Step-by-step guide: connecting Meta & Google to your store

The Pixel measures what happens on your store; the Conversions API (CAPI), optional, mirrors that measurement server-side to make it more reliable. You enable these building blocks only if you want to — and nothing is sent without the visitor's consent.

1. Open Meta's Events Manager (business.facebook.com → Events Manager).
2. Select (or create) your pixel, and copy its ID (a string of digits).
3. In ShoppyCrush: Admin → SEO Settings → Meta Pixel → paste the ID → save.
4. Activate the Conversions API (optional, but recommended for more reliable tracking): in Events Manager → pixel Settings → "Conversions API" section → "Set up manually" → "Generate access token". The token is shown only once: copy it right away.
5. In ShoppyCrush: SEO Settings → Meta Conversions API Token → paste the token → save. (Leave empty if you don't want to enable it.)

✅ Once connected, your pixel sends events (page views, product pages, add-to-cart, purchases), both browser-side and server-side — only for consenting visitors.

⚠️ Do not add your pixel in Google Tag Manager: your store already injects it directly, respecting consent. A pixel added in GTM would create a duplicate and bypass the cookie banner.

The catalog enables dynamic ads (showing a visitor the exact product they viewed).

1. Open Commerce Manager (business.facebook.com → Commerce Manager).
2. Create a catalog → type "E-commerce" → give it a name.
3. In the catalog → Data sources → Add items → "Scheduled feed".
4. Paste your Meta feed URL (in Admin → Marketing) → frequency daily → currency EUR → no authentication.
5. Connect the catalog to your pixel: in the catalog → "Event sources" → link your pixel. (This is the step that unlocks dynamic retargeting.)

✅ Your products flow into Meta (a few minutes to a few hours for the first read).

ℹ️ A 0% match rate at first is normal — it climbs with traffic.

Needed for some ad features (iOS measurement).

1. Business Settings → Brand Safety → Domains → Add your domain.
2. Choose the "Add a meta tag" method → copy the code.
3. In ShoppyCrush: SEO Settings → Meta Verification → paste the code → save.
4. Back in Meta → "Verify domain". (Once verified, it stays verified.)

✅ Domain verified.

1. Open Google Analytics (analytics.google.com), your store's property.
2. Copy your Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXX): Admin → Data streams → your web stream.
3. In ShoppyCrush: SEO Settings → Google Analytics 4 → paste the ID → save.
4. Reliable server-side tracking (recommended): in GA4 → Admin → Data streams → your stream → "Measurement Protocol API secrets" → Create → copy the value.
5. In ShoppyCrush: SEO Settings → GA4 API Secret → paste the value → save.

✅ GA4 measures your audience and your sales, both browser-side and server-side.

1. Create a Google Merchant Center account (merchants.google.com).
2. Verify and claim your website (settings → business information).
3. Products → Data sources → Add a primary feed → "Scheduled fetch".
4. Paste your Google Merchant feed URL (in Admin → Marketing) → selling country, language, currency, daily frequency.
5. Set your shipping costs (Shipping and returns) — a simple flat rate is enough; the real calculation happens on your store.
6. Disable the automatic "Found by Google" source (it duplicates your feed): on the matching row → menu → Disable.

✅ Your products go to Google review (a few days), then become eligible for Google Shopping.

ℹ️ Only target the countries you actually ship to (e.g., France + EU countries you deliver to). Avoid Switzerland until you handle customs and the CHF currency.

Recommended optimization — your "Google Shopping Category".
Setting your products' category in the Google taxonomy improves their ranking in Shopping. Here's how to find it:

1. Open the official Google taxonomy (or a category finder such as productcategory.net).
2. Search for your product's keyword (e.g., "educational", "book", "jewelry").
3. Pick the closest category and copy its ID (the number).
4. Paste that ID into Admin → SEO Settings → Google Shopping Category → save. Your products will carry it at the next fetch.

Examples: 1262 = "Toys & Games > Toys > Educational Toys" (children's educational material) · 784 = "Media > Books".

ℹ️ Optional field: if you leave it empty, Google auto-categorizes your products — just a bit less accurately. Prefer pasting the ID rather than the path (no risk of a typo).

1. Link GA4 ↔ Google Ads: GA4 → Admin → Product links → Google Ads links → link your Ads account. (The Ads account must be active, with billing.) This imports your conversions and shares your audiences.
2. Link Merchant Center ↔ Google Ads to run Shopping / Performance Max.

✅ Your campaigns can optimize on your real sales.

1. Make a test visit while accepting the cookie banner: browse a product page, add to cart.
2. Meta: Events Manager → Test Events → you should see the events arriving.
3. Google: GA4 → DebugView (or Realtime) → you should see your pages and events.
4. Overview: in Admin → Marketing, your dashboard shows at a glance what's connected (✓/✗), your consent rate, your feed health, and your sales coverage.