Clearance ads need their own campaign. Mixing them with regular inventory blurs bids, burns budget, and dilutes messaging. Follow these steps to build a Google clearance ad the right way.
Why Create a Separate Clearance Campaign
A dedicated clearance campaign gives you direct control over bids, budgets, and messaging for time-sensitive inventory.
Bid and budget control for clearance items
Clearance stock has a deadline. You may need to push spend aggressively for one week, then pause completely. A separate campaign lets you do that without touching your regular campaigns at all.
Separate messaging from regular product ads
Clearance copy is different. "Up to 60% off, while supplies last" does not belong in your standard product ad rotation. Keep it separate so you can switch it on and off cleanly.
Priority scheduling and inventory management
Per Google's Ads Help Center, custom labels in Google Merchant Center let you tag clearance products and build dedicated product groups with independent priority settings. High-priority campaigns win auctions before lower-priority ones, even for the same product.
Step 1: Prepare Your Product Data in Google Merchant Center
Your clearance campaign is only as good as your product feed. Set this up first.
Verify clearance products are in your feed
Log into Merchant Center and confirm your clearance items are active and approved. Disapproved products won't appear in any campaign.
Use custom labels to tag clearance inventory
Add a `custom_label_0` (or any available label slot) with a value like "clearance" or "liquidation". You can then build Google Ads product groups that filter exclusively on that label, giving you clean separation from full-price inventory.
Set up promotional data attributes (optional)
For Shopping ads, discount badges and promotion visibility are controlled through Merchant Promotions inside Merchant Center. This is a separate system from Google Ads Promotion assets. Set it up here if you want the green "Sale" badge on Shopping results.
Step 2: Choose Your Campaign Type
Google Ads offers two campaign types for product promotion.
Performance Max for multi-channel reach and automation
Performance Max runs across Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, and Gmail. Google's AI handles placements and bidding automatically. A strong choice when you want broad reach with minimal manual oversight.
Standard Shopping campaign for granular control
Standard Shopping limits to Search and Shopping placements but gives you full control over bids, product groups, and priority settings. Better for tight budgets or specific clearance SKUs where you want hands-on management.
Campaign objective: 'Sales' or 'Local store visits and promotions'
Pick "Sales" for online clearance. Pick "Local store visits and promotions" if you're driving foot traffic to clear physical inventory.
Step 3: Create Product Groups for Clearance Items
Product groups let you bid differently for clearance versus full-price inventory within the same account.
Filter by custom label to isolate clearance products
In your campaign, navigate to Product Groups. Subdivide by the custom label you created in Merchant Center. Only clearance products appear in this group.
Set higher priority bids for best sellers
Identify fast-moving or higher-margin clearance items. Bid higher on those specific SKUs to move them first before the window closes.
Organize by product category or margin tier
Group products by category or margin so you can adjust bids with precision. Low-margin items may need tighter ROAS targets than high-margin clearance stock.
Step 4: Add Promotion Assets to Highlight Clearance
Promotion assets display discount callouts below your ad text. Per Google's Ads Help Center, they show on Google Search and Google Maps.
Navigate to Assets > Promotion in Google Ads
Go to your campaign or account level. Click Assets in the left navigation. Select Promotion to create a new asset.
Choose discount type: percentage, monetary, or 'up to'
Google Ads supports three formats. Percentage off ("20% off running shoes"). Monetary ("$15 off orders over $50"). Or "up to" ("Up to 60% off"). The "up to" format is especially useful for clearance sales where the discount depth varies by product. It builds curiosity and encourages shoppers to browse.
Select occasion (Fall Sale, Winter Sale, Clearance)
Google requires you to pick from a predefined occasion list. "Clearance" is available as a direct option, along with seasonal choices like Fall Sale and Winter Sale.
Set promotion dates and scheduling rules
You have three layers of control. Promotion dates set when the deal is actually live. Asset scheduling controls when the ad can show. Optional day/time scheduling adds a further layer. Make sure all three align so the promotion is only shown when it's actually running.
Link to clearance landing page
Your final URL must point directly to the clearance section of your site. The landing page must reflect the advertised discount. Mismatches between the promotion and the landing page are a common reason for ad disapproval.
Step 5: Set Budget and Bidding
Allocate budget to clearance campaign
Set a separate daily budget. Clearance windows are short. Under-spending while stock sits unsold is the real risk. Budget generously for the duration.
Use Smart Bidding for Sales objective
For a Sales objective, Target ROAS or Maximize Conversion Value are solid starting points. Give the algorithm at least several days of data before making major adjustments.
Monitor and adjust daily spend
Check spend daily during clearance events. Raise bids on products moving slowly. Pause individual products once inventory is gone.
Make Clearance Ads Stand Out Faster with Coinis
Why writing clearance copy takes time
Writing promotional headlines and descriptions for multiple clearance SKUs is slow. Each product needs urgency, a discount angle, and a strong CTA. Multiply that across 20 SKUs and it adds up fast.
How Coinis Sale Promo generates promotional headlines and descriptions
Coinis Sale Promo generates clearance-ready headlines, descriptions, and promotional copy from your product URL and brand context. It handles the copywriting before you paste assets into Google Ads. No blank page. No writing from scratch. Just copy that is ready to review and upload.
From brand context to multi-variant campaigns
Coinis Brand Profile stores your brand voice and product details. Every Sale Promo output stays consistent with your brand. Save finished assets to the Creative Library and reuse them across campaigns or sale events.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run clearance ads on Google without a Merchant Center feed?
Yes, but only through Search campaigns using text ads and Promotion assets. For Shopping ads, a Merchant Center feed is required. If you want product images and prices to appear in results, set up the feed first.
What happens if my Promotion asset does not match my landing page?
Google will disapprove the asset. The discount amount and promotional terms shown in the asset must match what is live on your landing page. Fix the mismatch and resubmit for review.
What is the difference between Merchant Promotions and Google Ads Promotion assets?
Merchant Promotions add a green sale badge to Shopping results and are managed inside Google Merchant Center. Promotion assets add a discount callout below Search ad text and are managed inside Google Ads. They are separate systems and can be used together.