Kirsten Johnson, Founder of Reverie
Your website does more than tell customers about your business. It can also influence what appears in your Google Ads, including promotional offers you may have forgotten about.
Google Ads has a feature called automated promotions that can identify offers on your website and display them alongside eligible ads.
This can be a helpful way to get more visibility for a sale or special offer. But it also gives business owners another reason to keep their websites up to date.
How Does Google Ads Find Promotions on Your Website?
Google's automated promotions feature uses AI to identify deals and discounts directly from website landing pages.
For example, let's say your business is offering:
20% off a particular service
A seasonal discount
A buy-one-get-one-free promotion
A limited-time special
If your Google Ads account and campaigns meet the eligibility requirements, Google may automatically identify that offer and display it with your ad.
The benefit? Potential customers can discover your promotions without you having to manually add every offer to your advertising.
However, not every Google Ads campaign uses this feature. Automated promotions are currently available for eligible Search and Performance Max campaigns that use location assets and don't already have manual promotions running.
What Happens If an Old Promotion Is Still on Your Website?
Here's where things get interesting.
Imagine your business ran a summer promotion offering 15% off a particular service. The promotion ended in August, but the announcement is still sitting on your website in November.
You aren't advertising the discount anymore, and your team has moved on to other priorities.
But your website still makes it look like the offer is available.
Google's system is designed to verify promotions before displaying them. However, if an expired offer remains visible and appears active, it could potentially be identified as a current promotion.
Now a prospective customer may contact your business expecting a discount you no longer intended to offer.
That creates unnecessary confusion, an awkward customer conversation, and potentially a missed opportunity.
The problem isn't necessarily your advertising. It's that your website is communicating outdated information.
Your Website and Advertising Work Together
It's easy to think of your website, Google Ads, SEO, and other marketing efforts as separate activities.
In reality, they're connected.
Your advertising can use information from your website to help communicate what your business offers. Your website then needs to reinforce those messages when a potential customer clicks through.
When the information doesn't match, customers may become confused or lose confidence in what they're seeing.
And even if you're not currently running Google Ads, outdated information can still affect the customer experience.
An old price, outdated service description, expired promotion, or incorrect business hours can all create unnecessary friction between someone finding your business and deciding to contact you.
A Simple Website Check You Can Do Today
You don't need to conduct a complete website audit to catch some of these issues.
Start by checking four things:
Current promotions: Are any expired discounts, seasonal specials, or limited-time offers still visible?
Pricing and services: Does your website accurately reflect what you currently offer?
Important business details: Are your hours, contact information, and service areas correct?
Advertising consistency: If you're running ads, do your website's offers and messaging match what customers are seeing?
If you use Google Ads, it's also worth having whoever manages your campaigns review your automated promotion settings and assets.
A few minutes of attention can help prevent confusion before it reaches your customers.
Good Marketing Isn't Always About Doing More
At Reverie Creative Agency, we believe thoughtful marketing is about more than launching another campaign, publishing another page, or adding another tool.
Sometimes, the most valuable work is making sure what's already in place is accurate, connected, and doing its job.
Your website is an important part of your marketing foundation. Keeping it current helps create a more consistent experience for the people you're trying to reach.
Our takeaway? Before investing in something new, take a closer look at what you already have. A small website update today could prevent an unnecessary problem tomorrow.
Need help making sure your website and digital marketing are working together? Connect with Reverie Creative Agency to talk about where your business may have opportunities to improve.
Reverie is an Arizona website design, SEO, and Google Ads agency helping small businesses grow online in Gilbert, Queen Creek, Mesa, Chandler, and the East Valley.