How to Set Up Google Shopping Ads: Complete Beginner's Guide

Google Shopping ads put your products directly in front of shoppers searching for what you sell. Unlike text ads, Shopping ads display product images, prices, and your store name - giving customers the information they need to click and buy.

This guide walks you through the complete setup process for Google Shopping campaigns, from creating your Merchant Center account to launching your first ads. Whether you're selling a handful of products or managing thousands of SKUs, these steps will get you up and running.

Step 1: Set Up Google Merchant Center

Google Merchant Center is where you manage your product data. It's the foundation of Google Shopping - without it, you can't run Shopping ads.

Create Your Merchant Center Account

1. Go to merchants.google.com
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Enter your business information:
   • Business name: As customers will see it
   • Country: Where your business is registered
   • Time zone: For reporting purposes
4. Accept the terms of service
5. Add your website URL

Verify and Claim Your Website

Google needs to confirm you own the website where products will be sold. You have several verification options:

• HTML tag: Add a meta tag to your site's homepage
• HTML file: Upload a verification file to your root directory
• Google Analytics: Use your existing GA property
• Google Tag Manager: Use your GTM container

The HTML tag or Google Analytics methods are typically fastest. After verification, click "Claim" to establish your website ownership in Merchant Center.

Configure Business Settings

Complete these essential settings:

• Shipping: Set up shipping rates and delivery times
• Return policy: Add your return/refund policy URL
• Tax settings: Configure tax collection (US only - Google can auto-calculate)
• Business information: Add contact details and physical address if applicable

Step 2: Create Your Product Feed

Your product feed is the data file containing all your product information. It tells Google what you're selling and provides the details shown in Shopping ads.

Required Product Attributes

Every product must include these required attributes:

Attribute	Description	Example
id	Unique product identifier	SKU-12345
title	Product name (up to 150 characters)	Nike Air Max 90 Men's Running Shoes - Black
description	Product description	Classic Nike running shoes with Air Max cushioning...
link	URL to product page	https://example.com/products/nike-air-max-90
image_link	URL to main product image	https://example.com/images/nike-air-max-90.jpg
price	Product price with currency	129.99 USD
availability	Stock status	in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder
brand	Product brand name	Nike

Additional attributes like gtin (barcode), condition, and google_product_category are strongly recommended or required for certain product types.

Feed Creation Options

You can create and submit your feed in several ways:

• Google Sheets: Best for small catalogs (<1000 products). Easy to manage and auto-syncs.
• File upload: XML, TXT, or CSV files. Good for medium catalogs with periodic updates.
• Content API: Programmatic feed management. Best for large or dynamic catalogs.
• E-commerce platform integration: Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce have built-in Merchant Center connections.

Submit Your Feed

1. In Merchant Center, go to Products > Feeds
2. Click the + button to add a new feed
3. Select your target country and language
4. Choose your feed submission method
5. Upload or connect your product data
6. Set a fetch schedule (if using file or URL)

Step 3: Fix Feed Errors and Get Products Approved

After submitting your feed, Google reviews each product. Check the Diagnostics tab to see approval status and any issues.

Common Feed Errors

See our complete product feed errors guide for detailed fixes. Common issues include:

• Missing required attributes: Add the missing data (GTIN, brand, condition)
• Image issues: Wrong size, promotional overlay, watermarks
• Price mismatch: Feed price doesn't match landing page price
• Landing page errors: 404s, mobile issues, price not visible
• Policy violations: Prohibited products or claims

Product Status Types

Status	Meaning	Can Show Ads?
Approved	Product meets all requirements	Yes
Pending	Under review (usually 1-3 days)	Not yet
Warning	Approved but has issues to fix	Yes (limited)
Disapproved	Violates policies or has errors	No

Step 4: Link Merchant Center to Google Ads

Before creating Shopping campaigns, you need to connect your Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts.

