How to Create a WooCommerce Google Shopping Campaign: Simple and Easy Steps

Let me share two interesting facts with you.

1. There are around 1.2 billion searches on Google Shopping. That too in every single month!
2. Nearly half of all shoppers (49%) use Google to discover new products. That’s every one shopper in two! 

With these eye-opening statistics, it’s clear that if you’re a WooCommerce store owner looking to boost your online presence and sales, setting up a Google Shopping campaign is necessary.

WooCommerce Google Shopping campaigns allow you to showcase your products directly in Google search results. It can improve visibility and increase your WooCommerce sales a lot. 

But, how do you create a WooCommerce Google Shopping Campaign? 

Get ready! In this article, I’ll guide you through the step-by-step process of creating a successful WooCommerce Google Shopping campaign. You will get everything from creating a WooCommerce product feed to uploading it to Google Shopping.

Let’s dive in! 

How does Google Shopping work with WooCommerce? 

Before we get to the main stuff, let’s get some ideas on how Google Shopping works with WooCommerce. 

Now, the good thing is if you are a WooCommerce store owner you have an advantage. But what is it?

Well, you can present your WooCommerce products on Google Shopping in the shortest time possible just by uploading a WooCommerce product feed on the Google Merchant Center Next.

But, what is a product feed? What is even Google Merchant Center Next? 

 Let’s start one by one.

A product feed is essentially a structured file or spreadsheet that contains all the relevant details of your WooCommerce store products. 

This includes information like titles, descriptions, prices, availability, SKU numbers, and links to product images and pages. 

Now, when you upload this product feed to a marketing platform like Google Shopping, it gets all your product’s data and showcases them. 

So, you can use a product feed to easily promote your WooCommerce products on different marketing platforms like Google Shopping, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Shopping, etc.

Now, what about the Google Merchant Center Next? 

Well, Google Merchant Center Next is the newly updated version of Google Merchant Center. 

It is a platform offered by Google that enables businesses to upload and oversee their product data for use across various Google services, including Google Shopping.

So, to upload your product on Google Shopping, you need to upload the product feeds on the Google Merchant Center Next account and then run the Ads or Campaigns. 

Let me make it more clear for you.

Here’s how WooCommerce Google Shopping integration works:

• You have products on your WooCommerce store right? So, you create a product feed that contains all the data and information of those products in order to integrate with Google Shopping.
• Next, you create an account on Google Merchant Center (GMC) and then set up your business and verify your website.
• After setting up your account properly you can give that WooCommerce product feed to the GMC account. This allows Google to take all the product information through your GMC account.
• Now, I know you want to run a campaign. So, for that, you have to create a Google Ads account and connect the GMC products with Google Ads. Then you can run a campaign through the GMC platform to showcase or run Ads for your WooCommerce products in the Google Shopping platform. 

Hope you are clear about how Google Shopping works with WooCommerce. Now, let’s get into the in-depth process. 

How to Create a WooCommerce Google Shopping Campaign: Step-By-Step Guide

It’s time to get into the main thing. I’ll show you the process of creating a WooCommerce Google Shopping Campaign in 4 parts.

Give a quick look at it-

• Part A: Create a WooCommerce Google Shopping Product Feed
• Part B: Create and Set up a Google Merchant Center Account
• Part C: Uploading the Product Feed to the GMC Account
• Part D: Create and Connect Google Ads with GMC Account to run a Campaign

Now, all the steps are really simple and beginner-friendly. So, I believe you will be able to pull it off easily. Without further ado, let’s get to it.

Part A: Create a WooCommerce Shopping Product Feed 

You already know what a product feed is and how much it can help. So, you should try to create your WooCommerce product feed perfectly. 

But, to produce a top-notch product feed, you will have no alternative but to adhere to the Google Product data specification.

This specification will give you an insight into the required attributes and their adjustable formats for uploading to the Google Merchant Center.

Strong Reminder! Any wrong pattern of the required attributes can lead to a failure of sale conversion on Google Shopping. 

