How does Gmail's Top Promotions feature work and what factors influence its display?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 14 Jul 2025
Updated 19 Aug 2025
8 min read
Gmail's inbox categories, specifically the Promotions tab, have been a significant topic for email marketers since their introduction. The aim was to help users manage their inboxes better by separating transactional emails from marketing messages. For many, the Promotions tab became a default home for campaigns, leading to questions about its impact on engagement.
Over time, Google introduced the Top Promotions feature within the Promotions tab, particularly on mobile. This innovation takes specific promotional emails and elevates them to a more prominent position, often showcasing them with richer visual elements. It's designed to highlight deals and offers that might be most relevant to the user, acting as a curated selection rather than just a chronological list.
Initially, when the Promotions tab first appeared, there was widespread concern among marketers that it would significantly reduce open rates and overall campaign effectiveness. The fear was that emails placed there would be unseen or ignored, treated as less important than those in the Primary inbox. However, industry analysis has since provided a more nuanced view.
It turns out the Promotions tab isn't necessarily a disadvantage, as users often navigate to it with a specific mindset, looking for deals and offers. In fact, some studies suggest that users checking this tab may have a higher propensity to purchase, indicating that this space can be highly effective for sales-driven campaigns. My goal is to break down how this feature operates and what marketers can do to optimize their chances of appearing in this coveted spot.
The purpose of the Gmail promotions tab
Gmail's filtering system is powered by advanced machine learning algorithms that constantly analyze incoming email traffic. When an email arrives, Google assesses various signals to determine its classification, deciding whether it belongs in the Primary, Social, Updates, or Promotions tab. This categorization is dynamic and can change based on evolving user behavior and content trends.
The Promotions tab is specifically designed for marketing messages, newsletters, and bulk mail. It acts as a dedicated space for emails that primarily focus on sales, advertisements, or general brand communications. Many marketers initially tried to avoid the Promotions tab, believing it hindered engagement, but I've found that it's crucial to understand its true purpose.
It's important to differentiate between the Promotions tab and the spam folder. An email landing in the Promotions tab means it was successfully delivered to the inbox and is accessible to the recipient. The spam folder, or blacklist (or blocklist), is where emails are sent when they are deemed unsolicited or potentially harmful. For more on what happens when your domain is on an email blocklist, you can explore our resources.
How the top promotions feature works
The Top Promotions feature takes selected emails from the Promotions tab and displays them prominently at the very top, often with visual enhancements like images, deals, and expiration dates. This turns the Promotions tab from a simple list into a curated shopping or browsing experience, making it easier for users to spot relevant offers at a glance.
To appear in Top Promotions, marketers can utilize Gmail annotations, which are specific schema markup elements added to the email's HTML. These annotations allow you to provide additional information that Gmail can then use to create these rich card-like displays. Without these, your emails are less likely to get the Top Promotions treatment.
Using annotations for top promotions
Logo: Include your brand logo to enhance recognition.
Discount/Deal: Highlight specific discounts or offers within the annotation.
Expiration date: Add a clear expiration for time-sensitive promotions, creating urgency.
Image: Provide a preview image that visually represents your promotion.
Factors influencing top promotions display
The primary factor influencing whether your email appears in Top Promotions is user engagement. Gmail's algorithms prioritize emails from senders with whom the individual recipient has a strong history of positive interactions. This includes opening emails, clicking links, moving emails to the primary tab, replying, and not marking them as spam.
It’s not just about overall sender reputation, though that certainly plays a role in how Gmail decides where your emails land initially. For Top Promotions, the focus shifts more to the individual user's behavior. If a user frequently engages with your brand's emails, even if they land in the Promotions tab, Gmail recognizes this and is more likely to feature your content prominently.
Positive factors
High open rates: Consistent opens from subscribers indicate relevance.
Click-throughs: Users clicking links within your emails is a strong signal of interest.
