// Ads ↔ Merchant Center

Google Ads & Merchant Center — connect them correctly

Shopping campaigns only work when Google Ads and Merchant Center are properly linked, the right conversion events fire, and your products are flowing into the right audience. This page walks through the connection checklist most merchants get wrong.

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Step 1 — Link the two accounts

  • In Merchant Center: Settings → Linked accounts → Google Ads → Link.
  • In Google Ads: Tools → Linked accounts → Google Merchant Center → Approve the request.
  • Both accounts must use the same email or be granted access by the same admin.

Step 2 — Install the global Google tag

The Google tag (gtag.js) needs to be in the <head> of every page of your store. Without it, conversion tracking is incomplete and Smart Bidding cannot optimise toward purchases.

Step 3 — Install the purchase conversion event

The conversion event fires on your 'Thank you for your order' page after checkout. Required parameters:

  • send_to — your conversion ID and label.
  • value — order total. Should be a number, not a string.
  • currency — order currency (USD, EUR, etc.).
  • transaction_id — order ID. This deduplicates conversions and prevents double-counting.

Step 4 — Verify product feed is active in Ads

In Google Ads → Campaigns → New campaign → Sales → Shopping: the campaign type should be allowed to select your Merchant Center feed. If the feed is not visible, the link is broken or the products are disapproved.

Common connection issues

  1. Conversion tag fires but with $0 value — the value parameter is set to a placeholder string or empty.
  2. Double-counted conversions — the transaction_id is missing or duplicated across orders.
  3. Ad account suspended — separate from a Merchant Center suspension. Check Google Ads home page for warnings.
  4. Wrong conversion ID — tag says AW-XXXXX from an old account, not the active one.
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We check the store-side signals that affect how Google Ads and Merchant Center see your products.

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