Optimising Google Ads for a Sale Period

EOFY is here, and with it comes a flood of shopper intent and competitor activity. But here’s the thing: if your Google Ads don’t look like they’re part of a sale - visually, instantly, and convincingly - you’re missing out on clicks. This blog isn’t about bidding strategy or campaign structure. It’s about the aesthetic side of sale period optimisation: how your ads should appear on Google during EOFY to actually get attention, build trust, and drive conversions.

What Optimised Google Ads Look Like

You need your Google Ads, both search and shopping, to look like they’re part of a sale. That means ensuring your ads visually communicate urgency, value, and trust at a glance. Blend has a built in feed management and will automatically optimise your listings but if you’re not a user just yet, here's what an optimised ad should look like during a sale period as well as some of the key things to get right for full eligibility.

1. Sale Price Formatting in Shopping Ads

If you’re using Google Shopping (via Performance Max or Standard Shopping), Google will automatically show your product’s original price crossed out and the new sale price as well as a sale badge over the product image - but only if you’ve set things up correctly. For your ad to visually reflect the discount:

• You must include both the original price and a lower sale price in your product feed
• This can also be done simply through shopify, using the ‘compare at price’ feature as long as you have a feed management app like Simprosys or use Blend AI.
• The product must have been listed at the original price for at least 30 consecutive days before the discount and will only show for up to 30 days until it needs to be reset
• Your product landing page must also clearly show the original and sale price in a way that matches the feed

When all these conditions are met, your Shopping ad will display with a strikethrough on the old price, the highlighted new price and the sale badge - one of the strongest visual cues for urgency and savings in Google’s ad formats but one that needs to be prepared for. Here’s what you can expect to see:

2. Visual Sale Badges & Promotions

If you’re eligible for Google’s Merchant Promotions, you can attach extra promotional callouts to your Shopping ads, such as:

• “Free Shipping”
• “Spend $150, Save $30”
• “Free Gift with Purchase”

These show as “special offer” tags under your Shopping ad and expand to show more details when clicked. They don’t require price drops, but must be submitted through the Promotions feed or manually in Google Merchant Center and be backed up on your site.

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3. What Won’t Show

If your EOFY offer is only available via a promo code at checkout, and your feed doesn’t reflect an actual price drop, Google Shopping ads will not show a crossed-out price or sale badge. This is crucial. Even if your site says “25% off with EOFY25”, your ad will just look like a regular listing unless:

• The discounted price is reflected directly in your product feed
• OR you apply a Merchant Promotion with the code clearly stated

To make sure your discount looks like a discount in Google Shopping, feed data is key. The takeaway: a visible price change works harder than a hidden one.

4. Ad Copy for Search Text Ads

While Shopping ads rely on visual formatting, Search ads are text-based - so the pressure is on your copy to convey urgency. Some best practice EOFY ad copy is:

• Clear messaging around the sale: “EOFY Sale”, “End of Financial Year Deals”
• Specific Offer Messaging: “Up to 40% Off”, “Extra 20% Off Sale Items”
• Urgency: “Ends June 30”, “Final Days”, “Limited Stock”

Use structured snippets and callouts to reinforce value - “Free Returns”, “Shop Bestsellers”, “Sale Ends Soon” and make sure you mirror this language in your headlines. This it the time to Sell, Sell, Sell! If you’re a Blend user, reach out to the team and we’ll help you create ads with your unique sale messaging to maximise this opportunity.

5. Landing Page Consistency

Even though it's not part of the ad itself, Google checks that your product pages match what you're advertising. If your ad shows a sale price, the landing page must visually support that with the same pricing, clear visibility, and no misleading conditions. If there’s a discrepancy, Google may disapprove your ad or suppress the visual enhancements and you don’t want this during one of the biggest sale periods of the year.

In summary, if you want to compete during EOFY, these are our key tips to leverage Google’s visual features. Don’t forget it’s not all about the ad, make sure your feed and website reflect your offer, and avoid relying only on promo codes unless you’re supporting them with a Merchant Promotion…or simply just use Blend!

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