When you create offers in Google Places, you agree that:
- You are solely responsible for choosing offer text that accurately reflects your business.
- You are solely responsible for fulfilling and agree to fulfill any discounts represented in your offer.
- You will comply with all applicable local laws and regulations in your area, such as laws requiring disclosure of your business name and address, and laws regarding cash redemption value.
These agreements also apply to any third parties who create coupons on behalf of your business.
Offers Program Policies
To ensure a positive user experience, any offers created in Google Places must abide by the following:
Offers must add value above and beyond the product’s normal price.
Offers should provide a monetary discount or an additional good or service not normally associated with the purchase.
We also do not allow offers for products or services that are normally offered for free, offers that are sweepstakes, or offers which include text only meant to advertise the product without a discount.
Offers must represent a unique and limited opportunity.
Offers should provide a limited time period in which they are valid. Examples include a weekly special or a deal good for 30 days.
Note that redemption periods may vary based on offer format.
Additional format specific policies:
Offers in Google Places for BusinessOffers must have a place of redemption.
Offers should clearly outline how and where the user can redeem their deal. The deal should also be redeemable at all listed locations, unless otherwise specified.
Additional format specific policies:
Offers in Google Places for BusinessOffer title and body text must be clear and accurate.
Offer titles should be easy to understand and accurately represent the value of the deal being promoted only. The title and body of the offer should not attempt to trick users by stating different deals or otherwise misleading users. Offer details should include the conditions of use and/or any restrictions or limitations of the offer. Please see our Google Offers editorial policies [link to editorial] for more information.
Offer redemption must be clear and simple.
Offer terms must clearly disclose any redemption requirements, billing expectations, additional charges, minimum purchase limits, etc. as a result of redeeming a deal with the merchant. Hidden fees disclosed upon redemption are not permissible.
Merchants must not impose deal specific costs on users upon redemption if these costs do not apply to non-deal purchases. In other words, when users redeem their promotion, they should not be subject to fees which do not apply to users not redeeming a deal.
Offers must be redeemable without unspecified additional user requirements.deals where merchants impose requirements not included in terms in order to redeem. Unacceptable additional requirements include, but are not limited to:
- Sign up for store credit card
- Access additional store content
Offers requiring a minimum purchase to redeem must state that amount in the offer title.
Additional format specific policies:
Offers in Google Places for BusinessOffers must not be overly restrictive.
Offers must be generally accessible to most customers. Offers available only to a subset of users are unacceptable and include, but are not limited to:
- “$10 off for Teachers & Students”
- “10% off for Seniors and Military”
- “$15 off on your birthday”
Offers must not be restricted to club or loyalty cards requiring paid membership but may be restricted to free club or loyalty card holders when clearly outlined in the terms. Note that offers for discounts on paid memberships are acceptable.
Offers must also not be restricted to specific payment methods which are different from the store’s normal payment restrictions.
As an exception, offers may be restricted to first time customers only. Merchants wishing to include this restriction must comply with editorial policies highlighting this restriction.
Promoted products must be clear to the user.
Users must be able to redeem offers for all applicable products mentioned in the deal. When an offer is for storewide products, it must be applicable to all products in the store without exceptions. When an offer is limited to specific products, it must be applicable to all specific products as defined in Shopping feeds and offer terms.
Offers must adhere to our Editorial Policies.
Offer content must provide a complete, accurate description of the offer that is easy to understand and does not mislead users.- Titles must state the value of the offer ($ off, % off, free item, etc.).
- Value must only reflect the specific offer that gets applied at checkout; it may not incorporate any additional markdowns or discounts.
- Titles must state the applicability (the item or service that is valid for discount).
- If an offer requires a minimum purchase, it must be stated in the title (ex. $5 off purchases over $20).
- Don't be misleading. If an offer is good for certain items or types of items, don't create a title that implies otherwise.
- If one offer includes a range of possible discounts, the title must always state the lowest possible value (the "floor,") never just the highest possible value (the "ceiling").
- No: Up to $20 off
- Yes: $10-$20 off, $10+ off
- If there's a maximum discount available, stating it in the title is recommended (where space permits), but stating it in the restrictions is required.
- Example: 30% off organic household products (max discount $20)
- If an offer is only valid at certain locations, it must be stated in the restrictions. Detailing which locations are included or excluded is recommended.
- Example: Valid at Sunnyvale locations only
- Titles must not exceed character limits. Long Titles have a limit of 60 characters, and Short Titles have a limit of 25 characters.
- Grammar and spelling: All words must be spelled correctly with no typos, and text must be written in logical sentence form, using correct grammar.
