Email annotations let you include images, deals, expiration dates, and other offers to help bring your emails to life. By using high-quality images and the most relevant information, users are more likely to view and click your emails within the Gmail Promotions tab.*
This section outlines best practices for annotating your email messages.
Images
- Avoid text-only images. This space highlights the visual components of your promotional email. To improve performance, try using product or lifestyle images.
- Crop well. Images are center-cropped automatically. The supported aspect ratios are 4:5, 1:1, and 1.91:1.
- Avoid reusing images. Keep your promotional email fresh and engaging by using unique images. Users might disregard email messages that reuse the same image as duplicates.
- Use HTTPS (not HTTP) for image URLs.
Deal badge
Highlight the features of your promotion, such as "20% off" or "Free shipping".
- Be specific. Identify the details of your promotion, such as the discount percentage or promo code.
- Don't use run-on sentences. Avoid using more than four words or full sentences in the deal badge, as the badge space competes with your subject line.
Discount code
Use a discount code only if it's featured in the email. Don't repurpose this space, as it always says "Code" before the text.
Expiration date
Using this feature gives an email two opportunities to preview at the top in a bundle: once when you first send it and again within three days of the offer expiring.
Don't leave an expired date in the annotation, because Gmail treats it as an old offer and doesn't populate the email into a bundle.
Specify the time and time zone (for example, "
2025-12-30T23:59:59-07:00"). For more information about date formatting, see Format date and time.
* Emails are grouped automatically based on a number of factors.