Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
4.1.4 Linking Merchant Center Account to Google Ads Account
Introduction
Linking the Merchant Center account to a Google Ads account makes the product
data in the former available to the Performance Max campaigns created in the
latter. It also streamlines the review process, and reduces the number of times
you need to go through the authentication process to manage your accounts using
the API. For details, see
Link your Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts.
Link each Merchant Center client account with the merchant's Google Ads
advertiser account. You can also link multiple Google Ads accounts to a single
Merchant Center account, and a single Google Ads account can be linked to
multiple Merchant Center accounts, but this is not recommended as part of the
Foundational Pillar.
UX guidance
You may provide more information about the purpose of connecting a Google Ads
account. You can find below an example of how this might look.
A user may have different levels of access to a Google Ads account. Because the
user can only connect Google Ads accounts for which they have edit access,
inform them about cases when access is an issue. An example of how this might
look is below.
Multiple issues may be associated with existing Google Ads accounts. If a Google
Ads account is suspended, don't include it in the list a user may choose from.
The following issues should be displayed for existing Google Ads accounts:
2-Step Verification required, billing information needs to be updated and
conversion tracking already in place. Below is an overview of all the messages
which should be surfaced if applicable after selecting a Google Ads account.
For more details, see section 4.5 Error handling.
Tech Guidance
To link a merchant's Google Ads advertiser account to the merchant's Merchant
Center client account, request a link from the Merchant Center. You can ask your
merchant to do this manually in Merchant Center, or do it automatically using
the Content API for Shopping. Note that:
You need to be a Merchant Center user with the role set"Admin" to initiate
the linking request.
You need to have admin access to your Google Ads account to link
Google Ads and Merchant Center accounts.
Follow these two steps to link a Google Ads account to a Merchant Center
account:
We recommend implementing retry logic for both the sending and accepting of the
link request in the event that either one of them fails during this process.
That is because a link between Merchant Center and Google Ads is required in the
future API call to create a Performance Max for Retail campaign, and an error of
resource not found may occur if the link was not established.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2024-09-03 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eLinking your Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts allows your product data to be used in Performance Max campaigns and streamlines the account management process.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers need admin access to both Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts to establish a link between them.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe linking process involves sending a request from Merchant Center and accepting it in Google Ads, ideally with retry logic implemented to ensure successful connection.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhen displaying existing Google Ads accounts for linking, exclude suspended accounts and Google Ads manager accounts, and highlight any issues like required 2-Step Verification or billing updates.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eMerchants receive an email confirmation once the accounts are successfully linked.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Linking a Merchant Center account to a Google Ads account makes product data available for Performance Max campaigns. Initiate the link request from Merchant Center via Content API, requiring \"Admin\" user role, then accept it in Google Ads via Ads API, needing admin access. Multiple Google Ads accounts can link to one Merchant Center, and vice versa. Filter out suspended or manager accounts when displaying available Google Ads accounts and inform users about edit access requirements. Implement retry logic for link requests to prevent future API errors.\n"],null,["4.1.4 Linking Merchant Center Account to Google Ads Account\n-----------------------------------------------------------\n\n### Introduction\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nLinking the Merchant Center account to a Google Ads account makes the product\ndata in the former available to the Performance Max campaigns created in the\nlatter. It also streamlines the review process, and reduces the number of times\nyou need to go through the authentication process to manage your accounts using\nthe API. For details, see\n[Link your Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6159060).\n\nLink each Merchant Center client account with the merchant's Google Ads\nadvertiser account. You can also link multiple Google Ads accounts to a single\nMerchant Center account, and a single Google Ads account can be linked to\nmultiple Merchant Center accounts, but this is not recommended as part of the\nFoundational Pillar.\n\n### UX guidance\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nYou may provide more information about the purpose of connecting a Google Ads\naccount. You can find below an example of how this might look.\n\nA user may have different levels of access to a Google Ads account. Because the\nuser can only connect Google Ads accounts for which they have edit access,\ninform them about cases when access is an issue. An example of how this might\nlook is below.\n\nMultiple issues may be associated with existing Google Ads accounts. If a Google\nAds account is suspended, don't include it in the list a user may choose from.\nThe following issues should be displayed for existing Google Ads accounts:\n2-Step Verification required, billing information needs to be updated and\nconversion tracking already in place. Below is an overview of all the messages\nwhich should be surfaced if applicable after selecting a Google Ads account.\nFor more details, see section [*4.5 Error handling*](/merchant/storebuilder/online/sections/4_5_error_handling).\n\n### Tech Guidance\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nTo link a merchant's Google Ads advertiser account to the merchant's Merchant\nCenter client account, request a link from the Merchant Center. You can ask your\nmerchant to do this manually in Merchant Center, or do it automatically using\nthe Content API for Shopping. Note that:\n\n- You need to be a Merchant Center user with the role set\"Admin\" to initiate\n the linking request.\n\n- You need to have [*admin access*](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9978556) to your Google Ads account to link\n Google Ads and Merchant Center accounts.\n\nFollow these two steps to link a Google Ads account to a Merchant Center\naccount:\n\n1. [Send a link request from Merchant Center](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/shopping/full-automation/articles/t15#automatic_steps) to Google Ads, using the\n Content API.\n\n2. [Accept the link through Google Ads](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/shopping/full-automation/articles/t16#automatic_steps), using the Ads API.\n\nWe recommend implementing retry logic for both the sending and accepting of the\nlink request in the event that either one of them fails during this process.\nThat is because a link between Merchant Center and Google Ads is required in the\nfuture API call to create a Performance Max for Retail campaign, and an error of\nresource not found may occur if the link was not established.\n| **Notes:**\n|\n| - The merchant receives a confirmation email from Google once you link the account on its behalf.\n| - When displaying the list of existing Google Ads accounts, you should filter out Google Ads manager accounts, as they cannot be linked to Merchant Center accounts."]]
