What is the Google & YouTube Channel?

The Google & YouTube app (developed by Google) connects your store to:

Google Merchant Center: Sync your product catalog to Google
Google Shopping: List products in Google Shopping results
YouTube Shopping: Tag products in YouTube videos
Google Ads: Run Shopping and Performance Max campaigns

If you’re running Google Shopping ads or want your products to appear in Google search results, you need this app.

Do I Need Both Apps?

Yes, for most merchants. The two apps serve different purposes and complement each other:

Google & YouTube is for product feeds, Shopping ads, and YouTube integration
Pasilobus Google Analytics is for accurate, customizable GA4 analytics

Think of it this way: Google & YouTube gets your products in front of customers. Pasilobus Google Analytics tells you exactly what those customers do on your store.

Feature	Google & YouTube	Pasilobus Google Analytics
Product feed to Google Merchant Center	Yes	—
Google Shopping campaigns	Yes	—
YouTube Shopping	Yes	—
GA4 ecommerce tracking	Yes	Enhanced
Choose which events to track	—	Yes (Premium)
Custom events (clicks, forms, page visits)	—	Yes (Premium)
Multiple GA4 properties	—	Yes
Refund tracking in GA4	—	Yes (Pro)
Cross-device tracking	—	Yes (Pro)

What Pasilobus Google Analytics Adds

Event Customization

With Google & YouTube, you get a fixed set of events with no control. Pasilobus Google Analytics lets Premium users choose exactly which events to send. This is useful if:

You only care about conversion events and want to reduce noise
Another system already tracks certain events
You want to stay within GA4’s event limits on high-traffic stores

Custom Events

Google & YouTube doesn’t offer custom event tracking. With Pasilobus Google Analytics, you can track interactions specific to your store—newsletter signups, video plays, size guide clicks, banner interactions—and see them in GA4 alongside your ecommerce data.

Multiple GA4 Properties

Need to send data to more than one GA4 property? Common for agencies managing client analytics or stores with multiple brands. Pasilobus supports additional measurement IDs through the Tag Manager feature. Google & YouTube only supports one.

Refund Tracking

When you process a refund in Shopify, Google & YouTube doesn’t send that information to GA4. This means your GA4 revenue reports are always overstated. Pasilobus Google Analytics (Pro plan) automatically sends refund events to GA4, so your revenue numbers reflect actual retained revenue—not just gross sales.

Cross-Device Tracking

GA4 treats each device as a separate user by default. A customer who browses on their phone and buys on their laptop appears as two different visitors. Pasilobus Google Analytics (Pro plan) sends the Shopify customer ID to GA4 for logged-in customers, allowing GA4 to connect sessions across devices and give you accurate user counts. Google & YouTube doesn’t offer this.

Avoiding Duplicate Tracking

Both apps can send data to GA4, which causes duplicate events. To prevent this, disable GA4 tracking in the Google & YouTube app.

How to Disable GA4 in Google & YouTube

In Shopify Admin, go to Sales Channels > Google & YouTube
Look for the Google Analytics section
Click Disconnect next to your GA4 property

Or via settings:

Go to Sales Channels > Google & YouTube > Settings
Find Google tag and click Manage
Remove any Google Analytics connections

After disconnecting, Pasilobus Google Analytics handles all GA4 tracking while Google & YouTube continues to manage your product feeds and Shopping campaigns.