The YouTube Shopping affiliate program enables merchants to put their products in the spotlight on YouTube. Eligible creators can tag products in their YouTube videos, Shorts, and live streams, which allows viewers to shop while they watch.
This program will be available to eligible Shopify merchants through the Google & YouTube app on Shopify, a free app that allows Shopify merchants to sync products from your online store to the Google Merchant Center.
This article explains the benefits, requirements, and setup of the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
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Benefits
- Tap into trusted creators: People trust YouTube creators when it comes to product recommendations. In just a few clicks, you can make your products available to eligible creators, who can then tag your products in their videos, shorts, and live streams. If you're already working with eligible YouTube creators, they can start tagging your products in new and existing content immediately.
- Allow viewers to shop while they watch: When YouTube creators feature and tag your products in their content, it's easy for viewers to shop your products while they watch. And checkout still happens on your website, so you own the customer experience.
- Drive more sales without the heavy lift: You only pay when creators drive a purchase for one of your products. YouTube takes care of creator onboarding, affiliate link management, conversion tracking, and billing.
Eligibility requirements
Merchants must meet the following criteria to participate in the YouTube Shopping affiliate program:
- Have the target country for your Google Merchant Center account set to the United States.
- Have a Shopify Advanced or Plus subscription plan.
- Have the Google & YouTube app installed on your Shopify store.
- Have a Google Merchant Center account connected to the Google & YouTube app
- Cannot disconnect or change the account when your program is active
- Use the automated product sync on the Google & YouTube app to sync your products to Google Merchant Center.
- Most third-party feed providers are currently not eligible for the program. For merchants using Feedonomics, please reach out to Feedonomics by completing this form and to get instructions to join.
- Have conversion tracking and auto-tagging turned on for accurate conversions tracking
- Have your store's currency set to US dollars.
- Have a US billing address.
- Not using Shopify’s headless commerce solution which allows merchants to use a non-Shopify frontend for your online store.
- Have to follow Google Merchant Center guidelines and provide true and accurate information about products and services.
To see the list of products Google doesn't support for Shopping and local inventory ads, refer to YouTube store policies.
Creator requirements
Learn more about creator eligibility requirements for the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
How to set up
Follow the below steps to get started with the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
- Download the Google & YouTube app from the Shopify store.
- In your Shopify account, navigate to the Google & YouTube section under “sales channels” in the left navigation panel and look for the YouTube Shopping affiliate program card.
- Click on Get Started to set up the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
- Set a default commission rate: This commission rate applies to all products shared with Google Merchant Center and to all creators in the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
- Set commission eligibility: This is where you can set your pending period and attribution period.
- Pending period is the duration during which the commission from a purchase remains in a pending state and is reversed if there is a return or cancellation. The default pending period is set to a recommended value of 30 days but can be changed to a period between 30 to 50 days to match closely with your return window.
- Attribution period is the time window in which we attribute a sale to the creator (after clicking on their product tags). It is set to the recommended 30 days.
- Add your billing profile: A valid billing profile is needed to participate in the YouTube Shopping affiliate program. We currently accept credit cards and monthly invoicing as a valid billing method and are working to add more options in the future. Learn more about billing setup.
- Accept terms and conditions in the onboarding flow.
If you added new products to your website, it might take a few days for them to be first approved for free listings. Products that are approved for free listings should appear for YouTube creators to tag within 24-48 hours.
Next steps
Optimize and manage your program
From Google Merchant Center:
After the YouTube Shopping affiliate program is set up on the Google & YouTube app on Shopify, you'll be able to manage program settings and view program performance in your Google Merchant Center account.
In Merchant Center, go to the left-navigation menu and select “YouTube affiliate” under the “Marketing” section. From the “YouTube affiliate” page, you'll be able to access analytics, customize your commission rates, add creator exclusions, and more.
From the Google & YouTube app on Shopify
You can also navigate to this page on Merchant Center from the Google & YouTube app on Shopify. On the "Overview tab", select the “Youtube Shopping affiliate program” card.
Additional Resources
- Best practices guide to optimize performance