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How to Get Started with Google Analytics MCP

Cody Schneider•

Facebook's Manufacturer Center Program (MCP) offers brands direct control over how their products are presented across Google's ecosystem. It's a powerful and free tool to ensure accuracy, enrich listings, and uncover unique market insights. This guide will walk you through exactly what MCP is, why it matters, and how to get started step-by-step, including linking it with Google Analytics to track performance.

What is the Google Manufacturer Center Program (MCP)?

Google Manufacturer Center is a platform specifically for brand manufacturers, brand owners, and brand licensors. It allows you to upload and manage detailed, authoritative product information directly with Google. This information is then used to enrich product listings on Google Shopping, Google Search, and other Google services, giving shoppers a better and more consistent experience.

Think of it as the ultimate source of truth for your products. While retailers list your products for sale through the Google Merchant Center, you can use the Manufacturer Center to supply the official, high-quality data that powers those listings.

Manufacturer Center vs. Merchant Center: What’s the Difference?

This is a common point of confusion, so let’s clear it up. These two platforms have distinct purposes but work together beautifully.

  • Google Merchant Center (GMC) is for retailers. It's where anyone who sells products uploads their inventory, sets prices, and manages shipping information to run Google Shopping ads.

  • Google Manufacturer Center (MCP) is for brand manufacturers. It’s where you, the brand owner, provide the official, canonical product data like titles, descriptions, high-resolution images, videos, and detailed features. You don't sell directly from MCP.

When a retailer runs a Shopping ad for one of your products, Google can pull from the data you provided in your Manufacturer Center account to enhance that listing. The retailer provides the price and availability, and you provide the rich product details. This partnership ensures shoppers see the best possible version of your product listing, regardless of who is selling it.

Why Your Brand Should Be on Google MCP

Using Manufacturer Center goes far beyond just updating a product description. It gives you a competitive advantage by improving your discoverability, brand presence, and access to unique analytics.

1. Control Your Product & Brand Narrative

Without Manufacturer Center, you're relying entirely on retailers to represent your products accurately. Descriptions can be inconsistent, images may be low-quality, and key features might be missing. MCP allows you to standardize your product messaging across the internet, ensuring every potential customer sees the correct, brand-approved information direct from the source.

2. Create Enhanced "Best-in-Class" Product Listings

A basic listing from a retailer might have a simple title and one photo. Through MCP, you can add an impressive layer of detail that makes your products stand out. This includes:

  • Multiple High-Resolution Images: Show different angles, in-use lifestyle shots, and close-ups.

  • Product Videos: Link to YouTube videos for product demos, tutorials, or marketing spots.

  • Detailed Feature Descriptions: Go beyond a simple paragraph by creating bulleted lists that highlight key benefits and technical specifications.

These enriched listings are more engaging, informative, and can lead to higher click-through rates and better conversion rates for the retailers selling your products.

3. Gain Access to Exclusive Analytics & Insights

Perhaps the most valuable feature of MCP is its analytics. You get access to data you cannot see anywhere else, including Google Analytics or Google Ads. These insights help you understand your product's performance across the entire Google Shopping ecosystem, not just on your own website.

You can see:

  • Impression and click data for your products, aggregated across all retailers selling them.

  • Top-performing retailers who are generating the most visibility for your products.

  • Category benchmark data, allowing you to see how your product impressions stack up against the top five products in the same category.

  • Interest trends over time, showing you when demand for your products is highest.

Getting Started: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Google Manufacturer Center

Setting up your account is straightforward. Follow these steps to get your brand up and running on Google Manufacturer Center.

Step 1: Confirm Your Eligibility

Before you begin, make sure you qualify. You must be:

  • A brand manufacturer that produces your own goods.

  • A brand owner with ownership of the brand's assets.

  • A brand licensor who represents a brand.

Critically, your products must have unique Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs), such as UPCs, EANs, or ISBNs. Google uses these GTINs to match the data you provide in MCP with the products retailers are selling in their Merchant Center accounts. Without GTINs, the program won't work.

Step 2: Create a Manufacturer Center Account

Head to manufacturers.google.com to sign up. You’ll be asked to provide your company name and some basic information. During this process, be sure to indicate your role (Manufacturer, Brand Owner, etc.) and where you sell your products (in which countries).

Step 3: Add Your Business Information and Verify Your Website

Next, fill out your business details, including your manufacturer name and official website. You will need to verify and claim this website to prove you own it. Google provides several simple ways to do this, such as using your existing Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager account, uploading an HTML file, or adding a meta-tag to your site's homepage.

