Google and YouTube app does not connect to Merchant Center Multi-Client Account MCA subaccounts

Shopify Apps

Topic summary

Shopify’s Google & YouTube app cannot directly connect to Google Merchant Center Multi-Client Account (MCA) subaccounts—these subaccounts don’t appear in the app’s account selection dropdown.

Workaround (verified as of February 2025):

  • Contact Google Merchant Center support to temporarily remove the subaccount from the MCA
  • Connect the standalone account through Shopify’s app
  • Move the account back into the MCA
  • The connection continues functioning normally afterward

Use case: This issue particularly affects merchants running localized stores on subdomains (e.g., eu.domain.com, uk.domain.com) who need MCA structure to claim all subdomains under one top-level domain.

Challenges: Moving accounts in/out of MCAs requires 1-3 days and multiple Google support interactions per account.

Alternative solutions suggested:

  • Use different email addresses for each subaccount when connecting
  • For multi-language/currency feeds, consider third-party apps like Multifeeds instead of Shopify’s native Google & YouTube app
  • Single merchants may not need MCA structure if registering the root domain correctly

Status: The discussion requests official Shopify support for MCA subaccount connections to eliminate this cumbersome workaround.

Summarized with AI on November 1. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Shopify’s “Google & YouTube” app won’t connect to Merchant Center Multi-Client Account (MCA) subaccounts. In the app, MCA subaccounts won’t even show up in the drop-down menu of available accounts.

There is a work-around, but it’s painful. You can contact Google Merchant Center support and move the subaccount out of the MCA, log into Shopify and connect the app to Google Merchant Center, then move the Merchant Center account back into the MCA.

I’ve found that the app continues to work just fine this way, even though Google and Shopify will tell you that subaccounts aren’t supported. It seems that the only part that’s not supported is making the initial connection.

This is relevant for folks with a main domain (mydomain.com) that have decided to make new localized Shopify stores as subdomains (i.e. eu.mydomain.com, uk.mydomain.com, ca.mydomain.com). The only way to get Google Merchant Center to allow a Claim to all the subdomains is to make the top level domain (TLD) the “main” domain in a Google Merchant Center Multi-Client Account (MCA), then for each subdomain (1) create each new Merchant Center account as a standalone, then (2) connect to the app, then (3) move the Merchant Account into the MCA.

Given that moving a domain in or out of an MCA takes 1-3 days and 3-4 interactions with Google support, this is a giant pain in the rear.

Shopify - how about adding support for connection to subaccounts?

In the absence of that support, I at least wanted to contribute this article to verify for the community that this solution works as of February 2025. It would have saved me two weeks of experimentation had I known this was the solution to both my Google Merchant Center Claim issues and my connection to the app.

2

To connect, make sure each sub account has a different email address (user) added, and connect to that specific user for that specific sub account.

However, for merchants that have subaccounts, having an advanced account is not needed, you just need 1 account, and ensure you register https://example.com and not https://www.example.com

To submit multi language and currency the google and youtube app is not suitable, as it will not work. So I recommend using an app such as multifeeds https://apps.shopify.com/multiple-google-shopping-feeds That is what I use for my clients.