# Shopify + Google Ads + Google Analytics 4 integration and analysis

Connect Shopify, Google Ads and GA4 to Hendrik. Compare campaigns, website visits and orders to find where performance dropped before changing ad spend.

## The question this stack can answer

More ad spend. Fewer orders. Where is the gap?

## What Hendrik reads from each source

- **Shopify:** Orders, refunds, payment status, product cost coverage, and location inventory show what happened in the store.
- **Google Ads:** Spend, delivery, and Google reported conversions show the Google Ads side of the question.
- **Google Analytics 4:** Traffic acquisition, landing pages, and on site events show where the website journey changed.

## What you need to connect

- Use one explicit 28-day comparison window, time zone, market, and legal-entity scope before comparing values.
- Connected Shopify order, refund, and inventory data for the same store and comparison window.
- Connected Google Ads account with spend and conversion reporting for the stated window.
- Connected GA4 property with comparable acquisition and event reporting.
- Keep provider-specific definitions visible and use an identity or product mapping only where it is established for this workspace.

## Important limits

- Declared UTM text is not a verified ad-platform campaign identity; cost coverage and provenance control any margin claim.
- Google-reported conversion value is platform attribution, not incremental revenue or a deduplicated business total.
- GA4 events and attribution do not automatically establish a paid order, payment, or campaign relationship.

## Illustrative example

### Spend rose. Website visits fell.

Previous: 1–28 January. Current: 29 January–25 February. Both periods contain 28 days. Monetary values use USD and all timestamps use UTC. Net order value fell from $110,000 to $106,000 while refunds rose from $6,800 to $9,200. Google Ads: spend rose from $21,000 to $26,000 while platform conversion value rose from $88,000 to $105,000. Google Analytics 4: paid sessions fell from 16,800 to 15,300 and purchase events fell from 1,420 to 1,230.

*About this example: Synthetic data · illustrative analysis · Hendrik only acts with the permissions you give it.*

- net order value (USD, 28 days) (Shopify): 110,000 USD → 106,000 USD
- reported conversion value (USD, 28 days) (Google Ads): 88,000 USD → 105,000 USD
- reported purchase events (count, 28 days) (Google Analytics 4): 1,420 → 1,230
- refund value (USD, orders from the prior 28-day cohort) (Shopify): 6,800 USD → 9,200 USD
- Google Ads spend (USD, consecutive 28-day periods) (Google Ads): 21,000 USD → 26,000 USD
- GA4 paid sessions (configured channel group, consecutive 28-day periods) (Google Analytics 4): 16,800 → 15,300

### What Hendrik checks

- **Read the Shopify commercial result:** Compare completed net orders and refunds. This is the store outcome, not an attribution result.
- **Review Google Ads delivery:** Check spend, impressions, clicks, conversion definition, and conversion value inside Google Ads; its reporting is specific to that platform.
- **Use Google Analytics 4 for the journey question:** It shows whether fewer paid visits or fewer recorded purchases appear before the store order is completed. It does not map an ad interaction to an order by itself.
- **Test the operational explanation:** Check the landing page, checkout, tracking, price, and refund policy change log for the same period before choosing a campaign action.

### What Hendrik sees

Google Ads reported more conversion value, while GA4 paid sessions and purchase events fell. Shopify net order value also fell and refunds rose.

### What to do next

Check which landing pages or checkout steps lost the most purchases. Fix a confirmed site or tracking issue before increasing ad spend. Use Shopify orders and refunds to check whether the change helped the business.

**Limit:** Do not combine Google Ads conversion value with Shopify net orders. A campaign-to-order claim needs a documented identifier and matching conversion window.

## Provider documentation

- [Shopify documentation](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/reports-and-analytics)
- [Google Ads documentation](https://support.google.com/google-ads/)
- [Google Analytics 4 documentation](https://support.google.com/analytics/)

## Start with this stack

[Create a workspace and connect Shopify + Google Ads + Google Analytics 4](https://app.withhendrik.com/auth?mode=sign-up&acquisition_channel=marketing&return_to=%2Fonboarding%2Factivation&cta_location=integration_markdown&landing_page_id=combination-shopify-google-ads-ga4&combination=shopify-google-ads-ga4)