A coupon code that fails at checkout, a promotion set up in the wrong place in your feed, or a discount that conflicts with your listed prices can all trigger a Google Merchant Center suspension. Here is what the policy actually requires and how to fix it.
Google does not ban coupon codes. What it bans is coupon codes that mislead shoppers. The three specific violations that trigger suspensions are: advertising a coupon that does not work, placing promotional text inside product data fields where it does not belong, and creating a price discrepancy between your Shopping ad and what the shopper actually pays at checkout even after applying a valid code.
Google operates a separate system called Merchant Promotions specifically for attaching discount codes to Shopping campaigns. Coupon codes handled through this system are covered by their own approval process. Violations here can result in your Promotions access being revoked independently of your main account status, but repeated violations or fraud can escalate to full account suspension.
Common trap. Merchants often place coupon codes in product titles or descriptions ("Free shipping, use code SHIP20") to make ads more attractive. Google's feed policies prohibit promotional language in these fields. Products with coupon codes in titles are frequently disapproved, and repeated violations raise account-level risk flags.
If you set up a promotion in Google Merchant Promotions with a specific coupon code (for example, "SUMMER25"), that code must work when a shopper applies it at checkout. Google's quality reviewers test these codes. A code that returns an error, shows as expired, or applies a different discount than advertised will fail review and can result in your Promotions access being suspended.
Google's product data specification prohibits promotional language in the title, description, or other product attributes. Phrases like "10% off with code SAVE10," "limited time offer," or "free gift included" belong in the Promotions feed, not in your main product data. Items with promotional text in titles are typically disapproved at the item level, but patterns across many products raise account-level flags.
If your Shopping ad shows a product at $80 and you have a coupon promotion that brings the price to $64, but your product feed lists the price as $64 (already discounted), Google sees conflicting pricing signals. The feed price must reflect the actual checkout price before the coupon is applied, and the coupon must produce the advertised final price. Mismatches at this level are flagged as price misrepresentation.
Google restricts the Merchant Promotions feature for certain product categories, including healthcare products, prescription items, and some financial products. Setting up a coupon code promotion on a product that falls into a restricted category will result in the promotion being rejected. If the rejection is appealed repeatedly without changing the product category setup, it can escalate to account-level review.
First, test every active coupon code yourself. Open your store in an incognito window, add a product to your cart, and apply each coupon code that is currently listed as active in your Merchant Promotions dashboard. Verify that the discount applies correctly, that the final price matches what the promotion advertises, and that the code does not show as expired or invalid.
Second, review your product feed for promotional language. Export your full feed and search for terms like "code," "discount," "off," "free," "use," "promo," and "voucher" in your title and description columns. Any product that contains these terms needs to have the promotional language removed from those fields and moved into a properly structured Merchant Promotion instead.
Third, compare your feed prices against your promotions. If you have a promotion that offers 20% off, your feed price should be the regular (pre-discount) price. If the feed is already showing the discounted price, your promotion discount will be applied on top of it, creating a final price that does not match what you intended, and creating a discrepancy Google will flag.
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Step 1: Remove promotional text from product data. Go through your product titles and descriptions and strip all promotional language. Every coupon offer, discount mention, or urgency phrase needs to come out. These are product data fields, not ad copy fields. Use them only for accurate product attributes.
Step 2: Test and update every promotion in Merchant Promotions. Log into your GMC account, go to the Promotions section, and review each active promotion. Verify that the coupon code is still active in your store backend, that the discount amount matches what the promotion says, and that the promotion end date has not passed. Deactivate any promotions with expired or broken codes immediately.
Step 3: Align your feed prices with your promotions. Your feed price should always show the base price before coupon discounts. If you are running a sale price (rather than a coupon), use the sale_price and sale_price_effective_date attributes in your feed to show both prices. Do not use coupons and sale price attributes simultaneously on the same product unless you are certain how they interact at checkout.
Once these changes are made, submit your reinstatement request following the GMC appeal process guide. Include a specific note explaining what promotional text you removed from your feed and confirming that all active coupons have been tested and work correctly.
If your suspension notice cited misrepresentation broadly, also review the full misrepresentation guide and work through the complete checklist before appealing. Coupon issues rarely exist in isolation on suspended accounts.
After reinstatement, check the GMC suspension checklist regularly to make sure your promotions remain compliant as you add new ones.
No. Promotional text like "Use code SAVE10" does not belong in product titles or descriptions in your GMC feed. Google strips promotional language from titles and may disapprove products that include it. Use the Google Merchant Promotions feature to attach coupon codes separately to eligible campaigns.
Google test-buys products from merchants during policy reviews and verifies that advertised promotions actually apply at checkout. If the coupon code fails, is expired, or applies to different products than advertised, Google will flag it as misrepresentation and can suspend the account or revoke your access to the Promotions feature.
Yes. Every promotion in Google Merchant Center Promotions must have a defined start and end date. Open-ended promotions are not allowed. If you run a promotion past its listed end date without updating the promotion record, Google may flag the discrepancy as a policy violation.
Possibly, but not necessarily. A promotion that includes a coupon code which does not function, applies to restricted products, or conflicts with your feed pricing can trigger a misrepresentation flag. Run a full account audit first to rule out feed-level price mismatches and policy page issues before concluding the promotion is the sole cause.