Moving to Primary: When users manually move your email to their Primary inbox, it tells Gmail your content is valued.
Low open rates: If recipients rarely open your emails, it signals disinterest.
Spam complaints: High complaint rates negatively impact your sender reputation and placement.
Lack of engagement: Emails that are consistently ignored will be deprioritized.
Poor sending practices: Sending to unengaged lists can harm your overall deliverability.
Optimizing for top promotions
To improve your chances of appearing in Top Promotions, focus on building strong sender reputation and encouraging positive engagement. This means consistently sending valuable, relevant content to an engaged audience. If your subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails, they are more likely to open and interact with them, signaling to Gmail that your content is important.
Implementing email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is also crucial. These technical setups prove your emails are legitimate and prevent spoofing, which in turn boosts your domain reputation. A solid reputation is the foundation for good deliverability across all inbox tabs, including Top Promotions. You can learn more about DMARC, SPF, and DKIM in our dedicated guides.
Another powerful strategy is to consistently apply Gmail annotations. These are critical for enhancing the visual appeal and information richness of your emails within the Promotions tab. By providing clear details about your offers directly in the preview, you encourage more clicks and engagement, signaling to Gmail that your content is highly relevant to the recipient. This helps with overall Gmail inbox placement, even for promotional messages.
Embracing the promotions tab
It's important to remember that Google’s systems are designed to serve the user, and that includes making promotional emails more discoverable if they are truly relevant. The Top Promotions feature, along with annotations, provides a significant opportunity for marketers to stand out and connect with their audience more effectively.
The key is to maintain a focus on user experience. If users find your promotional emails valuable and engage with them, Gmail will reward that engagement with better visibility. This means prioritizing list hygiene, content quality, and consistent authentication practices.
By understanding the nuanced factors at play and actively working to improve your engagement signals and annotation implementation, you can significantly boost your email campaign performance within the Gmail ecosystem. I've found that embracing these features rather than fighting them leads to far better outcomes for email programs.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Ensure your email list consists of truly engaged subscribers who want your content.
Consistently send high-quality, relevant, and personalized content to encourage opens and clicks.
Implement Gmail annotations (schema markup) for your promotional emails to display rich cards.
Common pitfalls
Ignoring the Promotions tab and not optimizing content for it, missing out on potential visibility.
Assuming all emails in the Promotions tab are treated like spam; they are not.
Failing to implement proper email authentication, which negatively impacts all inbox placement.
Expert tips
If a user frequently opens and clicks your promotional emails, Gmail is more likely to feature them.
The feature was initially available on Android, then iPhone, and eventually rolled out to desktop.
Don't confuse Top Promotions with ads, these are already delivered emails that get prime placement.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they noticed the Top Promotions feature in the Gmail app and wondered if it was influenced by engagement.
2018-10-05 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says that while many Top Promotions emails came from highly engaged brands, some were from forgotten sign-ups, suggesting engagement isn't the sole factor.
2018-10-05 - Email Geeks
Summary
Gmail's Top Promotions feature is a dynamic aspect of the Promotions tab that elevates certain marketing emails for better visibility, particularly on mobile devices. It works by leveraging both Gmail annotations, which allow marketers to include rich visual details, and, most importantly, individual user engagement signals. The more a recipient interacts positively with a sender's emails, the more likely those emails are to receive this prominent placement.
For email marketers, understanding this mechanism is key to optimizing campaigns for the Gmail environment. Rather than viewing the Promotions tab as a deliverability hurdle, it's an opportunity to connect with users who are actively seeking deals and offers. My advice is to focus on delivering high-quality, relevant content that encourages consistent engagement from your audience.
By prioritizing subscriber engagement, maintaining strong sender reputation, and implementing Gmail annotations, you can significantly influence the display of your emails in Top Promotions. This approach not only helps your messages stand out but also aligns with Gmail's goal of providing a more organized and useful inbox experience for its users.
