Connecting Google Merchant Center to ConvertMate

Connecting Google Merchant Center to ConvertMate enables AI-powered agents to analyze your product feed, identify optimization opportunities, resolve feed issues, and improve product listing performance for Google Shopping campaigns.

Before you start

Make sure you have:

• An active Google Merchant Center account with products
• Admin or Standard access to the Merchant Center account
• A verified and claimed website in Merchant Center
• Products uploaded to Merchant Center (via feed or API)
• An active ConvertMate account

Google Merchant Center is free, though Shopping ads require a Google Ads budget.

Why connect Google Merchant Center

Connecting Merchant Center allows ConvertMate to:

• Analyze product feed quality and completeness
• Identify and resolve feed errors and warnings
• Optimize product titles and descriptions for Shopping
• Monitor product approval status
• Track product performance in Google Shopping
• Suggest improvements to increase visibility
• Automate feed optimization

Connection steps

Step 1: Go to connections

1. Log in to your ConvertMate account
2. Click Settings in the left sidebar
3. Select Connections from the settings menu
4. Find Google Merchant Center in the list of available platforms

Step 2: Start OAuth authorization

1. Click Connect next to Google Merchant Center
2. You'll be redirected to Google's authorization page at accounts.google.com
3. Select the Google account that has access to your Merchant Center account
4. If you're already logged into Google, you'll see the authorization screen immediately

Step 3: Grant permissions

Google will ask to grant ConvertMate permission to:

• View and manage your products in Merchant Center
• See product status and performance
• Access product feed data
• Read Shopping campaign performance (if linked to Google Ads)

ConvertMate requests both read and write access to optimize product data and fix feed issues.

Click Allow to grant these permissions.

Step 4: Select your Merchant Center account

After authorization:

1. ConvertMate redirects you back with a list of your Merchant Center accounts
2. Select the account you want to connect
3. If you have multiple accounts, you can connect them one at a time
4. You'll see the account ID and website associated with each account
5. Click Connect account

Step 5: Wait for initial sync

After selecting your account:

1. ConvertMate begins syncing your Merchant Center data
2. Initial sync takes 10-20 minutes depending on feed size
3. You'll see a progress indicator

What gets synced:

• All products in your feed
• Product status (approved, pending, disapproved)
• Feed errors and warnings
• Product performance data
• Account-level diagnostics
• Website claim verification status

You can leave the page during sync. You'll get a notification when it completes.

What gets synced

ConvertMate syncs comprehensive Merchant Center data:

Product feed data

• Product IDs and GTINs
• Product titles
• Product descriptions
• Images and additional images
• Prices and sale prices
• Availability status
• Product categories (Google taxonomy)
• Custom labels
• Shipping and tax settings

Product status

• Approval status per product
• Data quality issues
• Policy violations
• Missing attributes
• Feed errors and warnings
• Expiration dates

Performance metrics

• Impressions in Shopping results
• Clicks and click-through rate
• Conversions (if Google Ads is linked)
• Product comparison data
• Competitive visibility

Account health

• Account-level issues
• Website claim status
• Feed upload history
• Processing errors
• Account suspensions or warnings

How sync works

After the initial connection:

Daily sync - ConvertMate syncs new Merchant Center data every 24 hours to capture feed updates and status changes. Historical data - The first sync pulls current product data and last 30 days of performance metrics. Manual sync - You can trigger a manual sync anytime from Settings → Connections. Automatic feed updates - When you optimize products in ConvertMate and apply changes, updates are pushed to Merchant Center automatically. Status monitoring - Product approval status is checked daily to alert you of new issues.

Using agents after connection

Once Google Merchant Center is connected, you can run product feed optimization agents:

Available agents

Feed Health Analyzer (100 credits) - Comprehensive analysis of feed quality, errors, and optimization opportunities Product Listing Optimization (75 credits) - Optimize product titles, descriptions, and attributes for Shopping performance Feed Error Resolver (50 credits) - Identify and get recommendations to fix feed errors and warnings Product Performance Analysis (150 credits) - Analyze which products perform best and why Competitive Analysis (100 credits) - Compare your products to competitors in Shopping results Category Optimization (75 credits) - Ensure products are in optimal Google product categories Browse all Merchant Center agents

Resolving feed issues

When ConvertMate identifies feed issues:

Common feed errors

Missing required attributes - ConvertMate identifies which attributes are missing per product Image quality issues - Flags low-resolution or non-compliant images Price mismatches - Detects when feed prices don't match website prices Incorrect GTINs - Identifies invalid or incorrect GTIN/UPC codes Policy violations - Highlights products that violate Google Shopping policies

Fix recommendations

1. View feed issues in Content Hub → Feed health
2. See ConvertMate's recommendations to fix each issue
3. Apply bulk fixes for common problems
4. Push corrected data back to Merchant Center
5. Monitor approval status after fixes

Optimizing product data

To improve Shopping performance:

Title optimization

ConvertMate analyzes and improves product titles:

• Include key attributes (brand, size, color)
• Front-load important keywords
• Stay within Google's 150-character limit
• Follow Shopping best practices

Description optimization

Enhance product descriptions:

• Highlight key features and benefits
• Include relevant keywords naturally
• Provide accurate product details
• Match description to landing page

Category assignment

Ensure proper categorization:

