Google Merchant API for Magento 2

User Guide & Documentation

Installation from Command Line

This extension can be installed in a few minutes, by going through the following steps:

• Download/purchase the extension
• Unzip the file in a temporary directory
• Copy directory contents and paste it in your Magento installation root directory. This extension will not replace existing code or file structure
• Enter the following at the command line:
  
  php bin/magento setup:upgrade
  php bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy (only if site is in production mode)

 

Installation and updating with Composer

You can install this extension via Composer only after purchasing a Composer support package

Run the following Composer commands

composer require anowave/package
composer require anowave/merchant
composer require google/shopping-merchant-products
composer require google/shopping-merchant-datasources

bin/magento setup:upgrade
bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy (only if site is in production mode)

 

Installing required libraries

The extension requires 2 libraries that need to be installed via Composer. You can do so from command line by executing the following 2 commands:

 

Configuration

The module requires some initial configuration but once done, it will operate autonomously from then on. General configuration, requires 3 important steps:

1. Creating a new project in Google Cloud Platform
2. Enabling Merchant API in the project and creating a service account + access keys
3. Authorizing API access to Merchant Center

 

Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud Platform lets you build, deploy, and scale applications, websites, and services on the same infrastructure as Google. To get started go to Google Cloud Platform.

 

Adding new project in Google Cloud Platform

Once you access Google Cloud Platform, click Projects -> New Project from the dropdown located in the top left corner of your browser. In the next screen name your project and click CREATE

When project gets created, select the project so you can start working in the newly created project.

 

Enabling Merchant API

From the project dashboard click QUICK ACCESS -> APIs & Services.

API & Services

Then in the search box located in top middle section of your screen type 'Merchant API' and hit enter. You should get Merchant API link as search result, click on that result.

On the next screen click the blue ENABLE button to enable the Merchant API

 

Credentials

Click a blue button called CREATE CREDENTIALS, in the Select an API * dropdown select 'Merchant API', select 'Application data' radio for the data access type and click NEXT

In Service account details input name your service account to whatever you feel recognizable e.g. Merchant API account, add description if you find suitable. 

1. Click Create & Continue
2. On next screen for Role select 'Owner' and click Continue
3. Click Done

 

Creating keys

From the left menu, click CREDENTIALS

Credentials

From Service accounts section select your newly created service account. Once selected, click Keys. From Add key dropdown select Create New Key, for Key type select JSON and click Create. You shall be given a link to download a JSON key file which you can store anywhere in your computer.

 

Authorizing Merchant Center

On the service accounts page click Details and copy the email of the service account, it will be in the following format: merchant-api-account@stunning-saga-441609-v5.iam.gserviceaccount.com

1. Once copied, go to your Merchant Center account at Google
2. Click the gearbox icon located in your top right corner and then select People & Access
3. In People section click 'Add person' and insert the email of the service account.
4. On next screen for access type select Standard and Performance and Insights checkboxes. You can leave Admin unchecked.
5. Click Add user button located in your bottom right corner.

 

Adding JSON key to config

Last but not least, we need to add the generated and downloaded JSON key into the extensions config screen. Open your Magento 2 admin panel and go to Stores -> Configuration -> Anowave -> Google Merchant API and upload the key in the config.

 

Google Merchant New Data Source

In order to work correctly, the extension requires a new data source in your Google Merchant account. To create a new data source of type API, go to Google Merchant center -> Products -> Manage Data Sources -> Add data source. On this screen select Add products using API if available and create the data source.

 

Working with the extension

Most of the job is done automatically for you but you have a few options available to use or choose from.

 

Adding or updating product to Merchant Center

To add a new product to Merchant Center go to your products grid at Catalog -> Products. Then mark the checkbox in the row of your product and from Actions dropdown select Merchant API -> Add to Merchant center

Same approach could be use to obtain information about the product or schedule it for removal from Merchant Center

 

Mapping your categories to Google Categories

If you want to assign your products to specific categories in Google, you need to map them to the same category names used by Google. This can be done directly from your categories tree in Catalog -> Categories -> Edit any category and from Merchant Center panel select the matching Google Category. That should be all.

 

Dynamic modifiers (via custom events)

The extension is designed to provide ability to developers to modify attribute values on the fly using custom events dispatched by the extension itself. You can hook to any event from your own module and do any kind of modification before the value gets send to Merchant Center

The custom events have the following notication:

General event that fires always

merchant_center_set_attribute

Attribute specific event that fires for specific attributes

merchant_center_set_[attribute] ... [attribute] can be any of the attributes available in Merchant Center + Customer Attributes from the EAV system of Magento 2

Some events + examples

merchant_center_set_size
merchant_center_set_color

We have prepared a quick example below, how to utilize the custom events

In your own module, define etc/events.xml and add some of the custom events that you want to hook to

Then, define your own PHP observer

Each event observer can access the value of the attribute, the attribute code, the product object and other helpers. This approach allows you to have multiple modifiers for the same attribute value, apply a conditional value modification or not set value at all for some scenarios. Hooking to these events from your own module, keeps the extensions updateable in future.