Google to Highlight Best Shopping Deals in Search Results

Google is helping retailers maximize the exposure of their deals by highlighting promotions in search results.

Google highlights top shopping deals in search results to boost retailers' visibility while ensuring shoppers get the best available prices.

In a series of related updates, Google is making it easier and faster to apply for product promotions, attract new customers, and uncover meaningful insights.

And yes, these updates all apply to the free shopping listings Google began offering earlier this year.

Highlight Promotions in Search Results

Promotions are now available to all US retailers, and Google says they will be significantly easier to use for the holiday shopping season.

Previously, retailers had to fill out an interest form to enable promotions in the Merchant Center. Now, upgrades are automatically allowed for all eligible retailers in the US.

Retailers can edit promotions directly in Merchant Center, and the average approval time has been reduced from days to hours.

These updates offer the ability to better react to shopper demand, such as running a flash sale or extending the period of existing promotions.

Products on promotion will appear in more places across Google and include various annotations like the ones shown in the example below.

Google will highlight promoted products across the following surfaces:

• Ads in Google Shopping


• Free listings in Google Shopping


• Google Images (mobile only)


• Local inventory ads in search results

Shoppers won't have to look too hard for deals, as a new "on-sale" filter is being added to the Shopping tab across mobile and desktop.

This filter includes product inventory across ads and free listings that have a promotion or are on sale, improving the discoverability of competitively-priced products.

In addition, shoppers who search for a specific product can see which retailer is offering that item on-sale within the product knowledge panel.

Google emphasizes that all US retailers will be able to take advantage of these updates "regardless of whether you advertise with us.

More Reporting Insights

Google is rolling out an update in November that will provide retailers with better reporting for on-sale products and promotions.

To take advantage of the reporting capabilities, retailers must tag their on-sale or promotional inventory with custom labels.

Reports will gather data on impressions and clicks for tagged products across shopping ads and free product listings.

Data can then be used to evaluate performance and make adjustments if necessary.

Useful Shopping Statistics

Several shopping statistics that retailers might find helpful are sprinkled throughout Google's announcement.

• 58% of US holiday shoppers will hold off on buying gift items until they're on sale.


• 40% of global shoppers say they turn to Google to find the best deal.


• 58% of US holiday shoppers bought from at least one brand they hadn't before last holiday season.


• 65% of US holiday shoppers are starting to shop earlier to avoid out-of-stock items.

For more information on implementing promotions, see Google's help page here.