Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
To flag a relationship with a merchant account, a Shopping partner must first
use the accounts.link
method to send a linking request.
The link request contains a linkedAccountId
that identifies the merchant receiving the request and has an action
type of request. Each link should also specificy a set of services
that enumerates which features the partner provides to the merchant. The following
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
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.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-08-13 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Merchant API is the new version of the Content API for Shopping and represents the future of the platform.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo establish a relationship, partners must send a linking request using the \u003ccode\u003eaccounts.link\u003c/code\u003e method, specifying the desired services and partner type.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe link request requires approval from the receiving merchant before it becomes fully established.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003ePartners can be categorized as either \u003ccode\u003echannelPartner\u003c/code\u003e or \u003ccode\u003eeCommercePlatform\u003c/code\u003e and must use their designated \u003ccode\u003elinkType\u003c/code\u003e in the API call.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ccode\u003eservices\u003c/code\u003e field allows partners to indicate the specific features they offer to merchants, such as product and order management.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The Merchant API beta, a new version of the Content API for Shopping, is introduced. Shopping partners must use the `accounts.link` method to request a link to a merchant account. This requires specifying the `linkedAccountId` of the merchant, the `linkType` (e.g., `channelPartner`, `eCommercePlatform`), the provided `services` (e.g., `shoppingAdsProductManagement`), and an `action` of `request`. The link requires the receiving merchant's approval to be established. An example API call is provided.\n"],null,["# Request links\n\nTo flag a relationship with a merchant account, a Shopping partner must first\nuse the [`accounts.link`](/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link)\nmethod to send a linking request.\n| **Note:** The link is not fully established until the receiving merchant approves the request.\n\nThe link request contains a [`linkedAccountId`](/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#linkedAccountId)\nthat identifies the merchant receiving the request and has an [`action`](/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#action)\ntype of `request`. Each link should also specificy a set of [`services`](/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#linkType)\nthat enumerates which features the partner provides to the merchant. The following\n[`services`](/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#linkType) values\nare supported.\n\n| Service | Description |\n|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `shoppingAdsProductManagement` | Product data management for Shopping ads |\n| `shoppingActionsProductManagement` | Product data management for Buy on Google (formerly known as Shopping Actions) |\n| `shoppingActionsOrderManagement` | Order management for Buy on Google (formerly known as Shopping Actions) |\n\nAdditionally, a request must also contain a valid [`linkType`](/shopping-content/reference/rest/v2.1/accounts/link#linkType)\nthat describes the type of Shopping partner making the request. Shopping\npartners are assigned one of the following labels and should use their designated\nlabel in the `linkType` field when calling the API.\n\n| Valid linkTypes |\n|---------------------|\n| `channelPartner` |\n| `eCommercePlatform` |\n\nExample\n-------\n\nThe following API call sends a link request from a partner's account\n`123456789` to a merchant with `linkedAccountId` of `\"98765\"`.\n\nThe `\"eCommercePlatform\"` `linkType` identifies the partner as an e-commerce\nplatform. The `services` list indicates that the partner provides\n`\"shoppingAdsProductManagement\"` (product data management for Shopping ads) and\n`\"shoppingActionsOrderManagement\"` (order management for Buy on Google, formerly\nknown as Shopping Actions) features. \n\n POST https://shoppingcontent.googleapis.com/content/v2.1/123456789/accounts/123456789/link\n {\n \"linkedAccountId\": \"98765\",\n \"linkType\": \"eCommercePlatform\",\n \"services\": [\"shoppingAdsProductManagement\", \"shoppingActionsOrderManagement\"],\n \"action\": \"request\"\n }\n\nThe [next section](/shopping-content/guides/flagging/list) describes how to get a list of existing links."]]