So, check out the necessary attributes or product information you must provide in your WooCommerce Google Shopping Product Feed: 

Necessary Attribute	How to use them Properly
Product ID [id]	It should be uniqueActs as an identifier of a specific product
Product Title [title]	Your product title represents your productIt should be grammar-error-free and contain the relevant keywords.No stuffing and it should be the same as the landing page
Product Description [description]	The description must contain relevant keywords Make it spelling-error-freeIllustrate What the application of the product is
Main Image [image_link]	It should have a crystal-clear, light/transparent backgroundOverall lighting for focusing on the product should be in a good balanceGood balance between brightness and contrast
Price [price]	Price pursues customers to enter your online storeThe product price of WooCommerce must match your landing page’s pageIf an offer or sale is given, that should be mentioned alongside the regular price
GTIN [gtin] & MPN [mpn]	Give a proper and correct Google Shopping GTIN numberIf GTIN is not possible, provide a correct Google Shopping MPN number
Google Product Category [google_product_category]	Put the relevant products into the relevant categoriesMultiple relevant products in the same category will help customers find more than one product shown on Google ad

Now, you can create a product feed with all of these necessary attributes in two ways.

What are they? 

1. Manually
2. By Using a Plugin 

However, creating the product feed manually is a BIG NO for me! 

Why? Well, it has some limitations. Like what, you ask?

First of all, it is a very lengthy and hectic process. Moreover, if you have a limited amount of products, then it is doable in a Google sheet or Microsoft Excel. 

But, if you have a lot of products then it becomes time-consuming and there are high chances of making errors. Also, any changes occurring in your products will require you to change them in the spreadsheet or file instantly, and in turn, update them immediately. 

So, I’d always advise you to use a plugin whenever you make a product feed. But, which plugin should you use? 

Here comes the most exciting part for which you all have been waiting so patiently. Let me introduce CTX Feed- the Best Woocommerce product feed Manager Plugin. 

Why CTX Feed?

• Create Unlimited Feeds
• Upload Unlimited Products
• Shortest Amount of Time 
• Auto-Update Feature
• 100+ pre-configured templates
• Supports any type of feed file and supports all types of products 
• User-Friendly Interface

The CTX Feed plugin will do almost all the work for you.

Here’s how to do it.

To get started, go to your WordPress Dashboard and search for “Plugins > Add new Plugin.”

Then you have to search for ‘CTX Feed’. Once you find it, activate and install the plugin.

Done installing it? Next, let’s create a feed for Google Shopping.

Don’t worry— using the CTX Feed plugin makes this process really easy.

Go to the CTX Feed menu (located on the left-hand side) and click on ‘Make Feed‘ to begin. This will initiate the feed creation process.

On the next page, you will find that some fields need to be filled out in the feed window. So, quickly fill them up. In my case, I have chosen ‘United States’ as the country. 

Now, you are making your WooCommerce product feed for the Google Shopping platform, right? That is why in the template section you have to select ‘Google Shopping’. 

Note: The CTX Feed plugin offers over 100 templates, so in addition to Google Shopping, you’ll be able to generate feeds for various other platforms like-

• Generate Facebook Product Feed in WooCommerce
• Generate WooCommerce Instagram Feed 
• Generate WooCommerce Pinterest Product Feed

Next up, you’ll need to provide a file name and select a file type. As you can see, I named my file ‘ABC Business Product Feed‘ and chose CSV as the file type. 

What about other types of files?

No worries! CTX Feed supports all major file types, including XML, TSV, TXT, and more. Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? 

Bonus Tip: 
In the case of Google Shopping, you can upload your files in CSV, XML, TXT, etc format. So, you can choose any of the supported files without having anything to worry about. 

Here’s my favorite part of the plugin! When you select a channel template using the plugin, it automatically generates the required attributes at the bottom for you. 

So, you don’t have to even worry about all those attributes which I discussed earlier. This plugin will take care of the matter for you. 

Once you’ve filled out the attributes, scroll down and select ‘Update and Generate Feed’. It will finalize and generate your feed. 

Now, here’s the best part: simply by providing this information, CTX Feed will fetch all the data and generate the product feed for you. See? I told you that the WooCommerce Google Shopping plugin will do all the work for you.

To get the feed, you have to go back to the CTX Feed menu and choose ‘Manage Feeds‘.

When you go to the ‘Manage Feeds’ section you’ll see that the feed file has been successfully generated. You’ll notice it is named ‘ABC Business Product Feed‘ with a link next to it.

Keep the link copied as it will help you in the time of uploading the feed to your GMC account. 

That’s all for this part! The WooCommerce product feed has been created. Remember that there are many Advantages of WooCommerce Google Product Feed for your WooCommerce Store. So, take your time and make the feed in the best way possible. 

