchase and must expire within 6 months (183 days) of its start. The policies add that it must give "a monetary discount or an additional good or service not normally associated with the purchase", and that discount percentages must be whole numbers.

Google gives local equivalents of the $5 floor, for example £4 in the UK, C$7 in Canada, A$7.50 in Australia and €4.50 in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Free gifts and bonus items are exempt from the floor. India and Brazil have extra exceptions for some bank and payment-method offers.

One exception to the "subset of shoppers" rule is the 1st Order Promotion for new customers. Google says it is only eligible on Shopping ads, not free listings, supports only a % or $ discount with no extra conditions such as a minimum spend, and can be paired with the new customer acquisition goal in Google Ads.

Code or no code

The "coupon code required" attribute (offer_type) has two values: no_code, where the discount applies without a code, and generic_code, "a code that's the same for all customers". With a generic code you must also send the code itself in generic_redemption_code, up to 20 characters, for example EXTRA20.

Free shipping is the case where the choice is made for you. The specification says free shipping promotions "must include a valid coupon code that customers can manually apply. Otherwise, shipping will be treated as a service that's normally offered", in which case it belongs in your product data instead. The exception is free shipping combined with another allowed offer, such as free shipping plus 10% off.

Terms go in the optional fine print attribute (up to 500 characters), which Google shows to shoppers along with the code. The description attribute (up to 2,500 characters) is not shown to customers.

Four ways to create a promotion

• Promotion builder. Marketing, Promotions, Add promotion, Create promotion. Google recommends it "if you only have a small number of promotions". It supports amount off, percent off, free gift, free shipping (not for local inventory ads), discount range and cashback, plus conditions like a minimum spend or item count, first order, email or SMS signup and subscribe and save. It also shows a preview, currently for Google Search only.
• Promotions data source. An XML file, tab-delimited file or Google Sheet, in the same Merchant Center account as your product data. Google says this "is best if you have a high volume of promotions to submit".
• Merchant API. For syncing promotions from your own systems. Google notes that some newer conditions and incentives aren't supported in the API yet.
• Shopify or WooCommerce. Linking either store lets existing discounts flow into Merchant Center, so you don't create them there.

A data source needs these attributes for each promotion:

The value type of the discount (amount off, percent off, buy x get y, free gift and so on) then decides which other attributes are required, such as percent_off or free_gift_description. Promotions from the builder use your Merchant Center account's time zone unless you change it.

Linking a promotion to products

If a promotion applies to everything, set product_applicability to all_products; Google then tests it against every item in your product data. If it applies to some products, set specific_products and either use product filters in the promotion (by item ID, product type, brand or item group ID) or add the same promotion_id to each eligible product in your product data source. One product can carry several promotion IDs, separated by commas.

Two rules from Google matter most here. First, only tag products that are definitely included: "If your promotion is tied to a product that is excluded, Google rejects the entire promotion." Second, the mapping between products and promotion "should be complete 24 hours before the start date". If more than 1,000 offers share a promotion, Google advises mapping through the promotion ID in the product feed rather than an item ID filter.

Review and timing

Google reviews each promotion twice. The policy review checks the editorial requirements and policies shortly after you submit, during weekday business hours. The SKU review happens at the promotion's start time, when "Google testers check that the promotion works". Google says approval "is typically completed within 24 hours of the promotion effective start time, but can take up to 72 hours", and recommends submitting at least 24 hours before the start, or "the promotion may be delayed by 24 hours".

In practice that means a promotion for a short sale may only appear part way through it. Google may also rewrite your title "for clarity and consistency" without changing what the offer is.

Why promotions get rejected

From Google's status FAQs and its list of common disapproval reasons:

• The promotion ID isn't mapped to any products, is mapped to ineligible ones, or doesn't match exactly between the product data and the promotion.
• The discount isn't given at checkout, the code doesn't work, or a different code appears on your site.
• The discounted price is already shown on the product's landing page, or the base price isn't shown there.
• A free gift isn't reflected in the cart or at checkout.
• The title says "storewide" or similar when only some products qualify.
• Title problems: spelling errors, too many capitals, banned abbreviations such as "Purch", "GWP" or "Jan", or a gift that isn't named.
• The wrong incentive was picked in setup, for example % off for a $ off offer.

To see the reason, open Promotions in Merchant Center and select "See review status" on the promotion. After fixing it you can request a review from the same place.

Editing, ending and limits

Most details of an approved promotion can be edited in the builder, which usually sends it for another review. Some can't be changed after approval: country, currency, language, merchant ID, promotion ID and start time, and you can't add a destination (you can remove one). The end time can move without a new review as long as the total stays under 180 days. Approved promotions can't be edited through a data source; Google's route is a new promotion with a new ID, then ending the old one.

Google also caps how many promotions you can submit per day and how many can be active at once; its quota page doesn't give the numbers. Its advice is to group offers into fewer promotions, end stale ones and contact support if you need a higher limit.

A checklist before you submit

This is our suggestion, built from the rules above rather than a Google checklist:

• Check the offer is at least 5% or $5 (or a named free gift) and that the sale price isn't already shown on the product page.
• Test the code on the live checkout exactly as typed in Merchant Center.
• Write the title so it states the floor, the minimum spend and any condition, in 60 characters or fewer.
• Map the promotion ID only to products that qualify, at least a day before the start.
• Submit at least 24 hours early, and set the time zone deliberately.

Promotions depend on a store whose prices, codes and checkout behave as the feed says. Our ecommerce launch checklist covers getting that right before you start sending offers to Google.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use promotions without running Shopping ads?

Free listings are one of the destinations. Google's destination attribute page says that value is only available in the US and requires an approved offer for free listings.

How long does promotion approval take?

Google says review is typically completed within 24 hours of the promotion's start time but can take up to 72 hours. It recommends submitting at least 24 hours before the start.

Does free shipping need a promo code?

Yes, unless it is combined with another allowed offer. Without a code Google treats free shipping as a normal service, which belongs in your product data's shipping settings instead.

What is the minimum discount for a Google promotion?

At least 5% off or $5 off, or the local equivalent, whichever is lower. Free gifts and bonus items are exempt.

Can I run a promotion for longer than six months?

No. Google limits promotions to 6 months (183 days) from the start date. For a longer offer, create a new promotion when the first one ends.

Promotions work best on a store that is built and kept in good order. See our website development and website maintenance services and all our services, or email [email protected].