Connect to Google Shopping

Google Shopping is a service that allows consumers to search for, compare, and shop for physical products across different retailers.   This is a powerful price comparison engine integrated directly into Google.

You might want to use Google Shopping similar to the way that you would use Ad Words or other advertising to drive traffic to your Mecka store.

You can list your products on Google Shopping at no cost.  There are no subscription fees and no insertion fees to list products.  However, if you want more visibility, then you can pay for Google Shopping Ads through Google Ads.  A paid campaign drives significantly more volume and revenue for most sellers.

When you connect your Mecka store to Google Shopping, you create a feed of the products that you want to promote.  This feed can be specific brands or all products that you have.

When a customer clicks on a link that they discover in Google Shopping, they will be taken to the page in your Mecka Store with the same product.  The customer can then complete the purchase using MeckaPay.  This process means that you save money in processing fees compared to online marketplaces.

For Shoppers

Shoppers appreciate this service for several reasons:

• Visual Search: Results are image-heavy, displaying photos of the product, price, and store name immediately.
• Price Comparison: Shoppers see the same item sold by multiple stores side-by-side to find the best deal.
• Smart Filtering: The search results can be narrowed down to include things like price range, brand, color, size, and seller rating.
• Product Reviews: It aggregates user reviews and star ratings to help you assess product quality.
• Local Inventory: It can often show if a product is in stock.

Google Shopping generally appears in two places:

1. The "Shopping" Tab: Located under the search bar on Google, solely dedicated to product listings.
2. Main Search Results: When you search for a product (e.g., "running shoes"), a carousel or block of product images often appears at the top or right side of the main search results page.

How It Works for Merchants

For merchants, Google Shopping is often considered one of the most effective channels for e-commerce growth because it puts products in front of customers who possess high purchase intent. Unlike social media advertising, where users are browsing content, users searching on Google are often actively looking for a product to buy.

Why would you consider using Google Shopping with your Mecka store?

Here are the primary strategic reasons merchants use Google Shopping:

• Higher Quality Leads:  Standard text ads only show a headline and description. Google Shopping ads display the product image, price, and retailer name before the user even clicks.  This ensures that someone knows what the product looks like and how much it costs.  A merchant is less likely to pay for clicks from people who are just curious but never purchase.
• Prominent Visual Visibility:  Shopping ads typically appear at the very top of the search results page (SERP), often above organic results and standard text ads.  Since humans are visual creatures, that image draws the eye much faster than text.
•  Increased Conversion Rates:  Users who see your listing are statistically more likely to buy because they are already actively looking for a specific product.  This usually results in higher Click-Through Rates (CTR) and better Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) with Shopping campaigns compared to standard text-based search campaigns.
• Broader Reach:  Google Shopping isn't limited to the "Shopping" tab. Your inventory can appear across Google's entire suite of platforms:
  • Google Search: The main results page.
  • Google Images: Shoppable ads within image search.
  • YouTube: Products can appear alongside relevant videos.
  • The Display Network: Ads can appear on third-party websites relevant to your product.
• Automated Optimization:  Google's "Performance Max" campaigns (which drive Shopping ads) use machine learning to automatically show your products to the right people at the right time.   This reduces the manual workload of managing keywords. Instead of bidding on thousands of specific keywords, you could set a daily budget and Google will automatically match your product to relevant search queries.

Is Google Shopping Worth It?

You should absolutely set up Google Shopping and use the free tools.  The installation procedure is fairly straightforward and updates should happen automatically.   There is no real way to know how often your products will appear but there is little to lose.

Paying for Google Shopping is tougher to justify.  Expect to pay around $10 whenever someone clicks on a listing.  Then 'normal' average shopping cart abandonment generally hovers around 70%.  This means that Google Shopping gets expensive when people click on the link but then don't make the final purchase.  It is best used for high priced brands with large markups.

Plan it out... there is a maximum

https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16564100?sjid=2959322064796596916-NC

How to Connect Mecka to Google Shopping (Step‑by‑Step)

Setup in Mecka

Navigate in Mecka to:

Integrations → EDI  Configurations

Here is where configuration is updated.

Enter a display Name - best is to call it Google Shopping along with the supplier that you plan to use plus other details.

Select - Outbound in the drop-down menu

Click on Add New

The new EDI will appear in the list.

Click on the EDIT PENCIL

The configuration screen will pop-up

The information to go into these windows is fairly standard for Google Shopping:

• Choose your supplier
• EDI Direction should already be selected as Outbound
• EDI Template: Google Merchant
• EDI Type: FTP
• Protocol: SFTP
• Encryption: None
• Transfer Mode: Passive
• Host Address: partnerupload.google.com
• Port: 19321
• Crediential Type: Password
• User Name: (use your Google Merchant user)
• Password: (use your Google Merchant password)
• Fingerprint: (use your Google Fingerprint ... with the MD5.  The COPY button on the Google website doesn't copy enough.  DON'T CLICK ON GET)
• Default Remote Directory  / 
• Filename Pattern Identifier *
• Data Starts at Line 2:

Once all that information has been entered, click on Save.

There will be a green message at the bottom of the screen that says that the connection is working.

Then a Browse FTP box will appear...

Click on Browse FTP 

Confirm that an FTP window appears.

There will be nothing in the window.  

But, it is important that the window appears.  

If it does not appear, then there has been a mistake in a previous step.

DO NOT PROCEED if it doesn't work.

Go back and review all the settings and reach out to a Mentor for help if needed.

Next step is to create the file that will be sent to Google.

Click on CLOSE.

Next step is to run the EDI.

Go back to the Integrations Tab

Click on EDI Jobs

Find the Google Shopping entry that you just created in the list of EDI Jobs

Select it

Click on.... Run EDI Job

You will see the EDI job appear in the box below.

Then go to EDI Schedules - set it up to run every day.

Wait for the EDIT job to run - this can take some time to run depending on the size of the file and the current load on the system.

Then go back to the EDIT Configuration.

Get the name of the CSV file that Mecka has created.

You may want to copy that file name and paste it somewhere.  It will be needed shortly.

Another window will appear. 

Google_92595139_7241216ManitobaLtd.csv

In that window will be the name of a file with .csv at the end.

Take note of that file name.  Google will need it.

Click on Brand-Price Group Selections

A window will appear with all your brands.

Select the brands that you want to appear in Google Shopping by clicking on their Price Sheet in the drop down box.

You can use the 'Preferred Price Sheet Name with Currency' window if there is one price sheet that you want to assign to all your brands.

If your price is 

Save and Close

Back to EDI Screen

Run EDI Process.

Setup in Google

Now switch over to your Google Merchant Store.

Click on Help Center.

Then go into Upload Your Products.

Scroll down and click on the Products link...

Under the All Products header, click on Manage Data Sources.

Click on Add Products

A window will appear with a bunch of options

Enter file name into the box.

Choose Select How You Want to Add Your Products

Add Products from a File

Add a file using SFTP or Google Cloud Storage - enter the file name here that was created by Mecka.

It will be something like.... your-company-feed.csv

Feed label was colored red....

Click on Feed Label and enter a unique name.... MUST BE IN ALL CAPS.

GOOGLE WILL REQUIRE THAT IS ALL BE ENTERED IN CAPS

Google begins processing the feed slowly ("spinning wheel").

Data might start to appear within a couple of minutes.  But, it can also take days for everything to import properly.

ERROR MESSAGES

Mismatched Domains:  This error can be fixed by a Mecka Mentor.  There is a field in the settings for your Mecka store that needs to be adjusted.  Send an e-mail to mentors@mecka.com that includes .... and it will be updated.