Before you can create Shopping campaigns, you need to link your Google Ads account and your Merchant Center account. After you link the accounts, you'll be able to create a campaign that uses your product information. Product data in Merchant Center can also be used to power other add-ons, like promotions and custom reports.
When you link your Merchant Center account and your Google Ads account, you’ll also be able to connect your Google Ads account to your Business Manager, which will automatically link to all other connected apps in the Business Manager account. This extends the capabilities of your Google Ads account, allowing you to promote your products and local stores.
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Note: In countries where the Comparison Shopping Services (CSS) program is available, you participate in Shopping ads through one or several CSSs of your choice. Some CSSs manage your product data and your campaigns on your behalf, while others provide tools allowing you to manage your setup yourself. Learn more About advertising with Comparison Shopping Services.
Get started in Merchant Center
You can create a new Google Ads account or link to an existing Google Ads account in Merchant Center. If a Google Ads account is already associated with your Google Account, you can immediately connect Merchant Center to that account. For Google Ads accounts owned by other users (for example, agency partners), you’ll need the Google Ads customer ID (which can be found at the top of any Google Ads page, near the account email address).
When you link your Google Ads and Merchant Center accounts, your Google Ads account will default to link to Business Manager to connect all of the apps and services you use across Google. You’ll also have the option to link only to your Merchant Center account.
You can create or link to a Google Ads account from the “Apps and services” section of Merchant Center, or when you’re creating your first campaign in Merchant Center. This article covers the steps that you take when going through the “Tools and settings” section.
Option 1: Link to a Google Ads account you own in Merchant Center
- In Merchant Center, select the Setting & tools icon
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- Select the Apps and services section.
- Under “Google services”, select Add service.
- In the pop-up window, select the Google Ads account you want to link.
- Click Link to complete the link between your Google Ads account and Business Manager.
- If you only want to link your Google Ads account to your Merchant Center, select Link to Merchant Center Only and then select Link.
Option 2: Create and link a new Google Ads account in Merchant Center
- In Merchant Center, select the Setting & tools icon
- Select the Apps and services section.
- Under “Google services”, select Add service.
- In the pop-up window, select Create a new Google Ads account, then select Next. Modify any of the pre-populated details before proceeding. Click Link to complete the link between your Google Ads account and Business Manager.
- If you only want to link your Google Ads account to your Merchant Center, select “Link to Merchant Center Only” and then select “Link”.
Option 3: Link to a Google Ads account you don’t manage in Merchant Centerd
Request link to Google Ads in Merchant Center
Keep in mind: If you have Admin access to both the Google Ads account and the Merchant Center account, you can create the link directly from the “Apps and services” section.
- In Merchant Center, select the Setting & tools icon
- Select the Apps & services section.
- Under “Google services”, select Add service.
- In the pop-up window, select Account you don’t manage, then select Next.
- Enter the Google Ads customer ID, then select Next.
- Then select Send request.
- This Google Ads account will show up in the Google services table as “Request sent” until it’s been approved.
- Enter the Google Ads customer ID, then select Next.
Approve link request in Google Ads
Link requests from Merchant Center need to be approved in the Google Ads account that you’re linking to. Someone with admin access to the Google Ads account should follow these steps to approve the link request:
- In your Google Ads account, click the Tools icon
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- Click Data Manager.
- Under “Connected products", find "Google Merchant Center”, then select Manage and link.
- Select the "Received" tab to view all the linking requests received.
- Find the account to link. The “Status” column will say “Needs your approval”.
- Select Review in the “Actions” column and review the request details.
- Select Approve.
Get started in Google Ads
You can link to an existing Google Merchant Center account in Google Ads. If a Google Merchant Center account is already associated with your Google Account, you can immediately connect Google Ads to that account. If a Google Merchant Center account is not directly associated with your Google Account, you can send a request to the Merchant Center account admin(s) for linking.
When you link your Google Ads and Merchant Center accounts, your Google Ads account will default to link to Business Manager to connect all of the apps and services you use across Google. You’ll also have the option to link only to your Merchant Center account.
Link to a Merchant Center account you own in Google Ads
In your Google Ads account, click the Tools icon
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Click Data manager.
In the “Connected products” tab, find "Google Merchant Center” under “Featured products” section and select your preferred linking method.
If you select “Link Business Manager to Google Ads”, you are linking your Google Ads to all apps managed within your Business Manager. For example, Google Merchant Center, and or Google Business Profile. Learn more about Business Manager.
- Find the Business Manager account to link and select it.
If you select “Link Google Merchant Center to Google Ads”, you’re only linking these two apps together.
- Find the Merchant Center account to link. Choose the account and select it.
After you've linked your Google Ads accounts, you can cancel the request, or unlink the accounts, or view the status of a link request in Merchant Center, Google Ads or Business Manager.
For a Google Ads account linked to Business Manager, super admins and Google Ads admins can unlink the accounts. To unlink a Google Ads account from Business Manager, follow these steps:
- In Business Manager, select the Apps and services section.
- Select the account you would like to remove.
- In the right side panel, select Remove access.
- When prompted, confirm that you’re unlinking the account.
When you connect your Google Ads Account to Merchant Center, some of your data is shared between them.
Data shared from Merchant Center
- The name and ID of your Merchant Center account
- Product titles, descriptions, and images that show on Google Search and Maps
Data shared from Ads
- The name and account ID for your Google Ads account
- Clicks and conversions from your Campaigns, Ads, and Ad groups
Who can initiate link requests to a Google Ads account?
Only someone with admin access in Merchant Center can initiate an account linking request.
Who can approve link requests when I link to an existing Google Ads account?
Only someone with admin access to the account can approve the link request in Google Ads.
Who can unlink a Google Ads account?
For Google Ads accounts that are linked to Business Manager, a Google Ads account can only be unlinked by a super admin.
For Google Ads accounts that are linked to Merchant Center, the link can be removed at any time from Google Ads by anyone with admin access to the Google Ads account, or from Merchant Center by people with Merchant Center admin access. Other actions in the linked account may have additional access requirements (even if both accounts are linked). For example:
- People using Merchant Center can’t create or edit campaigns unless they have admin or standard access to the linked Google Ads account.
- A Google Ads account admin can’t edit or add products or create campaigns in Merchant Center unless they also have access to the linked Merchant Center account. (However, the Google Ads account admin can create campaigns from Google Ads.)
What happens when a Google Ads account is unlinked from Business Manager?
When you remove a Google Ads account from Business Manager, the Google Ads account will lose access to data from all of the apps connected in Business Manager. This means campaigns in Google Ads that rely on product information from the connected Merchant Center account and from connected Google Business Profiles will stop using your product information to serve ads. You also won’t be able to create new campaigns in Google Ads based on product information from these accounts. Google Ads will still continue to serve other campaign types, including Performance Max campaigns.
What happens when a Google Ads account is unlinked from Merchant Center?
Campaigns in Google Ads that rely on product information from the Merchant Center account will stop using your product information to serve ads. You also won’t be able to create new campaigns in Google Ads based on product information from the unlinked Merchant Center account. Google Ads will still continue to serve other campaign types in the account.
Can I link a Google Ads manager account to Merchant Center?
No, you can’t link a Google Ads manager account to Merchant Center. A Google Ads manager account lets you view and manage multiple Google Ads accounts.
How many Google Ads accounts can I link to a Merchant Center account or to my Business Manager?
A Merchant Center account can be linked to up to 100 Google Ads accounts. A Business Manager can have up to 20 Google Ads accounts linked to it.