Part B: Create and Set up a Google Merchant Center Account

After creating the product feed it’s time to ensure that your Google Merchant Center (GMC) account is set up correctly.

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow: 

• Step 1: Creating a Google Merchant Center Account
• Step 2: Giving Business Information
• Step 3: Verifying the Ownership
• Step 4: Providing Shipping Information
• Step 5: Set up Tax Information

Let’s dive into each step in detail.

Step 1: Create a Google Merchant Center Account

You cannot run a Google Shopping campaign without having a Google Merchant Center Account. That is why setting it up accurately is important. 

Let’s begin by visiting the Google Merchant Center website, now known as Google Merchant Center Next.

Note: 
Don’t get confused about Google Merchant Center Next and Google Merchant Center. 
Google Merchant Center Next is the new and improved version of Google Merchant Center. Here, you will find some extra features and the interface is simpler. So, it will definitely be more user-friendly. 
When will it be available? Well, it is said that the platform will be updated in the first half of 2024. So, make sure to keep an eye on it. 

After visiting the website, if you’re new to the platform, click on “Sign up for free“. If you already have an account, simply click on “Sign in“. 

Keep in mind that you will need a valid email account for the entire process. So, make sure you have that.

Step 2: Giving Business Information

Next, you’ll be asked to provide additional details like-

• Your business name,
• Country
• Contact information
• E-commerce tools details
• And the local time zone.

Once you’ve filled these out, the next step is agreeing to Google Merchant Center Next’s Terms of Service. Then simply just click on the ‘Create Account’ button and you are good to go. 

Step 3: Verifying the Ownership

In this step, you must prove to Google that the business indeed belongs to you.  You have to verify and claim the website on GMC. So, what’s the way forward? 

Well, there are a total of 5 methods from which you can verify your website on Google Merchant Center. What are they? Give it a glance.

Method	How to Use It
Business Code	Verify your account using the code sent to your business email.
E-commerce Platform	Verify by using the verification code in your e-commerce platform.
HTML Tag	Add the provided HTML tag to the <head> section of your website’s homepage.
Google Tag Manager	Put the Tag Manager code into the <head> section of your website.
Google Analytics	Insert tracking code in the <head> section of your homepage for analytics integration.

Bonus Tip: 
Many people choose between using the business code or e-commerce platform for verification. Personally, I prefer the ecommerce platform method because I use WooCommerce. I believe you do the same. However, my suggestion would be just to go with the option that feels easiest for you.

Step 4: Providing Shipping Information

After you have verified your business and website, it’s time to provide some more information to GMC in order to set up your account in the best way possible.

And one of them is the Shipping Information. So, what kind of information do you need to provide? See for yourself. 

Let me give you a brief idea about all of them. Hope you will be able to set them up perfectly. 

• Countries: Select your preferred country address.
• Products: Choose which products will have shared shipping costs (all or specific types).
• Delivery Times: Provide delivery information. Here you will get the option to select a delivery partner as well. 
• Shipping Costs: Set your shipping currency and method–options include Free Shipping, Paid Shipping, or Free Shipping for orders over a certain amount.

Note: 
Speaking of shipping, as a WooCommerce store owner, you might find our articles on Setting Up WooCommerce Free Shipping helpful! So, make sure to give it a read. 

Step 5: Set up Tax Information

Now, let’s talk about setting up your sales tax. How do you do it?

First, Google will provide a tax setup recommendation based on your business location. You can choose to let Google automatically calculate sales tax or set it up manually.

You’ll also decide if shipping and handling charges should be taxable. 

If you are running a big or long-term business, then you can get help from a tax consultant or accountant. It can help you a lot in the long run. However, Some users use tax plugins to help with the calculations, which can be very beneficial.

Consider using WooCommerce Tax Plugins to Automate Sales Tax Calculations. They can save you a lot of time and effort.

And that’s pretty much it for this part. I believe you can create and set Up Google Merchant Center Account for WooCommerce properly.

Now, let’s get to the next part. 

Part C: Uploading the Product Feed to the GMC Account

By now, you have created both the product feed and the Google Merchant Center Account. Now, it’s time to upload that product feed to your GMC account.

Don’t worry, there are multiple ways to do it and the steps are really easy as well. Take a look at it. 

