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Fix issues with disapproved promotions

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This article describes common policy and validation review disapprovals, troubleshooting steps, and tips to avoid future disapprovals.

To understand how Google reviews and validates your promotions, view the promotion approval process.

Note: After editing your promotion to resolve the reason for disapproval, there is no need to use a new promotion ID [promotion_id] when you resubmit. Once you resubmit, the review process will begin again.

Common policy review disapprovals

Shipping code required

What this disapproval means:

Your shipping promotion wasn’t associated with a redemption code.

Possible causes:

There's no redemption code associated with the specific promotion.

How to troubleshoot:

  1. Add a valid coupon code in your promotion’s details.
  2. Test the code to make sure free or discounted shipping is only available after the code is applied.
  3. Resubmit your promotion.

If you do not associate a redemption code with your shipping promotion, you can set a combined promotion. Learn more about combined promotions.

Tips to avoid future disapprovals:

  • Ensure that the free or discounted shipping promotion is only available after applying the code on your website
  • Include the redemption code in your promotion’s details when you submit your promotion
  • Refer to the shipping promotions requirements.
Conditions overly restrictive
What this disapproval means:
Your promotion is only available to specific customers.
Possible causes:
  • Your promotion is only available for first-time customers and not available to customers who have already ordered on your website
  • Your promotion is only available to customers in certain locations with specific zip codes
  • Your promotion’s title states that the promotion is only available to a subset of customers (for example: 10% off for teachers)
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Revise the title so it applies to anyone shopping on Google.
  2. Resubmit your promotion.
Tip to avoid future disapprovals:
  • Make sure your promotion is available to all customers shopping on Google before uploading it
Editorial issues
What this disapproval means:
Your promotion’s long title doesn’t adhere to our editorial requirements.
Possible causes:

Your title contains any of the following:

  • Incorrect spelling, grammar, or punctuation
  • Excessive capitalization
  • Abbreviations or acronyms (for example: BOGO)
  • Redundant or unnecessary text (for example: online)
  • The word “today,” when your promotion duration is longer than one day
  • Errors in your coupon code
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Review your promotion's long title and correct any editorial issues.
  2. Resubmit your promotion.
Tips to avoid future disapprovals:
  • Make sure your title adheres to our editorial requirements
  • Review your promotion's long title to catch issues before you submit it
Inconsistent applicability
What this disapproval means:
The product applicability is inconsistent with the promotion’s title.
Possible causes:
  • Your promotion’s long title describes a promotion that's applicable to all products (for example: promotion’s long title is “10% off storewide”); however, the products eligible for promotion [product applicability] attribute is set to specific_products
  • Your promotion’s long title describes a promotion that's only applicable to a subset of products on your website (for example: promotion’s long title is “10% off women’s shoes”); however, the product applicability is set to all_products.
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Edit your applicability to match the promotion’s title.
  2. Resubmit your promotion.
Tip to avoid future disapprovals:
  • Ensure the product applicability matches the promotion applicability as described in the long title
Minimum discount not stated
What this disapproval means:
Your promotion's long title doesn’t describe a minimum discount or benefit.
Possible causes:
  • Your promotion's long title only describes the maximum discount the customer can receive
    • Not allowed: Get Up To 50% Off
    • Allowed: Get 20–50% Off
  • Your promotion's long title doesn’t describe any discount or benefit in the title
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Revise your promotion's long title to describe the minimum discount the promotion offers.
  2. Resubmit your promotion.
Tip to avoid future disapprovals:
  • Before you submit a promotion, ensure that the title is clear, accurate, and states a minimum discount. For more information, refer to our participation criteria and policies.
Unclear free gift
What this disapproval means:
Your title doesn’t clearly describe the free gift.
Possible causes:
Your promotion’s long title states “free gift” and doesn’t clearly describe the free gift being offered.
  • Allowed:
    • Free silk scarf with any purchase
    • Free 7-piece tool kit (worth $300 USD) with any $500 USD purchase
    • Free $75 USD necklace when you spend $200+ USD
  • Not allowed:
    • Free gift with $100+ USD purchase
    • Surprise gift with any purchase
    • Free item, redeem at checkout

How to troubleshoot:

  1. Include a description of the free gift in the title.
  2. Resubmit your promotion.

Note: Free gifts, gift cards, or e-cards must be reflected at the cart or checkout page. Feel free to view our Promotions policy page for more information.

