Before you start: what this walkthrough covers
This walkthrough teaches you how to connect four separate Google surfaces so that your e-commerce data flows correctly across your dashboard. Each surface serves a different purpose: Google Ads handles your paid campaigns, Google Merchant Center manages your product feed, Google Analytics 4 tracks user behaviour and per-product performance, and Google Search Console shows organic search visibility.
The order in which you connect these surfaces matters. If you connect them out of sequence or use the wrong account, data will fail to sync and you will see connection warnings on your dashboard.
By the end of this walkthrough, all four surfaces will be connected with healthy status indicators, and each will be sending the correct data to your dashboard.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, you need the following:
- A Google account that belongs to your business (not a personal account).
- Administrative access to Google Ads for your business.
- Administrative access to Google Merchant Center for your business.
- Administrative access to Google Analytics 4 for your business.
- Administrative access to Google Search Console for your business.
If you do not have administrative access to any of these surfaces, ask the account owner to grant you admin permissions before you proceed. Connecting an account that lacks admin-level access will cause that surface's data to fail to sync.
Step 1: Connect Google Ads first
Before this step: You have not yet connected any Google surfaces.
What you are doing: You are linking your Google Ads account to your dashboard and authorising it to access your campaign data.
Why this step comes first: Google Ads is the foundation. Shopping campaigns and Performance Max campaigns both depend on a healthy connection to Google Ads. If you connect Merchant Center before Ads, the link between them will not form correctly.
- Go to your dashboard's Connected Accounts page.
- Find the Google Ads section and select 'Connect'.
- You will be redirected to Google's login page. Sign in with the Google account that has administrative access to your Google Ads account.
- Review the permissions request and select 'Allow'.
- You will be redirected back to your dashboard. Google Ads is now connected.
After this step: Google Ads shows a healthy connection status with no warnings.
Step 2: Link Google Merchant Center to Google Ads
Before this step: Google Ads is connected. Google Merchant Center is not yet linked to it.
What you are doing: You are connecting your Google Merchant Center account and linking it to the Google Ads account you just connected. This link allows your product feed to power Shopping campaigns and Performance Max campaigns.
Why this step comes second: Shopping and Performance Max campaigns cannot run without this link. If you connect Merchant Center to the wrong Google Ads account or skip this link entirely, your campaigns will have no products to show.
- On the Connected Accounts page, find the Google Merchant Center section and select 'Connect'.
- Sign in with the Google account that has administrative access to your Google Merchant Center account. This should be the same account you used for Google Ads.
- Review the permissions request and select 'Allow'.
- You will see a list of Merchant Center accounts associated with your Google account. Select the Merchant Center account that belongs to your business.
- The system will automatically link this Merchant Center account to the Google Ads account you connected in Step 1.
- You will be redirected back to your dashboard. Google Merchant Center is now connected and linked.
After this step: Google Merchant Center shows a healthy connection status. The link between Merchant Center and Google Ads is active.
Step 3: Connect Google Search Console
Before this step: Google Ads and Merchant Center are connected and linked. Google Search Console is not yet connected.
What you are doing: You are connecting Google Search Console to your dashboard so that organic search performance data appears in your reporting.
Why this step is separate: Search Console data comes from organic search results, not from your ads or product feed. It requires its own connection. Search Console connects independently of the Ads and Merchant Center link.
- On the Connected Accounts page, find the Google Search Console section and select 'Connect'.
- Sign in with the Google account that has administrative access to your Google Search Console account.
- Review the permissions request and select 'Allow'.
- You will see a list of websites associated with your Search Console account. Select the website that matches your business domain.
- You will be redirected back to your dashboard. Google Search Console is now connected.
After this step: Google Search Console shows a healthy connection status with no warnings.
Step 4: Connect Google Analytics 4
Before this step: Google Ads, Merchant Center, and Search Console are all connected. Google Analytics 4 is not yet connected.
What you are doing: You are connecting your Google Analytics 4 account and selecting the correct property so that user behaviour and per-product analytics appear in your dashboard.
Why this step comes last: GA4 requires you to select a specific property (not just an account). If you connect GA4 before the other surfaces, you may select the wrong property by mistake. Connecting GA4 last allows you to verify that your other connections are healthy first.
- On the Connected Accounts page, find the Google Analytics 4 section and select 'Connect'.
- Sign in with the Google account that has administrative access to your Google Analytics 4 account.
- Review the permissions request and select 'Allow'.
- You will see a list of GA4 properties associated with your account. Select the property that tracks your e-commerce website.
- Confirm that this is the correct property by checking its website URL. If you have multiple properties, choose the one that matches your primary business domain.
- You will be redirected back to your dashboard. Google Analytics 4 is now connected.
After this step: Google Analytics 4 shows a healthy connection status. Per-product analytics and user behaviour data are now available in your dashboard.
Step 5: Configure CSS enrolment (if applicable)
Before this step: All four Google surfaces are connected.
What you are doing: If you are enrolled in Google's Conversions API (CSS), you will configure that connection separately in Google Merchant Center. This step does not apply if you are not using CSS.
Why this step is independent: CSS uses its own OAuth step within Google Merchant Center and does not depend on the Ads connection. You configure it only if your business uses it.
- Go to your Google Merchant Center account.
- Navigate to the CSS or Conversions API section (the exact location depends on your Merchant Center version).
- Select 'Connect' or 'Authorise' to enable CSS for your account.
- Follow the prompts to grant Merchant Center permission to access your conversion data.
- Return to your dashboard. CSS is now configured (if you use it).
After this step: CSS is active in your Merchant Center account (if applicable).
Common mistakes this walkthrough prevents
Connecting the wrong Google account: You must use the same business Google account for all four surfaces. If you use a personal account for Google Ads and a business account for Merchant Center, the link between them will fail, and your product feed will not power your campaigns. Check that you are signed in with your business account before you start each step.
Connecting an account without admin access: If you connect an account that has only editor or viewer access to any of the four surfaces, that surface's data will fail to sync. You will see a reauthorisation warning on the Connected Accounts page. Ask the account owner to grant you admin access, then reconnect.
Connecting Merchant Center before Google Ads: If you connect Merchant Center before Ads, the automatic link between them will not form. You will need to manually link them in Google Ads settings, which is more error-prone. Always connect Ads first.
Selecting the wrong GA4 property: If you select a GA4 property that does not track your e-commerce website, you will see no user or product data in your dashboard. Double-check the website URL of each property before you select it.
Checkpoint: what you should see
Once you have completed all steps, go to your dashboard's Connected Accounts page. You should see the following:
- Google Ads: Connected, healthy status, no reauthorisation warnings.
- Google Merchant Center: Connected, healthy status, linked to Google Ads, no reauthorisation warnings.
- Google Search Console: Connected, healthy status, no reauthorisation warnings.
- Google Analytics 4: Connected, healthy status, correct property selected, no reauthorisation warnings.
If any surface shows a warning or a 'Reconnect' button, that surface's data is not syncing. Go back to the relevant step, sign in with the correct business account, and grant admin-level permissions. Once all four show healthy status, your Google surfaces are correctly connected and your data will sync automatically.
You can now proceed to set up your first campaign, feed, or reporting dashboard with confidence that all underlying data connections are working as intended.