The first thing you need to do is go to your Google Merchant Center Next homepage and click on the ‘Products’ option on the left-hand side.

You’ll see two options for uploading your products: “Add another Product source” or uploading products one by one. 

But, which one should you choose? 

Well, I believe you know it already. To save time and especially since you know how to create a product feed, choose “Add another product source” instead of uploading products individually.

On the next page, you’ll see three different ways to upload your products.

If you’ve created your file in CSV format, like I did, you can go for the ‘Use a Google Sheets template’ option. 

Then, on the next page, you’ll see the ‘use template’ option to proceed. Click on it to continue.

It will then take you to a page where you’ll get two options:

• Create a new Google spreadsheet from a template 
• Select an existing one.

If you choose to use a template, you can enter your product details such as ID, Title, Description, Availability, Image link, Price, and any other relevant information.

Here, you can use the CSV file to upload all your product data easily. Also, it will save you a lot of time as well.

After providing all the required information, you can return to the page and then click on ‘Continue’. What will happen then? 

Well, your products will be generated in a very short period of time. 

As you can see, I have generated a couple of products by using the CSV feed file that was created earlier.

Now, another process is to add the products from a file and I find it a bit easier. Let me show you how it’s done. 

You should choose that option and paste the Google product feed WooCommerce link (which you created in Part A) into the “Enter a link to your file” section. Then click on “Continue.” 

Strong Reminder! Google recommends that the file must be in any of the following formats:

• .gz 
• .txt 
• .xml 
• .zip 
• .bz2

And we are done with this part! Using the Feed URL, Google Merchant Center will fetch all the products’ information from your WooCommerce Store. 

See? I told you it was easy. Hope you got a good idea of how to connect WooCommerce to Google Shopping Now, let’s move on to the final and ultimate part. 

Part D: Create and Connect Google Ads with GMC Account to run a Campaign

You will always need to create and connect Google Ads with your GMC account in order to run a Google Shopping Campaign. There is no alternative to it. So, how do you do it? 

First, create a Google Ads account. Try to use the same email you used for setting up your GMC account. Then from the Google Merchant Center Next Dashboard, click on ‘Ad Campaigns’ from the left-hand side. 

Next, look for the ‘Link to Google Ads’ option on the right side and click ‘Link’.

Next, you’ll see a page where you can add your Google Ads account. As you can see down below, I am using my ABC Business account.

After selecting your desired Ads account, click on ‘Link Account’. 

What will happen next? Your GMC account will be properly connected with Google Ads.

Now, let’s get to the part where you can set up a campaign for Google Shopping for WooCommerce. So, quickly go to your Ads account and select “New Campaign”. 

After that, it will take you to a page where you have to select the objective of your entire campaign. You should select ‘Sales’ as your campaign objective.

After that, you have to choose your campaign type. So, go for ‘Shopping’ and click on Continue. 

After that, select the product feed you want to show on Google Shopping. You also have to choose between Smart Shopping vs. Standard Shopping Ads. Here, I have gone for the “Standard Shopping Campaign”.

Next up, you should choose your choose your bidding strategy and set up the budget. 

After selecting them, you should fill up all the targeting information that Google requires. 

Then comes the final part. In the ‘Create your Ad Group’ section, give your Ad group a name. 

And then set up the CPC bid. Quick Reminder! You should always take your time when you set up your CPC bid very strategically. Because it will be really helpful throughout the entire campaign. 

Then click on ‘create campaign’. That’s how you can successfully Set up WooCommerce Google Shopping Ads and create a campaign. 

Keep in mind that proper Google product feed optimization is essential for running a successful campaign. So, take your time, optimize it properly, and then launch your campaign. 

Why Should You Create WooCommerce Google Shopping Campaign: 6 Key Benefits

There are many benefits of Google Shopping Ads for WooCommerce. Wondering what they are? See for yourself.

1. Maximize Sales Potential with Targeted Exposure

Google Shopping campaigns help sell more by showing your products to people actively searching for similar items. So, when people find similar products like that, they tend to buy more. So it can boost your ecommerce sales a lot.  

2. Drive Significant Traffic with Enhanced Visibility

If you manage to make your products appear prominently at the top of Google search results with attractive images and prices, it will make it easier for potential customers to find and click on your items. Thus, your store will get better visibility. 

