Shopify marketing guide: Google Merchant Center, Meta Pixel, conversion tracking & Facebook Ads
Once your Shopify store is ready, you need a way to get people to it and see what happens after they arrive.
Google Merchant Center can help you get products in front of Google shoppers. Meta Pixel and conversion tracking help you measure Facebook and Instagram traffic, while Facebook Ads can bring new visitors to your store.
How to add Google Merchant Center to Shopify
Google Merchant Center lets you submit your products to Google so they can appear in eligible shopping results and other Google surfaces.
Start by creating a Merchant Center account and entering your business details.
Then connect your Shopify store using the Google & YouTube channel in Shopify.
Go to:
Shopify admin → Sales channels → Google & YouTube
Install the channel and connect your Google account.
Shopify can sync your product information with Merchant Center. Before submitting your products, check your product titles, descriptions, prices, images, availability, and website information.
Google reviews your store and products before they become eligible for certain listings.
How to track Shopify conversions
Conversion tracking tells you what happens after someone visits your store.
You might want to know how many visitors:
- Buy a product
- Add something to their cart
- Begin checkout
- Complete a purchase
Shopify has customer events that can send activity to connected marketing and analytics services.
Go to:
Shopify admin → Settings → Customer events
From there, you can manage the tracking tools connected to your store.
For paid advertising, purchase conversions are especially useful because they tell you which campaigns are producing actual orders.
How to install Meta Pixel on Shopify
Meta Pixel tracks activity on your Shopify store and sends that information to Meta.
It’s useful when you’re running Facebook or Instagram ads because Meta can use website activity for ad measurement and audience creation.
In Shopify, go to:
Settings → Customer events
You can also connect Meta through the Facebook & Instagram sales channel.
Connect your Meta account and select the Pixel you want to use.
After connecting it, visit your Shopify store and test a few actions. Then check Meta Events Manager to see whether events are being received.
How to run Facebook Ads for a Shopify store
You can create Facebook and Instagram ads through Meta Ads Manager.
Before spending money, make sure your product page and checkout work properly. Sending paid traffic to a broken checkout is a quick way to turn your advertising budget into a donation to the internet.
Start with a clear campaign goal, such as sales.
Then choose:
- Your audience
- Budget
- Ad placements
- Products
- Images or videos
- Ad copy
For a new store, start with a small daily budget and test a few different ads.
Watch your cost per purchase, conversion rate, and total sales. Clicks are useful, but sales are what pay the bills.
How to retarget Shopify visitors
Some visitors will browse your store and leave without buying.
You can use Meta to show ads to people who previously visited your website, viewed products, or added products to their cart.
You’ll need your Meta Pixel or another Meta-supported customer data connection set up correctly.
In Meta Ads Manager, create a Custom Audience based on website activity.
You can then create an ad specifically for that audience.
For example, someone views a pair of shoes and leaves your store. You can later show that person an ad for the same shoes.
You can also create different audiences for people who viewed a product, added it to their cart, or purchased from you.
Exclude recent purchasers when it makes sense. You don’t want to spend money showing a customer an ad for the exact product they bought yesterday.
