How to use YouTube Shopping with Shopify

In 2022, YouTube and Shopify partnered to create YouTube Shopping, a solution that allows brands to integrate within the video platform, which is one of the most used social network in the world. This way, you can sell your products in three different ways: through videos, live streams, and the shop tab.

In 2023, users of the platform watched more than 30 billion hours of shopping-related videos.

Since then, they have continuously released new features to enhance this service. As a result, they have now created an affiliate program for YouTube Shopping that promises to improve outcomes for both sellers and creators. For now, it is only available to users in the United States.

How to set up an account at the YouTube Shopping affiliate program

Wether your are a merchant or a creator, both of them, to access this program, you need to register through the Google and YouTube app on Shopify.

For merchants

This app allows merchants to synchronize their online store with YouTube Shopping via the Google Merchant Center. Additionally, you must meet certain requirements, such as having a Shopify Advanced or Plus subscription plan, enabling conversion tracking and auto-tagging to monitor results, have your target country in your Google Merchant Center in the US and not using Shopify’s headless commerce solution, among others.

Once you have confirmed that you are eligible for the program, you can begin.

1. Set a default commission rate that will apply to all products and affiliated creators.
2. Establish the pending period during which a commission remains “pending” in case of a return or order cancellation, as well as the attribution period, which is the time it takes to attribute a purchase to a creator.
3. Add your billing profile.
4. And, of course, you must accept the terms and conditions—the part that no one reads but everyone should.

For creators

You can also join the program as a creator. While you are navigating through an online shop, you can check at the Chrome extension if other merchants offer a higher comission rate for the same product so you can choose which seller is better for you to promote on your youtube video. Also, when looking into details of  a single product, you can save it directly from the Google Extension and tag it later on your content.

Benefits for merchants and creators

For creators, they will soon have access to a Chrome extension that allows them to save products they want to tag in their videos later while browsing the websites of any brands participating in the YouTube Shopping affiliate program. Some of these brands include BK Beauty, Popflex, HexClad, and GoPure Beauty.

Although this feature is currently only available in the United States, it is only a matter of time before it expands to other countries, which would be a significant advantage for sellers in those markets.