3. Cost-Effective Advertising 

This is a huge advantage that many people don’t see. In the case of Google Shopping, you only pay when someone clicks on your Ad. So it makes it more cost-effective because you’re targeting users who are likely interested in buying from you.

4. Mobile Optimization benefits 

Google Shopping ads are highly visible on mobile devices, where a significant portion of e-commerce traffic originates.

As a matter of fact, around 80% of clicks from Google Ads come from mobile devices. So, this mobile optimization ensures that your products are showcased effectively across all devices. 

5. Build Brand Authority and Trust

You can establish your WooCommerce store as a brand with the help of Google Shopping. It can help in making your products more familiar and trusted among potential customers compared to competitors with less exposure.

With consistent visibility, optimized product presentation, and Google customer support, Google Shopping can quickly establish your store as a brand. 

Note: 
Speaking of brands, sometimes we all need to add a brand on our products page. So, if you need the same, have a look at these 9 Useful WooCommerce Brand Plugins for your Store.

6. Gain Competitive Advantage through Google Shopping 

You have the chance to gain a competitive edge by appearing prominently at the top of Google search results. But how exactly? Well, you can use visually appealing and informative product listings that can attract attention and clicks. 

Also, if you upload your products on Google Shopping and your competitors don’t, then definitely you will get more sales and traffic. 

Now, you have all the more reasons to create a WooCommerce Google Shopping campaign. 

Common Problems Related to WooCommerce Google Shopping Campaign 

By now you already know that setting up a Google Shopping campaign for your WooCommerce store involves several steps, and it’s common to encounter issues along the way.

Here are some common problems you might face and how to troubleshoot them effectively:

1. Product Data Disapprovals 

Google has some data quality requirements and if you do not follow them then it might get your products or GMC account disapproved. So, what to do? Check out the solution below.

How to Solve Google’s Product Data Disapprovals: 

• Try to follow Google’s product data specification guidelines. 
• If you get any data quality warnings then try to review them and update accordingly. 

2. Feed errors

It is often seen that people miss some attributes or give wrong information in the product feed data. So, Google does not end up listing its products accurately. 

This mostly happens in some specific attributes such as the price, availability, and image attribute, and also in different identifier attributes like GTIN, MPN, etc.

We discuss the most common Google Merchant Center errors and mistakes here.

How to Solve Google Shopping Feed Errors: 

• Always, I mean always try to keep your feed updated. The CTX Feed plugin has an auto-update feature. So, it will help you a lot.
• Address issues such as missing required attributes, invalid formatting, or duplicate product listings.
• Try your best to provide the attributes accurately.

You can check our guides on: 

• Google Shopping Description Attribute: A Complete Guide
• Google Shopping GTINs: The Ultimate Guide for Sellers
• Google Shopping MPN: The Ultimate Guide
• Google Shopping Availability Attribute: The Ultimate Guide (2024)
• Google Product Category Taxonomy: The Definitive Guide

3. Policy Violation Issues 

Here’s another important one! To list your products on Google Shopping you have to follow the Google Ads Policies. 

So, if you don’t follow these policies and use counterfeit products, dangerous products use inappropriate content then you have to face some consequences. What are they? 

Well, your products will stop showing, and your GMC account or Google Ads account might get banned. 

Solution: 

• Review Google’s policies and guidelines related to product data, pricing, and prohibited content.
• Make necessary changes to comply with policies, such as updating misleading information or removing counterfeit dangerous products.
• Submit an appeal if you believe the violation was a mistake.

4. Account Suspension

Another common issue a lot of people face regarding the entire process is that their GMC account gets suspended. 

Now, you might already get an idea why that might happen, but Accounts are often suspended for policy violations, fraud, abusive behavior, or security breaches.

Solution: 

• Review suspension notifications and guidelines provided by Google.
• Rectify policy violations or issues related to account compliance.
• Submit an appeal or contact Google support for assistance in reinstating your account.

Bottom Line 

I believe you have a solid understanding of how to create a WooCommerce Google Shopping Campaign. Setting up a WooCommerce Google Shopping campaign can be the key to unlocking new doors of success for your eCommerce business. It can get you more sales, increase traffic, and help to build your business as a brand.

So, go through the steps again and set up the campaign properly. Make sure to use the suggestions and tips properly. Try not to make the common errors. Hopefully, you will be able to run a successful campaign.

Till then, enjoy your WooCommerce journey!