How do Google Ads and Google Merchant Center interact with each other?
Correct Answer
Google Merchant Center passes inventory data to Google Ads so advertisers can use the data to build a Shopping campaign.
Key takeaways
Inventory data flows from Merchant Center into Google Ads.
Campaign performance reporting stays in Google Ads.
The accounts must be linked before a Shopping campaign can serve.
Why is this the correct answer?
Merchant Center passes inventory data to Google Ads. That is the direction of travel: product information originates in the feed, and the ads account uses it to build and bid on listings. Performance data flows nowhere back — campaign reporting stays in Google Ads, and Merchant Center reports only on product and feed status. The two must be linked before anything can serve.
Why are the other options wrong?
Google Ads passes campaign performance to Google Merchant Center so advertisers can use the data to influence future campaign builds.
Campaign performance stays in Google Ads and is not passed to Merchant Center.
Google Merchant Center passes campaign performance to Google Ads so advertisers can use the data to influence future campaign builds.
Merchant Center holds product data rather than campaign performance.
Google Ads passes inventory data to Google Merchant Center so advertisers can use the data to build a Shopping campaign.
This reverses the flow — inventory originates in Merchant Center.
Frequently asked questions about this topic
What breaks if the link is removed?
The campaign loses its inventory and stops serving, while still appearing active. It is worth knowing this, because an unlinked or unapproved account is a common explanation for a Shopping campaign that gets no impressions at all.
Topics in this question
About the Shopping Ads Certification
The Shopping Ads Certification checks that you can run retail campaigns end to end: product data in Merchant Center, linking it to Google Ads, and choosing between Standard Shopping and Performance Max to drive sales and value.
Exam guide and all 407 Google Ads Shopping questions →Related Google Ads Shopping questions
- 1How does Google Merchant Center interact with Google Ads?
- 2You’re setting up a product feed in Merchant Center for the first time, and you realise that you don’t have availability for each product. What will happen if you try to upload the feed in Google Merchant Center?Explained
- 3Which of the following situations would be true if you tried to upload a feed in Google Merchant Center that did not have availability for each product?Explained
- 4What will happen if you try to upload a feed in Google Merchant Center that does not have availability for each product?Explained
- 5What’s the relationship between Google Merchant Center and Google Ads?Explained
- 6Aside from the Google Merchant Center diagnostic interface, what other way will you be notified of an account suspension?