Google Checkout Merchant Help

U.S. merchants can create dollar-off promotions within their merchant accounts to help drive traffic and increase conversions on their websites using Google Checkout.

During major shopping seasons, Google Checkout may also invite merchants to participate in promotions based on a variety of criteria including, but not limited to, their Google Checkout sales volume, overall Google Checkout experience, and relevance to the shopping season.

Merchants selected to participate in promotions will always receive official notifications by email. If you wish to be notified about any promotions you're eligible to participate in, opt in to receive emails from Google Checkout.

To create your own promotion, follow the steps below. You can also watch a brief video demonstration of promotion creation.

1. Sign in to your Google Checkout merchant account at https://checkout.google.com/sell.
2. Click the Tools tab.
3. Click the Promotions link.
4. Click the Create New Promotion link.
5. Enter a title for the promotion, set start and end dates, and select an offer type.
   Note: The start time of a promotion must be at least 8 hours after the time you create the promotion, and the promotion must run for at least a 24 hours.
6. Review the promotion terms and conditions and click Schedule. You can also select Save for later to edit the details later.

After you schedule, save, or complete a promotion, the promotion will appear on the 'Manage your Promotions' page for easy access to edit saved drafts or view current and completed promotion details. Discounts are applied at the time of purchase for all URLs associated with your Google Checkout account.

You may not change the discount amount once a promotion is active. To change an offer type, end your current promotion and create a new one with the correct offer type.

When you run a Google Checkout promotion, the Checkout button on your website will be automatically updated to display an orange starburst with your chosen discount amount. If you've met our badge requirements, the badges on your AdWords ads will also reflect your promotion discount. Promotional badges will appear a few hours after the start of your promotion and will return to the standard Checkout badge a few hours before the end of the promotion.

Please note promotional badges are not currently available in search results on Product Search or for coupons offered through Google Checkout.

Google Checkout promotions are automatically applied to all elligible orders when you charge them.

To track the activity of your promotion in aggregate:

1. Sign in to your Google Checkout Merchant account at https://checkout.google.com/sell.
2. Click the Tools tab.
3. Click the Promotions link.
4. Click a promotion name on the 'Manage your Promotions' page.
5. The 'Promotion Statistics' section includes data on:
   • Total Promotional Orders: Number of charged orders with a promotional discount, including partially charged orders.
   • Total Promotional Sales: Dollar value of charged promotional orders.
   Promotion statistics can take up to 24-hours to update. Refunded orders are not included in statistics.

You can also view promotion information for a specific order on the Order Details page, either where net revenue is calculated or under the green 'Promotional Bonuses' heading. Promotion information includes:

• Google Checkout Promotion: Total promotion amount applied to the order.
• $X funded by merchant: Total merchant-funded promotion amount for the order.
• Buyer total: Total amount the buyer paid for the order.

Order totals, other than the 'Buyer total', reflect the full amount of the order before the promotion discount was applied.

Debits for promotion discounts will appear in the 'Purchases' column of your Payouts tab. Click your payout for a given day to see orders charged on that day. Promotion debits are labeled 'MerchantPromoCredit'.

We encourage you to actively market your promotions on your website and in other customer communications. Requirements for any marketing materials include:

• Clear statement of the promotion discount: i.e. "Get $X off purchases of $Y or more (before shipping and tax) with Google Checkout."
• Clear statement of the promotion terms: i.e. "Limit 1 per person. No resale. Offer available until [Date & Time]"

If you are planning to add promotional marketing to your website for a Valentine's Day promotion, we have created ready-made promotional banners for you to use on your website.

If you choose to create your own marketing materials that include the Google Checkout brand or logo, you are required to submit your marketing materials for approval at least three business days before the start of your promotion.

Merchants offering Google Checkout promotions may be eligible to appear on the Checkout deals page, a central location where buyers can find special offers from featured merchants by product category. Placement is not guaranteed and is based on a variety of criteria including, but not limited to, merchant quality ratings, transaction volume, and customer service experience.

Submit products and inventory to Google Product Search to increase the likelihood of inclusion. For best results, we recommend including high-quality product images in your data feed.