Tip to avoid future disapprovals:

  • Ensure that the free gift is fully described in your long title before you submit a promotion

Common product validation review disapprovals

Unmapped
What this disapproval means:
Your promotion could not be tested for any products.
Possible causes:
  • The submitted promotion does not map to any products in the products feed
  • The promotion ID [promotion_id] attribute is space and case sensitive and may not have been entered exactly as created in the promotions feed, or with promotion builder
  • Feed rules are set up incorrectly for the promotion ID [promotion_id] attribute for your products feed
  • Eligible items are disapproved per Shopping ads policies
  • Your promotion is set to a locale that has no products
Note: If you’re using Shopify or Bigcommerce to upload products, these platforms cannot add attributes to the products feed.
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Change the existing rules for applicable promotion products in promotion builder, or update your product filter in your promotions feed.
  2. Resubmit your promotion.
Free shipping available without code
What this disapproval means:
The free or discounted shipping that you’re offering is already available without applying the redemption code.
Possible causes:
  • Free shipping was automatically applied at checkout on your website
  • Free/discounted shipping is regularly offered on your website
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Make the necessary changes to your website so free or discounted shipping is available only after customers manually enter in a redemption code.
  2. Request a review by finding the promotions in your promotions dashboard:
  • In the “Status” column, click See review status.
  • Select I confirm that I’ve fixed all the issues for this promotion if you’ve fixed the issues.
  • Select I disagree with this issue if you disagree with the disapproval.
Invalid coupon code
What this disapproval means:
When testing the promotion, the redemption code returned an error or didn't provide the described discount.
Possible causes:
  • The code is incorrect
  • Your website isn’t correctly set up to apply the code
  • The code did not provide the described discount at the cart or checkout page
  • The products should not be tied to the promotion
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Check to see that the redemption code is correct.
  2. If correct, ensure that it works on the website.
  3. If incorrect, create a new promotion ID [promotion_id] with the correct details.
  4. Ensure the promotion is associated with eligible items and remap the promotion ID [promotion_id] if necessary.
  5. Request a review by finding the promotions in your promotions dashboard:
  • In the “Status” column, click See review status.
  • Select I confirm that I’ve fixed all the issues for this promotion if you’ve fixed the issues.
  • Select I disagree with this issue if you disagree with the disapproval.
Tip to avoid future disapprovals:
  • Verify that the redemption code you submit is spelled exactly as it will be used on your website
No or lower discount
What this disapproval means:
At the cart/checkout page, there was no discount or a lower discount than the promotion’s title states.
Possible causes:
  • The sale price is already displayed on the product landing page and your Shopping ad or free product listing, which doesn’t benefit customers (they’re already getting the discounted price)
  • The discount at the cart/checkout page is lower than the discount reflected in the title
How to troubleshoot:
  1. Make the necessary changes to your website so that the discounted price stated in the title is only reflected at the cart or checkout page.
  2. Update and resubmit your promotion.

Insufficient discount value

What this disapproval means:
This promotion didn’t pass the validation test because the product discount value in your products feed is insufficient.
Possible causes:
  • Discounts with value less than 5% off the current price of an item or $5 USD in the US, $5 CAD in Canada, £5 GBP in the UK, R$5 BRL in Brazil, ₹5 INR in India, ¥5 JPY in Japan, ₩5 KRW in South Korea, $5 AUD in Australia, €5 EUR in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.

No active products

What this disapproval means:
This promotion didn’t pass the validation test because it’s not associated with any or minimum required active products in your products feed.
Possible causes:
  • Minimum quantity of products can’t be added to cart
  • Your products are disapproved
  • All products are awaiting review
  • Product page redirects to another website
  • The option to add products to cart isn’t available
  • Product price isn't available
  • Your products data isn’t fully processed

Additional information

What this disapproval means:
This promotion didn’t pass the validation test because the website requires the users to verify additional details like phone number, government ID, etc., before showing the promotion details.
Possible causes:
  • Your promotion details can only be viewed after phone number verification or similar other requirements.
  • Promotion can be redeemed only after unspecified additional user requirements are met.
  • Promotion is redeemable only after a survey is completed.

How to troubleshoot:

  1. Ensure that the product page or the cart page displays the promotion details and redemption details before the user is required to verify a phone number.
  2. Ensure that the promotion is redeemable without any additional user requirements such as signing up for paid membership, hidden fees which don’t apply to someone not redeeming a promotion.
  3. Avoid overly restrictive conditions to redeem the promotion.

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