Why are my Google Merchant Center promotions being disapproved?

Common reasons include: the promotion is not reflected on your landing page, the offer requires a coupon code but the code does not work, the promotion has already expired, or the minimum purchase requirement is not accurately stated in the promotion details.

Can promotions cause my Merchant Center account to be suspended?

Persistent promotion violations, especially those that mislead customers about pricing or availability, can escalate to account-level policy actions. Ensure your promotions match exactly what appears on your website.

How long does promotion review take in Google Merchant Center?

Most promotions are reviewed within 24 to 72 hours. Plan to submit promotions at least three business days before your intended start date.

Google Merchant Center Promotions Guide 2026

Google Merchant Center promotions let you display special offers alongside your Shopping ads: "20% off," "Free shipping on orders over $50," or "Buy one get one free." When set up correctly, they increase click-through rates. When set up incorrectly, they generate disapprovals and can create policy risk for your account.

How Promotions Work in Merchant Center

You create a promotion in Merchant Center under Marketing > Promotions. You define the offer type, the discount or benefit, the applicable products, and the start and end dates. Google reviews the promotion and, if approved, displays it as an offer badge in your Shopping ads.

The critical requirement: the promotion must be available to all customers on your website without restriction (other than the stated minimum purchase or coupon code). If Google's crawler visits your site and cannot reproduce the discount, the promotion is disapproved.

Setting Up a Promotion Correctly

Step 1: Ensure your promotion is live on your website before submitting it in Merchant Center. Do not submit a promotion that is scheduled to go live in the future and is not yet accessible.

Step 2: Match the promotion details exactly. If your website says "25% off sitewide," do not submit "20% off" in Merchant Center. If a coupon code is required, test the code on your site before submitting.

Step 3: Set realistic start and end dates. Merchant Center promotions cannot be backdated. If your sale runs from June 10 to June 20, submit the promotion on or after June 10.

Step 4: Apply the promotion to the correct products. You can apply a promotion to all products, a product feed, or specific product IDs. Using specific IDs reduces the risk of the promotion appearing on products where the discount does not actually apply.

Common Disapproval Reasons and Fixes

"Promotional offer not found on landing page": Your website does not show the discount. Fix: verify that the promotion is active and visible on your site. Check that any sale pricing in your feed matches what appears on the product page.

"Invalid coupon code": The code entered in Merchant Center is not working. Fix: test the code on your website from a different browser or incognito mode before resubmitting.

"Promotion has ended": The end date in Merchant Center has passed. Fix: update the end date or create a new promotion for the extended sale period.

Promotions and Account Health

Promotion disapprovals are separate from product-level disapprovals and do not directly count against your account health score. However, a pattern of promotions that mislead customers (advertising a discount that is not honored at checkout) falls under Google's misrepresentation policy, which can trigger account-level action. Run promotions only when you can guarantee the discount is reproducible for every customer who clicks your ad.