Why is Gmail adding an 'Expired' tag to my non-expired offers?

Key findings

• Annotation Misinterpretation: The 'Expired' tag often appears when Gmail misinterprets email annotations or schema markup intended to define offer validity, suggesting that Gmail's machine learning is extracting deals and offers incorrectly.
• Schema Markup Importance: Accurate schema markup (e.g., using Schema.org for offers) is crucial for Gmail to correctly identify and display promotional information, including expiration dates. A lack of this or incorrect implementation can lead to errors.
• Promotions Tab Placement: The 'Expired' tag is specifically seen in the Gmail Promotions tab, which leverages annotations to enhance visibility and provide additional context about deals. This is a primary function for campaigns appearing in the promotions tab.
• Dynamic Feature Testing: Gmail frequently tests new features and algorithms, so unexpected tagging could be part of an ongoing experiment or an evolution in how their systems process promotional content.
• Impact on Urgency: An 'Expired' tag on a live offer can diminish the sense of urgency marketers aim to create, potentially reducing click-through rates and conversions.

Key considerations

• Review Schema Implementation: Thoroughly check your email's HTML for any schema markup related to offers or promotions, especially any expiration dates or validity periods. Ensure dates are correctly formatted and reflect the current offer status.
• Validate Annotations: If you are using email annotations for the Promotions tab, verify their configuration. Even slight discrepancies can lead to mislabeling by Gmail.
• Monitor Deliverability: Continuously monitor your email deliverability and how campaigns are displayed in various Gmail tabs. This includes watching for unexpected behaviors like emails appearing in the wrong tab or displaying incorrect information.
• Content Consistency: Ensure that the visible content of your email (text, images) aligns perfectly with any hidden schema data regarding the offer's validity. Inconsistencies can confuse algorithms.
• A/B Testing: Consider A/B testing different implementations of schema markup or annotation configurations to see which yields the most accurate display in Gmail.

Key opinions

• Unexpected Tagging: Many marketers are surprised by the appearance of an 'Expired' tag, especially when their offers are still active, prompting questions about Gmail's new behaviors or tests.
• Annotation Connection: There's a strong consensus that the 'Expired' tag is likely linked to email annotations, which are used to display rich information like expiration dates in the Promotions tab. Marketers who do not use annotations may still find their promotional emails in primary.
• Urgency and Visibility: Marketers appreciate the ability to add expiration dates as a tactic to create urgency and gain increased visibility in the Promotions tab, particularly when emails are featured twice.
• Client Impact: The issue is not just theoretical; it impacts client campaigns, necessitating immediate investigation and resolution to prevent adverse effects on offer performance.

Key considerations

• Check for Annotations: The first step for marketers experiencing this issue should be to determine if their emails are using annotations and how expiration dates are defined within them. This helps understand why campaigns are filtered to promotions.
• Inspect Email Headers and Body: Marketers should inspect email headers and the body for any script tags or microdata that might be referencing an end date, which could be incorrectly triggering the 'Expired' tag.
• Stay Updated on Gmail Features: Given Gmail's continuous development, marketers should stay informed about new features or changes to how promotional emails are processed to proactively address potential issues.
• Client Communication: If managing campaigns for clients, it's essential to communicate with them about the use of annotations and the current status of their offers, ensuring alignment between the email content and the offer's true validity.

Key opinions

• Not AMP Related: Experts confirm that the 'Expired' tag issue is typically not related to AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), but rather to Gmail's internal systems for extracting and displaying offers.
• Schema Markup is Key: The problem often stems from Gmail's machine learning misinterpreting deal and offer information, reinforcing the critical need for well-structured schema markup.
• Machine Learning Guesses: When schema is absent or unclear, Gmail's algorithms 'guess' at the offer details. If these guesses are incorrect, an 'Expired' tag can appear even on valid promotions.
• Validation Importance: Regular validation of email templates and the included structured data is essential to ensure compliance with Gmail's expectations and prevent mislabeling of offers.
• Preventing Deliverability Issues: Correcting schema issues directly contributes to better inbox placement and overall email deliverability, preventing emails from being flagged incorrectly.

Key considerations

• Implement Schema Properly: Ensure that all promotional emails include well-formed Schema.org markup, particularly for offers, to explicitly define start and end dates. This helps Gmail accurately categorize and display your offers.
• Audit Existing Templates: Regularly audit your email templates for existing schema markup. Outdated or incorrect schema can be a hidden cause for mislabeling by Gmail. This is a common factor when emails go to spam.
• Use Google Tools: Leverage Google's developer tools and schema testing utilities to validate your email's markup before sending, catching potential issues proactively.
• Consistency Across Channels: Ensure that the offer's validity, as stated in the email, on your website, and in any schema, is consistent. Discrepancies can lead to algorithmic confusion and incorrect tagging.

Key findings

• Annotations Purpose: Gmail's documentation confirms that email annotations bring messages to life in the Promotions tab, specifically mentioning their use for expiration dates.
• Structured Data: The display of offer details, including validity, is driven by structured data markup within the email. This data guides Gmail's rendering.
• Visibility Enhancement: Using annotations, especially with expiration dates, can enhance the visibility of an email, allowing it to be featured prominently (e.g., as a Top Pick) within the Promotions tab.
• Troubleshooting Steps: Before attempting to troubleshoot, Gmail documentation advises checking account-level settings to ensure all necessary features for annotations are enabled and configured correctly.

Key considerations

• Adhere to Annotation Guidelines: Strictly follow Google's guidelines for implementing email annotations, paying close attention to the format and placement of expiration dates within the schema markup.
• Use Google's Testing Tools: Utilize Google's provided tools to test your email's schema markup and annotations. This can help identify errors before deployment, preventing issues like incorrect 'Expired' tags.
• Review Account Settings: Regularly check and confirm that account-level settings related to Gmail's Promotions tab features are correctly enabled, as advised by troubleshooting documentation.
• Maintain Data Integrity: Ensure that the expiration dates and other offer details in your email's structured data are accurate and kept up-to-date, reflecting the current status of your promotions.