Advertising
Know your real return on Google Ads
MerchantFlow brings Google Ads spend and performance into your profit view, so search and shopping campaigns are measured against profit.
Search and Shopping campaigns tend to look strong in the Google Ads interface because they capture demand that is already close to purchase. Conversion value divided by cost produces a flattering number, and it is the number most decisions get made on.
What it leaves out is everything between the sale and the money you keep: the cost of the product, the payment processing fee, the cost of getting it delivered, and the share that comes back as a refund.
MerchantFlow brings daily Google Ads spend and performance into the same view as your orders and costs, so a Shopping campaign is judged on the profit it produced rather than the revenue it reported.
What it syncs
Daily ad spend by campaign
Impressions, clicks, CTR, and CPC
Conversions and conversion value, where available
Campaign and account structure
Campaign type, including Search, Shopping, and Performance Max
Multiple Google Ads accounts under one login
Account currency and spend settings
What you get
Channel comparison
Google measured next to Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat on a consistent profit basis rather than each platform marking its own homework.
Spend in your P&L
Google Ads spend appears as a real cost line in your profit and loss, by day.
Profit after costs
Return calculated once product cost, fees, shipping, and refunds have been taken out.
Break-even ROAS by product
The threshold each product needs to clear, based on its own margin instead of one blended target for the whole catalogue.
What this unlocks
Profit-based ROAS
Return measured against contribution margin, so high-revenue low-margin campaigns stop flattering the report.
Blended MER
All marketing spend against total revenue, the check that catches double-counted attribution between platforms.
Break-even ROAS per product
What each SKU has to return before a campaign selling it is worth running.
Cost per acquisition by cohort
What a period of customers actually cost to acquire, and what they went on to be worth.
Connection details
| Detail | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Connection method | OAuth through Google. No manual token handling |
| Access level | Read-only. MerchantFlow cannot create, pause, or edit campaigns |
| Granularity | Campaign level, by day |
| Campaign types | Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Display, and Video |
| Multiple accounts | Supported. Connect several accounts under one login |
| Currency | Account currency normalised to your reporting currency |
How it connects
Connect with OAuth
Authorize read access to your Google Ads account.
Select your account
Choose the Google Ads account linked to your store.
Daily sync
Spend and performance refresh automatically each day.
Good to know
Conversion values are Google reported
Google attributes conversions with its own model and windows. MerchantFlow shows those figures alongside your real order data, so where the two disagree you can see it rather than having one silently override the other.
Performance Max is a black box by design
Performance Max reports at the campaign level and does not break spend out by channel the way separate Search and Shopping campaigns do. Spend and total return are accurate, but the internal split is limited by what Google exposes.
Cross-platform double counting
When Google and Meta both claim credit for the same order, their combined reported revenue exceeds your actual revenue. Blended MER is the number that stays honest.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Does it cover Shopping campaigns?
Yes. MerchantFlow reads spend and performance across your Google Ads campaign types, including Search and Shopping.
Is it read-only?
Yes. MerchantFlow only reads reporting data and cannot change campaigns or budgets.
Can I compare it to Meta?
Yes. All connected ad platforms are shown on a consistent profit basis so you can compare channels fairly.
Does it support Performance Max?
Yes. Performance Max spend and performance are synced at the campaign level, which is the granularity Google makes available for that campaign type.
Can I connect multiple Google Ads accounts?
Yes. Several accounts can be connected under one login and reported on together or separately, which suits multi-brand and agency setups.
How often does spend update?
Spend syncs automatically on a recurring schedule through the day, with manual sync available. Recent days are re-checked on later syncs so numbers settle as Google finalises them.
Why does the ROAS differ from the Google Ads interface?
Google reports revenue it attributes to a campaign. MerchantFlow reports profit against your actual orders after product cost, fees, and refunds. Different questions, different answers, and the comparison is the useful part.
Do I need Google Analytics connected as well?
No. The Google Ads connection reads spend and performance directly from the Google Ads API and does not depend on any analytics property being connected.
