Google Merchant Centre Integration Questions

[Iza_bela]

My website has been recently switched to Shopify platform and I would like to integrate it with google. There is an existing Merchant Centre account and Adwords account with many shopping campaigns running. My concern is that after connecting to Shopify a new feed will replace the old one in Merchant Centre which may cause downtime for shopping campaigns.

Is there any check list of what should be done to ensure a smooth switch? Is it at all possible to switch and avoid any downtime? I can't really afford pausing campaigns so try to prepare in the best possible way. I tried to google information on the matter but could not really find anything.  

Many thanks for any help!

[alex_marketlabs]

Are your product page URLs the exact same on Shopify VS your former platform? If not, I would advise pausing your Shopping campaigns otherwise users who click your ads might land on a broken webpage.

If URLs are not a concern, you can create multiple Primary Feeds within Google Merchant Center. This will allow you to gradually transition from your old feed to an updated Shopify feed. There is no native solution for a product feed in Shopify, so you will need to install an app in the Shopify App Store.

After your new Shopify feed has been approved, you can remove your old feed.

[EmmanuelFlossie]

Well, there are a lot of things to think about.

First, download your product information in Google Merchant Center > Products > All products > download icon.

Unzip the file and change .tsv to .csv. Now you have the data for reference.

Make sure the product ID from the old feed is identical to the new feed, the most common value is to use the SKU. However, if this is not the case, then you will have trouble matching the feed up.

In this case, you are going to have downtime, you will have a drop in performance for about 3 weeks if you are using a new product ID.

With respect to the campaign strategy, it depends on how complex these are. Have you used subdivisions? If yes, make sure all subdivision values are available in the new feed, such as product type, custom labels, etc.

The steps for migration is as followed:

Set all products as out of stock in the feed.
Submit the feed
Wait half an hour
Confirm all products are out of stock by going to products > all products
Delete the feed
Submit the new feed from Shopify

These are the important things to remember.

[Andrew]

Hi @Iza_bela,

Hyde here from Shopify. Great question!

When you switch to the Google Channel, the feed will need to be recreated with the new product URLs - this can't be avoided as all product URLs will change with the platform switch (new products IDs and such will be created). 

So there is no way of avoiding downtime. How long that downtime is depends on how quickly Google approves the products, but any active campaigns you have will need to be recreated - otherwise, customers will click on an Ad and it will  - as @alex_marketlabs correctly points out - use the old product link to direct them to purchase, which won't work. I hope that makes sense! 

You can absolutely use your existing Merchant Center account and it's something we would recommend because the same domain cannot be used on multiple Merchant Center accounts, so if you try to use a new one MCA with the same domain you'll encounter issues when trying to verify it.

We don't have a specific checklist for switching platforms and Google but our Google channel onboarding document should provide you with more useful information.

Could you tell me a little more about what it is you're selling? And how you're finding the Shopify platform so far?

I hope this helps! All the best, Hyde. 

[sampymishra]

Hi @Iza_bela 

I can understand your concern about losing out on ads during the transition process. To avoid this, you can use an app that will automate a lot of steps for you.

You can look at the app we have developed, the Easy Google Shopping Feed app by AdNabu for Shopify. You can bulk edit all the fields, and the changes will be pushed to the Google Merchant Center within a couple of minutes.

Some of the other features of our app include: 

• The product-specific score for every product & recommendations to increase the score &, most likely, your performance in Google Shopping
• Metafield mapping to customize every single attribute of Google Shopping Feed
• Faster update of Google Shopping Feed with unlimited manual syncing
• Supports Multi-language and Multi-currency feed
• Many more features which can save your time and effort.

You can also get in touch with our experts and request a demo. 

Hope this helps.

[lucas05021]

This situation is really bad!

[Iza_bela]

hi @EmmanuelFlossie,

thank you for your advice, it all makes sense I just wonder if there is a possibility to see the google feed generated by Shopify before it is in use. The thing is that once I integrate Shopify with Merchant Centre then the feed is probably automatically created and replaces the existing one. Am I missing something? 

[EmmanuelFlossie]

Hello @Iza_bela with the free Google Shopping app, no there is no way to do this. And yes I agree this is what you should have.

My recommendation is to use datafeedwatch, which allows you to setup everything as needed, and even match every little detail. And preview the results prior to connecting to Google Merchant Center.