1. In Merchant Center, go to Settings (gear icon)
2. Click Linked accounts
3. Under Google Ads, click Link account
4. Enter your Google Ads customer ID (xxx-xxx-xxxx format)
5. Click Send link request
6. In Google Ads, go to Tools & Settings > Linked accounts
7. Find the Merchant Center request and click View details > Approve

Once linked, your product data flows from Merchant Center to Google Ads, enabling Shopping campaigns.

Step 5: Create Your Google Shopping Campaign

Now for the exciting part - creating your actual Shopping campaign in Google Ads.

Choose Campaign Type

Google offers two main options for Shopping:

• Standard Shopping: Full control over bidding, product groups, and targeting. Ads appear only in Shopping placements. Recommended for beginners.
• Performance Max: AI-driven campaigns that show across all Google properties. Less control but potentially broader reach. See our Shopping vs Performance Max comparison.

Campaign Setup Steps

1. In Google Ads, click + New campaign
2. Select Sales as your campaign objective
3. Choose Shopping as campaign type
4. Select your linked Merchant Center account
5. Choose Standard Shopping campaign
6. Configure campaign settings:
   • Campaign name: Something descriptive (e.g., "Shopping - All Products")
   • Bidding: Start with Manual CPC or Maximize clicks to gather data (see our negative keywords guide for controlling which searches trigger your ads)
   • Daily budget: Set based on what you're comfortable spending
   • Networks: Google Search is default; consider enabling Search Partners
   • Locations: Where you want ads to show
7. Click Save and continue

Set Up Product Groups

Product groups determine how you organize and bid on products. Start simple:

1. Create one ad group with all products initially
2. Set a default bid (e.g., $0.50-$1.00 depending on your margins)
3. Let it run for 1-2 weeks to gather performance data
4. Then subdivide by brand, category, or performance tier

Step 6: Launch and Monitor Your Campaign

After creating your campaign, it enters a learning phase. Be aware of conversion lag when analyzing early results. Here's what to expect and monitor:

First Week Checklist

• Verify products are serving: Check that impressions and clicks are coming in
• Check for disapprovals: New campaigns sometimes trigger product reviews
• Monitor spend: Ensure budget is being used as expected
• Review search terms: See what queries are triggering your ads

Key Metrics to Track

Focus on these metrics when starting out (learn more in our metrics glossary):

• Impressions: Are your ads showing?
• Clicks: Are people clicking?
• CTR (Click-through rate): Industry average is 0.5-1.5% for Shopping
• CPC (Cost per click): What you're paying per click
• Conversions: Sales generated (requires conversion tracking)
• ROAS: Revenue divided by ad spend (learn more in our ROAS guide)

Set Up Conversion Tracking

If you haven't already, implement conversion tracking to measure sales from your ads. Without this, you can't calculate ROAS or optimize effectively.

Most e-commerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.) have built-in Google Ads conversion tracking integrations. Google's official Ads & Commerce blog regularly publishes updates on new Shopping features and best practices.

What's Next: Optimizing Your Shopping Campaigns

Getting campaigns live is just the beginning. Once you have data, focus on optimization:

• Improve product titles: See our title optimization guide
• Reduce wasted spend: Identify non-converting products
• Optimize bids: Increase bids on winners, decrease on losers
• Segment product groups: Create separate groups for different performance tiers
• Use custom labels: Tag products for easier management
• Monitor competition: Check impression share and price competitiveness

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Setting up Google Shopping ads requires several connected pieces: Merchant Center, a product feed, and a Google Ads campaign. While there are many steps, the process is straightforward once you understand each component.

Key takeaways for getting started:

• Start with Merchant Center: Create your account, verify your website, configure settings
• Build a quality product feed: Include all required attributes with accurate data
• Fix errors before launching: Resolve disapprovals and warnings first
• Start simple: One campaign, one ad group, all products - then optimize (see our budget allocation guide for scaling strategies)
• Track conversions: You can't improve what you don't measure

Google Shopping can be one of your most profitable advertising channels - products with images and prices convert shoppers with high purchase intent. Get the foundation right, and you'll be well-positioned to scale. To understand how your campaigns perform at the data level, explore our Google Ads API guide for programmatic reporting and optimization.