Step 4: Claim Your Brands

Within Manufacturer Center, you must explicitly tell Google which brands you own. Go to the "Brands" section in your account and add the brand names you want to manage. For popular brands, Google may require additional information to verify ownership.

Step 5: Create and Upload Your Product Feed

This is the most important step. A product feed is a file — typically a spreadsheet or XML file — that contains all of your product information formatted in a way that Google can understand.

Key Product Attributes

While there are many potential attributes, these are the essentials:

  • id [ID]: A unique identifier for each product. Your SKU is a good choice.

  • brand [Brand]: The brand name of the product.

  • title [Title]: Your official product name.

  • gtin [GTIN]: The unique global trade number (e.g., your UPC).

  • description [Description]: The official, detailed product description.

  • image_link [Image link]: A URL of a high-resolution, clear primary image.

To really make your listings shine, include these powerful attributes:

  • additional_image_link [Additional image link]: Provide URLs for more images (different angles, lifestyle shots).

  • product_line [Product line]: Group related items, like a product family.

  • feature_description [Feature description]: Highlight specific features with headlines and short paragraphs. This is shown as rich content on the Shopping tab.

  • youtube_link [YouTube link]: Link to a product demo or marketing video.

How to Create the Feed

You can create your feed a few different ways:

  • Manual Upload: For smaller catalogs, start with a simple Google Sheet. Manufacturer Center provides a template you can use.

  • Scheduled Fetches: You can host the feed file on your website (e.g., company.com/mcp_feed.xml) and tell Google to retrieve it on a daily or weekly schedule. This is the recommended method for keeping your data fresh automatically.

  • Product Information Management (PIM): If you use a PIM system, it likely has an option to export a feed specifically for Google Manufacturer Center.

Linking Manufacturer Center with Google Analytics

Connecting your MCP and Google Analytics accounts allows you to track users who click the "View on manufacturer's site" link that can appear on product listings. It’s a great way to measure how effectively your enhanced content drives traffic to your own website. Note: This only tracks clicks to your site, not to retailer sites.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Navigate to Linked accounts in your Manufacturer Center settings.

  2. Look for the Google Analytics card and click Link.

  3. A prompt will appear. Enter the GA4 Property ID of the Google Analytics property you want to connect.

  4. A link request will be sent to that GA4 property. An administrator of the Analytics account must approve it.

  5. To approve, the GA4 admin must go to Admin > Product Links > Manufacturer Center Links and finalize the connection.

Once linked, traffic from these clicks will be automatically tagged and visible in your GA4 reports, typically with a source/medium of "google / manufacturer_center."

Best Practices for Success with MCP

Signing up is just the first step. To get the most out of Manufacturer Center, follow these best practices.

Go Beyond the Minimum Requirements

Don’t just upload the four required attributes. The true power of MCP comes from providing rich product information. Add multiple high-quality images, write compelling feature descriptions, and link to product videos. The more complete your data, the more your listings will stand out.

Monitor the Analytics Section Regularly

Make a habit of checking your MCP analytics weekly. Look for:

  • Products with a high number of impressions but a low click count. This could indicate your main image or title isn't resonating with shoppers.

  • Up-and-coming retailers who are starting to generate significant visibility for your brand. This could be an opportunity for a new partnership.

  • Impression share compared to your category leaders. Are you gaining or losing ground?

Keep Your Feed Updated

If your product details change or you launch new products, make sure your feed reflects those updates. Use a scheduled fetch to automate this process so you can set it and forget it, ensuring Google always has your latest information.

Drill Down with Product-Specific Tracking

Inside GA4, analyze the behavior of traffic coming from manufacturer_center clicks. Are these visitors more engaged? Do they browse more pages or spend more time on your site's learning content? Do they follow through on your site’s goal conversions, like finding a local store or signing up for a newsletter? This data helps you justify the effort invested in MCP and optimize your website for this informed, high-intent audience.

Final Thoughts

Google Manufacturer Center is an essential, free tool for brands to control their product story, enhance listings across retailer results, and gain unparalleled market insights. By setting up your account and providing rich, accurate product data, you can directly influence how shoppers discover and engage with your products across Google.

Pulling together performance data from Google Analytics, Manufacturer Center, Google Ads, and e-commerce platforms often becomes a manual data-wrangling exercise. Instead of jumping between tabs and wrestling with spreadsheets, we built our tool, Graphed, to simplify all of that. Connect your data sources once, then ask questions in plain English like "What were my top viewed products in Manufacturer Center last quarter?" or "Compare engagement rate for traffic from Google Ads versus Manufacturer Center." We automate the reporting, allowing you to turn complex analysis into a quick conversation.