• Use most specific Google product category
• Verify custom labels are meaningful
• Optimize product types

Troubleshooting connection issues

No Merchant Center accounts available

If you don't see any accounts after authorization:

• Verify you have Admin or Standard access to at least one Merchant Center account
• Check you used the correct Google account
• Ensure Merchant Center account is active (not suspended)
• Try refreshing the connection page
• Create a Merchant Center account first if needed

Authorization failed

If Google authorization fails:

• Clear your browser cache and cookies
• Try in an incognito/private window
• Disable browser extensions temporarily
• Use a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• Check that pop-ups aren't blocked
• Ensure you're granting all requested permissions

Products not syncing

If products aren't appearing in ConvertMate:

• Verify products are uploaded to Merchant Center
• Check that feed processing completed in Merchant Center
• Wait 30 minutes for initial sync to complete
• Ensure products aren't all disapproved
• Try clicking Sync now in Settings → Connections

Feed updates not applying

If changes aren't updating Merchant Center:

• Verify the connection is still active
• Check that you have write permissions
• Ensure products still exist in your feed
• Allow up to 24 hours for Merchant Center to process updates
• Check for API quota limits (rare, ConvertMate manages this)

Account suspended or limited

If Merchant Center account has issues:

• Resolve account-level suspensions in Merchant Center first
• Appeal suspensions through Merchant Center
• Reconnect to ConvertMate after suspension is lifted
• ConvertMate can help identify issues but can't lift suspensions

Working with multiple Merchant Center accounts

If you manage multiple accounts:

Connect each account separately - Each Merchant Center account needs its own connection. Multi-client accounts (MCAs) - If you use an MCA, connect the sub-accounts you want to manage. Per-account analytics - View performance for each account separately in ConvertMate. Best practice - Connect your primary account first, then add others as needed.

Google Shopping feed types

ConvertMate works with all feed types:

Scheduled feeds - XML, TXT, or CSV files uploaded to Merchant Center Fetch feeds - Merchant Center fetches from your website Content API - Direct API integration (ConvertMate uses this for updates) Google Sheets - Feeds managed via Google Sheets

ConvertMate optimizes product data regardless of feed type and pushes updates via Content API.

Privacy and permissions

What ConvertMate can access:

• Product feed data for all products in Merchant Center
• Product status and diagnostics
• Performance metrics for products
• Account health information

What ConvertMate cannot access:

• Your Google account password
• Other Google services beyond Merchant Center (unless separately connected)
• Financial information or payment methods
• Other Merchant Center accounts you didn't connect

What ConvertMate can modify:

• Product titles, descriptions, and attributes (only when you approve changes)
• Product data via Content API
• Feed data to resolve errors

What ConvertMate cannot modify:

• Account settings
• Website verification
• Billing information
• Shipping and tax rules
• Your actual website content

Your data:

• Stored encrypted in secure databases
• Never shared with third parties
• Used only for feed optimization and analysis
• You can disconnect anytime

Read our privacy policy

Disconnecting Google Merchant Center

If you need to disconnect:

1. Go to Settings → Connections
2. Find Google Merchant Center in your connected platforms
3. Click Disconnect
4. Confirm the disconnection

What happens when you disconnect:

• Sync stops immediately
• Historical data stays in ConvertMate
• No new updates will be pushed to Merchant Center
• Feed optimization agents won't run
• You can reconnect anytime

To revoke access in Google:

1. Go to Google Account security settings
2. Find ConvertMate in the list
3. Click Remove access

Best practices

After connecting:

• Wait for initial sync to complete
• Review feed health report
• Resolve critical feed errors first
• Run Product Listing Optimization on top products

Ongoing:

• Monitor feed health weekly
• Resolve new errors within 24 hours
• Optimize underperforming products monthly
• Keep feed data synchronized with website

For best results:

• Use high-quality product images
• Keep prices synchronized between feed and website
• Include all required and recommended attributes
• Use accurate GTINs for all products
• Test changes on a few products before bulk updates
• Combine with Google Ads connection for complete Shopping insights

Google Merchant Center vs Google Ads

Merchant Center - Product feed and listing quality Google Ads - Shopping campaign management and bidding Both recommended - Connect both for complete optimization:

• Merchant Center connection optimizes product data
• Google Ads connection (coming soon) optimizes campaigns

Common questions

Do I need Merchant Center to use ConvertMate?

No, but product feed optimization agents require it. You can use other agents without Merchant Center.

Can I connect multiple Merchant Center accounts?

Yes, connect as many accounts as you manage. Each connects independently.

Will this affect my existing feed?

ConvertMate only updates products when you approve changes. Your existing feed process continues normally.

How often does data update?

Daily for product data, real-time for status changes when using webhooks.

Can this fix all feed errors?

ConvertMate identifies and helps fix most errors, but some (like website issues) must be fixed at the source.

Does this work with Shopping ads?

Yes, optimized product data improves Shopping ad performance. Connect Google Ads separately for campaign optimization.

Will this affect my feed upload schedule?

No, ConvertMate uses the Content API which works alongside your existing feed uploads.

What's next

Now that Google Merchant Center is connected:

• Run feed health analysis
• Learn about feed optimization
• Resolve feed errors
• Optimize product listings

Need help with your Google Merchant Center connection? Use the chat widget in the bottom-right corner or email support@convertmate.io.