How to Send Google Shopping Traffic Directly to Checkout (And Why It Boosts Conversions)

Want to boost your Google Shopping conversion rates with just a few clicks?

There’s a simple setting inside Google Merchant Center that most people aren’t using:

It lets you send shoppers directly from a Google Shopping ad or listing straight into your checkout page.

That means… no product page visit, no extra decisions, no drop-off. If someone is already ready to buy, they can do it there and then.

In this edition, I’ll show you exactly how to set it up, where it works (and doesn’t), and what to do if your store platform or product IDs don’t quite line up.

Send Users Straight to Checkout from Google Shopping

Inside Google Merchant Center, there’s a setting under Business Information → Checkout that lets you enter a “checkout URL template.”

When activated, it lets Google inject the correct product ID into a pre-defined template that links directly to your checkout page with that product already added to the cart.

Here’s how you turn it on:

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Login to Merchant Center.

2. On the left-hand menu, go to Business Information.

3. Click on the Checkout tab.

4. Change the setting from “Don’t include a URL” to “Include a URL to your cart or checkout page”.

5. In the template field, paste your platform-specific checkout URL structure.

If you're on Shopify, here’s the exact template you can use:

https://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/{{product_id}}:1

Replace yourstore with your actual Shopify store URL.

When enabled, Google will substitute in the correct product ID from your feed and send users straight to the cart or checkout with that product already added.

Test that the URL Works

There’s a test button in the Merchant Center interface that will:

• Grab a random product ID from your feed.

• Inject it into the template.

• Open the URL in a new tab.

If the checkout page loads correctly with the product added to the cart, you’re good to go.

If it doesn’t load correctly, here’s what might be wrong:

• Your product ID in Merchant Center doesn’t match your variant ID in Shopify.

• The checkout URL template isn’t compatible with your ecommerce platform.

In either case, the fix is to go more granular…

Alternative Setup: Use Product-Level Checkout URLs

If the account-wide template doesn’t work for your setup, you’ll need to use product-level checkout links instead.

Inside your product feed, add a custom attribute:

checkout_link_template

Many modern feed tools (like Feedonomics, DataFeedWatch, etc.) will allow you to add this custom field.

This lets you set a unique checkout URL per product, solving the ID mismatch problem, especially useful for stores not on Shopify.

Where This Checkout Feature Actually Works

Here’s where you can currently use the direct checkout feature:

• ✅ Free Shopping listings: These show up in the Shopping tab and cost nothing. If your feed is already active, you might be getting these by default.

• ✅ Performance Max Display placements: When Performance Max campaigns show display ads, especially to retargeted visitors, this checkout feature works brilliantly.

• ✅ Demand Gen campaigns: Yes, the feature is supported in Demand Gen too, whether it’s display banners or YouTube Shorts.

And where it doesn’t work… yet:

• 🚫 Standard Shopping Ads

• 🚫 Performance Max Shopping placements

So no luck (for now) if you want this on your main Shopping campaigns. But don’t let that put you off…

Why This Is Still Worth Doing

Let’s be real: this feature is very handy for warm traffic, especially:

• Visitors already familiar with your brand.

• People who’ve seen your products before (e.g. retargeted via PMax).

• High-intent shoppers browsing free listings.

Sending these users straight to checkout cuts friction and boosts your odds of converting.

It’s not a silver bullet for all campaigns, but for those warm touchpoints, it’s a really smart move that takes just minutes to implement.

And if you’re like me, anything that gets us a few extra conversions without having to redo our entire ad strategy is always welcome.

Summary

To recap:

• You can now send traffic directly to your checkout from Google Shopping using a Merchant Center setting.

• It works via a checkout URL template—ideal for platforms like Shopify.

• If account-wide templates don’t work, use the checkout_link_template attribute at product level.
  It currently supports Free Shopping listings, PMax Display, and Demand Gen—not paid Shopping Ads.

• It's especially effective for warm and retargeted traffic, giving you a handy conversion rate boost.

Let me know if you want to run this setup in your store but need help getting it working right with your feed structure, we’re happy to take a look.

Regards,
Daryl
Founder of Big Flare