SHOPLINE introduces the "YouTube Shopping Account Linking" feature, allowing you to connect your store with your YouTube channel. Once enalbed, your products will appear on your channel or during the YouTube livestream, enhancing brand and product visibility while expanding your sales channels.
⚠️ Note: This article provides the guidelines for YouTube Shopping Account Linking. For additional information, you can refer to:
This article will cover the following:
- Introduction to YouTube Live Shopping
- Install YouTube Shopping Account Linking app
- Complete relevant settings
- Performance analysis
- Notes
1. Introduction to YouTube Live Shopping
If you meet the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) requirements, you will be eligible to use the YouTube Live Shopping feature to promote and sell products on YouTube.
YPP requirements are as follows:
- Get 500 subscribers with 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days and 3,000 valid public view hours in the last 12 months, or;
- Get 500 subscribers with 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days and 3 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
YouTube Live Shopping offers the following features:
- YouTube Channel store.
- Call-to-action overlays (ads) over live products and videos.
(See also What are call-to-action overlays?) - Promote, tag, and sell products in your videos, Shorts, and livestreams.
- Set up GA4 and connect to the YouTube Channel and Google Merchant Center for monitoring live shopping performance.
2. Install YouTube Shopping Account Linking app
Step 1
In SHOPLINE Admin, go to [Apps] > [Apps Store] and select the "YouTube Shopping Account Linking" application. Then, click Install Now to install the app for free.
If you connect your store through YouTube Studio > [Earn] > [Shopping],
select "SHOPLINE" and you will be directed to the
"YouTube Shopping Account Linking" Apps Store page.
If you are logged into your SHOPLINE Admin on the current browser,
clicking Install Now on the Apps Store page will redirect you to your store,
and the below Step 2. Please follow the instructions in this article to complete
the setup.
Step 2
Once you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service, click Install & authorize.
3. Complete relevant settings
Upon installation, click Open App.
Or, you can go to [Apps] > [My Apps] and click the "Open App" button next to YouTube Shopping Account Linking.
i. YouTube Shopping Integration in Admin
A. Connect to Google Merchant Center
If you have not connected to a Google Merchant Center account, click Set up and you will be directed to [Settings] > [Basic Settings]. Then, enter the account information in the respective fields. For more details, please refer to this article.
B. Activate Content API
If you haven't installed the "Content API" application, click Set up and it will open the page in [Apps] > [Apps Store] > Google Merchant Center - Content API. Follow the steps to complete the setup. For more details, please refer to this article.
ii. Connected YouTube Shopping Channel
Click the Copy link button on the right and share the link with the YouTube Channel owner you're collaborating with.
*Note: If you are the owner of the YouTube Channel, you can complete this step directly on your own.
Invite the YouTube Channel owner to open the link and complete the following steps:
- Click Log in.
- Choose the Google account.
*Note: Please log into the channel owner's Google Account. Otherwise, the channel will not appear and cannot be connected.
- Read the instructions and click Continue.
- Review how your data is processed and protected. Then, click Allow.
*Note: If the Google Account owns multiple channels, they will be displayed for selection.
After the channel owner completes the above steps, click Connect.
*Notes:
- If the channel does not meet the YPP eligibility requirements, a "Channel not eligible" prompt will appear when the channel owner logs into their Google account.
- If you have not filled in the Merchant Center ID in Admin > [Settings] > [Basic Settings], the channel owner will see a message stating "The store's connection with the Google Merchant Center account has expired".
- Click the
icon to disconnect the channel.
The connected YouTube Shopping Channel will also be displayed on the integration page.
*Notes:
- If the channel was not connected through the connection link (e.g., a channel connected before this feature was released), a "Not authorized through account linking" text will appear. The
- If you change the Google Merchant Center account linked to your store after connecting a channel, the system will prompt you to reconnect the channel.
Upon integration, the channel owner can go to YouTube Studio > [Earn] > [Shopping] and see the store's Google Merchant Center account name in the "Connected stores" section.
It will require approximately 1-2 days for the products to be reviewed. Once approved, the products will be displayed on the channel.
4. Performance analysis
If you have completed the integration and displayed products on your channel, you can export the order report and analyze the effectiveness of your referrals using the UTM field parameters. For more details on UTM parameters, please refer to this article.
When the UTM parameters are displayed as follows, it means that the order is originated from YouTube Shopping:
- UTM Source: youtube
- UTM Medium: product_shelf
- UTM Content: a random string starting with"YT3"
5. Notes
The following are the key steps for connecting your YouTube channel. Before using the YouTube Shopping feature, make sure each step is completed correctly.
i. Preparation (At least 3 weeks before the livestream）
- The store must have verified the Google Merchant Center account and installed the Content API application.
- Ensure that the store products can be synced to the connected GMC account. The product must include the following information:
- Name
- Summary
- Description
- Image
- Price
ii. Testing (Recommended at least 2 weeks before the livestream)
- Confirm that the YouTube Channel owners have completed the authorization and linked their YouTube Shopping account.
- Ensure that YouTube Channel owners can select products on YouTube Studio.
- Upload one video to ensure the integration is working.
Read more
- Google Merchant Center Account Application & URL Verification
- Google Merchant Center Content API
- Get started with Shopping on YouTube
Comments