Google provided marketers with a great tool for promotional campaigns in the Gmail app. Emails that get to the Top Deals (Top Picks) section of the Promotions tab can be brought to life by adding annotations.
Before opening an email, a client will see a highlighted discount code, a company logo, and other eye-catching elements of the annotation.
Stripo has tools that allow annotating emails for the Promotions tab with just a few clicks.
Restrictions and prerequisites:
Before you start adding the annotations to emails, it is important to take into account a few important things.
Since the annotations are currently in the beta stage, the annotations are for mobile devices only (Google is going to allow desktop devices in the future).
Besides, the annotations will not work for recipients from the EU.
Google annotations are only for whitelisted senders. To get whitelisted, send an email to Google at p-Promo-Outreach@google.com.
Google uses its own algorithms to determine whether to display the annotation for a particular recipient.
Because of this, single test emails will not work as the annotations are only available for bulk sending. To test the annotations, use mass sends.
On the recipient's side, an annotation will be displayed if the following conditions are met:
The email gets to the Promotions tab;
Subscribers have the Promotions tab available;
The email gets to the Top Deals. It depends on subscribers' preferences, the sender's reputation, the ESP's reputation, and, sometimes, the offer's expiration date: if an offer expires in 3 days, it has a much higher chance of getting to the Top Deals.
What types of Gmail Promo Annotations are available?
Google offers three main types of annotations for promotional emails in Gmail:
A horizontal carousel showcasing multiple products (up to 10). Allows displaying product images, titles, prices, discounts, and clickable links. Users can scroll through product cards directly in their inbox.
Deal Annotations display promotional details such as discount values, promo codes, and offer dates directly in the Promotions tab.
Deal Cards are automatically generated by Gmail based on the provided annotation data and may appear in the Promotions tab or inside the email for additional promotion visibility.
Single image preview annotations display a single image to showcase an important product in the Gmail Promotions tab.
How to add the annotation to an email template?
Stripo has two solutions for creating the annotations: the Stripo editor’s built-in tool and the annotations builder on our website.
Both of the solutions are described below.
Using the built-in tool:
To open the annotations tool, go to the "Message Settings" tab at the right side panel, then turn on the control "Email annotations for Gmail".
Choose the annotation type: Product Carousel, Deal Annotation&Deal Card, or Single Image Preview;
Product Carousel:
An interactive product carousel is shown in Gmail to showcase offers and attract customers.
Preview: Displays how the product carousel will appear in the Gmail Promotions tab;
Sender Logo: Upload your brand logo (PNG, JPEG, GIF). Minimum size: 40×40 px;
Headline: Set the product title displayed below the image;
Promo Image: Add product images (all must share the same aspect ratio: 4:5, 1:1, or 1.91:1);
Product Card URL: Link to the product page;
Price: Set price, currency, and discount;
Add/Delete Slides: Manage up to 10 product cards via numbered tabs.
Deal Annotation:
An annotation highlighting special offers and discounts to increase email engagement.
Preview: Displays how the email subject and sender name will appear in Gmail;
Sender Logo: Upload your brand logo (PNG, JPEG, GIF). Minimum size: 40×40 px;
Deal Description: Show or hide the deal description text;
Discount Code: Enable or disable displaying the promo code in the annotation;
Set the Time of Offer: Activate or deactivate the offer’s active period. When activated, set the start and end dates and times (Start Date, Hours, Minutes and End Date, Hours, Minutes).
Deal Card:
A visual promotional card generated by Gmail for the Promotions tab and inside the email.
Preview: Displays how the Deal Card may appear to recipients in Gmail;
Offer Page URL: Add the URL users will open after clicking the CTA button in the Deal Card;
Merchant Homepage URL: Specify the fallback homepage URL if no Offer Page URL is provided.
Single Image Preview:
A single promotional card displayed in the Gmail Promotions tab to highlight one featured product or offer.
Preview: Displays how the sender name, subject line, image, product title, and price may appear in Gmail;
Sender Logo: Upload your brand logo (PNG, JPEG, GIF). Minimum size: 40×40 px;
Headline: Enable or disable the product title displayed below the image;
Price: Enable or disable price information. When enabled, set the currency, price, and discount amount;
Promo Image: Upload the main promotional image (supported formats: PNG, JPEG, GIF);
Product Card URL: Add the URL users will open after clicking the product card.
We always advise testing your annotations with the Google feature:
Please be aware that, in case you face the error that your image did not pass the quality check, refer to the following documentation:
Please be aware that it is necessary to test annotations at low-send volumes, they must first be validated using the Preview Tool.
If this step is skipped, Product Carousel and Single Image Preview will only trigger at higher send volumes.
What this means for your customers:
- Low-volume testing is supported only after Preview Tool validation;
- More predictable testing in small or staged sends;
- Faster validation before launch;
- Fewer “it works at scale but not in testing” edge cases.
Additionally, you can use our Gmail promo annotations builder to create your deals.
Thank you for taking your time to read our articles. We hope you will find this information helpful.
If you have any additional questions, please email us at support@stripo.email.
We would be glad to talk with you.