To flag a relationship with a merchant account, a Shopping partner must first
use the [`accounts.link`](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link)
method to send a linking request.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** The link is not fully established until the receiving merchant approves the request.

The link request contains a [`linkedAccountId`](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#AccountsLinkRequest.FIELDS.linked_account_id)
that identifies the merchant receiving the request and has an [`action`](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#AccountsLinkRequest.FIELDS.action)
type of `request`. Each link should also specificy a set of [`services`](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#AccountsLinkRequest.FIELDS.services)
that enumerates which features the partner provides to the merchant. The following
[`services`](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#AccountsLinkRequest.FIELDS.services) values
are supported.

| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| `shoppingAdsProductManagement` | Product data management for Shopping ads |
| `shoppingActionsProductManagement` | Product data management for Buy on Google (formerly known as Shopping Actions) |
| `shoppingActionsOrderManagement` | Order management for Buy on Google (formerly known as Shopping Actions) |

Additionally, a request must also contain a valid [`linkType`](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#AccountsLinkRequest.FIELDS.link_type)
that describes the type of Shopping partner making the request. Shopping
partners are assigned one of the following labels and should use their designated
label in the `linkType` field when calling the API.

| Valid linkTypes |
|---|
| `channelPartner` |
| `eCommercePlatform` |

## Example

The following API call sends a link request from a partner's account
`123456789` to a merchant with `linkedAccountId` of `"98765"`.

The `"eCommercePlatform"` `linkType` identifies the partner as an e-commerce
platform. The `services` list indicates that the partner provides
`"shoppingAdsProductManagement"` (product data management for Shopping ads) and
`"shoppingActionsOrderManagement"` (order management for Buy on Google, formerly
known as Shopping Actions) features.

    POST https://shoppingcontent.googleapis.com/content/v2.1/123456789/accounts/123456789/link
    {
      "linkedAccountId": "98765",
      "linkType": "eCommercePlatform",
      "services": ["shoppingAdsProductManagement", "shoppingActionsOrderManagement"],
      "action": "request"
    }

The [next section](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/guides/flagging/list) describes how to get a list of existing links.