- Exceptions are allowed for common abbreviations that the majority of users would understand
| Example offer | Allowed? |
| Free onion rings when you buy and entree | Not allowed - Text uses the wrong word, "and" for "an" |
| Free eyeshadow when you visited our store | Not allowed - Text uses incorrect verb tense |
| $5 off pastries or bagels, Mon thru Wed only | Allowed - Most users understand that "thru" stands for "through," and that "Mon" and "Wed" are days of the week |
- Spacing: Offers must not have missing spaces or extra spaces between letters or words, or around punctuation
| Example offer | Allowed? |
| 30% off eyebrow,face,bikini,Brazilian waxing | Not allowed - Text does not leave proper spacing between words |
| $5 off women's shirt s with purchase | Not allowed - Text has an incorrect space within one word and an extra space between two words |
| Free coffee with purchase, Sat-Sun only | Allowed - Text uses correct spacing around words separated by hyphens |
- Punctuation and symbols: Offers must have correct punctuation and must not use unnecessary, distracting, or gimmicky numbers, letters, or symbols, such as:
- Exclamation marks in the title
- More than one exclamation mark in the details
- Repeated punctuation or symbols
- Symbols, numbers, and letters that don't adhere to their true meaning
| Example offer | Allowed? |
| 30% off wood furniture 4 kitchens | Not allowed - Text uses symbols that don't adhere to their true meaning |
| ***Free appetizer when you buy an entree*** | Not allowed - Text uses gimmicky punctuation |
| $10 off tickets to "All in the Family" | Allowed - Text uses quotation marks correctly |
- Capitalization: Offers must not contain excessive, gimmicky, or inconsistent capitalization.
| Example offer | Allowed? |
| FREE pizza with purchase | Not allowed - Text contains excessive capitalization |
| Free pizza With purchase | Not allowed - Text contains inconsistent capitalization |
| Free pizza with purchase | Allowed - Text uses sentence-style capitalization |
| Free Pizza With Purchase | Allowed - It's okay to capitalize the first letter of every word in the offer title, as long as it's done consistently |
Offer titles must not include any of the following:
- Business names: This name will always appear elsewhere on the offer; it is repetitive to place in the title as well.
- Codes: Redemption codes should only be entered in the fields designed specifically for them, not in any other offer text.
- Redemption instructions: Titles should not detail any steps that a user needs to take in order to redeem; those should be included in the restrictions field.
- Periods or exclamation marks
Offers must not contain gimmicky repetition of words and phrases, or any unnecessary or irrelevant text.
Offers must represent the terms of the offer consistently throughout all text. They may not display conflicting information about the expiration dates, days of validity, value, or any other detail.
Offers must not contain inappropriate or offensive language or images.
Google Offers is not currently optimized to accept offers in languages other than English.
To appear on Google Shopping, offers may not be associated with ineligible products, even if the exclusions are discussed in the restrictions.
Image policy
Images must adhere to legal and product policies, as well as to the following format and content rules:
- Images must be hosted at a public URL (Google Picasa Web / G+ Photos is a great free image hosting service)
- Aspect ratio: 4:3
- Size: 1280 x 960 px
- Resolution: at least 72 dpi
The following images are not allowed:
- Dark and/or blurry images
- Under or overexposed images
- Images with text overlay
- Image collages
- Images that don't spec (dimensions outlined above)
Logo policy
Logos must adhere to the following format:
- Aspect ratio: may vary
- Size: minimum size for largest dimension must be at least 200 px
- Resolution: at least 72 dpi
Logos should make the brand instantly recognizable and convey it in the clearest way possible.
If you have the option of submitting a logo only (that is, if you are not submitting an image as well), it would be best if the logo adhered to the image spec described under Image Policy.
Additional guidelines
Offer Title / Long Title- Shorter is better; remove unnecessary words like "take," "enjoy," etc.
- 60 characters maximum
- Examples:
- $10 off purchases over $50
- 50% off select women's clothing
- Free burrito when you spend $15
- Provide as much relevant information as possible within character count
- Avoid generic promotional text; always state the value of the offer
- 25 characters maximum
- Examples:
- $10 off $50+ home decor
- 50% off women's apparel
- Free eyeshadow with $25+
- Buy 1, get 1 50% off
- For offers created in Merchant Center
- This field is optional; only use it for additional useful information that doesn't fit in the title
- Do not repeat the title text in this field
- For offers created in Places for Business
- This field will be automatically filled in by selections made around availability and additional restrictions while setting up the offer
- 100 characters maximum
- State any restrictions in the most simple, straightforward way possible
- List the restrictions that are most important for the user to see first
- Note: For Google Shopping, promotions may not be associated with ineligible products, even if the exclusions are discussed in the fine print
- 2500 characters maximum
Google or its affiliates may modify offer text a) to make non-material changes (e.g., size, formatting, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling modifications) or b) as described in Program Policies. Google making these changes does not in any way shift the merchant's liability for the content, and Google is not responsible for the accurate depiction of branded terms.
Offers must adhere to our Product Policies.
Some products or services cannot be promoted in Offers. For a list of these, please see our Product Policies.
Google reserves the right to remove any coupon from your Google Places listing at any time for any reason. This includes, but is not limited to, a response to customer complaints about your offer or fulfillment thereof.
Finally, please note that any use of Google Maps must abide by our Google Maps Terms and Conditions.