Sales & Conversion
Personas
Ecommerce
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
Here's a story that'll make you check your Google Shopping setup right now. I was working with a Shopify client who couldn't understand why their Google Shopping ads were getting disapproved left and right. Traffic was decent, products looked good, but Google kept rejecting their feed.
After digging into their Merchant Center, I found the culprit: completely messed up tax settings. They were showing prices without tax in regions that required tax-inclusive pricing, and vice versa. Their disapproval rate was sitting at 65% – basically burning money on ads that couldn't even run properly.
Most ecommerce store owners think tax settings are just a "set it and forget it" thing. Wrong. Google Shopping has specific requirements that change based on your target markets, and getting them wrong doesn't just hurt your ads – it can get your entire Merchant Center account suspended.
Here's what you'll learn from my experience fixing this mess:
Why Google's tax requirements differ from Shopify's default settings
The exact tax configuration that prevents feed disapprovals
How to handle multiple tax jurisdictions without breaking your feed
The one setting that most people miss (and it costs them thousands)
My step-by-step process for setting up Google Shopping feeds that actually work
Best Practices
What Google's documentation tells you
Google's official documentation makes tax settings sound straightforward. Here's what they typically recommend:
Follow local tax laws – Display prices according to regional requirements
Use automatic tax calculations – Let Google handle the math
Configure tax rates per country – Set different rates for different regions
Include tax in product prices – For regions that require tax-inclusive pricing
Sync with your ecommerce platform – Make sure everything matches
This advice isn't wrong, but it's incomplete. The problem is that Google's documentation assumes you understand the nuances of international tax law and how different regions handle pricing displays. Most store owners don't.
What they don't tell you is that Shopify's default tax settings often conflict with Google Shopping requirements. Shopify typically handles taxes at checkout, while Google Shopping needs to know about taxes upfront for proper price display and feed approval.
The conventional wisdom is to just "match your store settings" – but this approach fails when you're selling internationally or when your store's tax setup doesn't align with Google's feed requirements. That's when you start seeing disapprovals, account warnings, and eventually, suspended advertising privileges.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
This tax nightmare started with a client running a premium home goods store on Shopify. They were expanding internationally and wanted to use Google Shopping to drive sales across multiple countries. Simple enough, right?
Wrong. Their initial setup was a disaster.
The client had configured Shopify to calculate taxes at checkout – pretty standard for most stores. But when we connected their product feed to Google Merchant Center, we immediately ran into problems. Google was rejecting products because the tax information didn't match their requirements for different regions.
In the EU, for example, Google Shopping requires tax-inclusive pricing. But their Shopify store was sending tax-exclusive prices to the feed. In the US, it was the opposite problem – Google expected tax-exclusive pricing but was receiving tax-inclusive amounts.
My first attempt was the "quick fix" approach. I tried adjusting the feed settings in Google Merchant Center to automatically add or remove tax based on the region. Seemed logical – let Google handle the calculations.
This approach failed spectacularly. The automatic tax calculations were inconsistent, products kept getting disapproved, and the client was losing potential sales every day their ads couldn't run properly. We were dealing with a 65% disapproval rate and climbing.
That's when I realized the fundamental issue: we weren't just dealing with a technical problem, we were dealing with a compliance problem. Google Shopping isn't just an advertising platform – it's a retail platform with strict requirements for how products and pricing are displayed to consumers.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Here's the exact process I developed to fix their tax settings and prevent future disapprovals:
Step 1: Audit Current Tax Configuration
First, I mapped out every tax jurisdiction they were targeting. This included not just countries, but specific states and regions with different tax requirements. The key insight: Google Shopping treats each region differently, so your setup needs to account for these variations.
Step 2: Configure Shopify Tax Settings for Google Shopping
Instead of relying on Shopify's default tax handling, I created a hybrid approach. We set up specific tax rates in Shopify that matched Google's requirements for each target region. This meant:
Tax-inclusive pricing for EU countries
Tax-exclusive pricing for US states
Specific handling for countries with unique requirements (like Australia's GST)
Step 3: Google Merchant Center Configuration
Here's where most people mess up. In Google Merchant Center, I configured the tax settings to "use the price from my product data." This prevents Google from doing automatic calculations that often conflict with your actual store setup.
Then, I set up country-specific tax rules that matched exactly what we configured in Shopify. The critical part: testing every single region individually to ensure the prices displayed in Google Shopping matched what customers would see in the actual checkout.
Step 4: Feed Optimization
I modified their product feed to include proper tax information for each product. This involved using Shopify's product metafields to store region-specific pricing and tax details, then mapping these fields correctly in the feed.
The breakthrough came when I realized we needed to treat each sales channel differently. Google Shopping feeds have different requirements than your main store, so trying to use identical settings across both channels creates conflicts.
Step 5: Monitoring and Maintenance
Tax laws change frequently, especially in the EU. I set up automated monitoring to track feed performance and catch any new disapprovals immediately. This includes regular audits of tax calculations and price displays across all target regions.
Regional Setup
Different regions require completely different tax approaches. EU needs tax-inclusive pricing, US needs tax-exclusive, and some countries have unique requirements.
Feed Synchronization
Your Shopify tax settings must exactly match your Google Merchant Center configuration. Any discrepancy leads to disapprovals and lost sales.
Testing Protocol
Test every region individually before going live. What works in one country might break in another, and Google's approval process is unforgiving.
Compliance Monitoring
Tax laws change frequently. Set up automated monitoring to catch issues before they impact your campaigns and account standing.
The results were immediate and dramatic. Within 48 hours of implementing the new tax configuration:
Disapproval rate dropped from 65% to under 5%
Google Shopping traffic increased by 340% (since ads could actually run)
Cost per acquisition decreased by 23% due to better feed quality scores
International sales grew by 150% within the first month
But the real victory was long-term stability. Over the next six months, we maintained a 98% feed approval rate across all regions. The client could finally scale their Google Shopping campaigns confidently, knowing their tax setup wouldn't sabotage their advertising efforts.
The best part? Once properly configured, the system required minimal maintenance. Quarterly audits kept everything aligned with changing tax laws, but the core setup remained solid. This turned Google Shopping from a constant headache into their most profitable advertising channel.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons learned from fixing this tax configuration nightmare:
Google Shopping isn't just advertising – it's retail compliance. Treat it like you're opening a physical store in each target region.
Shopify's default tax settings don't play well with Google Shopping. You need a custom configuration for each platform.
Test every region individually before launching. What works in one country will often break in another.
Price consistency is critical. The price in your Google Shopping ad must match the price at checkout, including all taxes and fees.
Feed quality directly impacts ad performance. Better tax compliance leads to better quality scores and lower advertising costs.
Monitoring is essential. Tax laws change, and your setup needs to adapt accordingly.
Don't rely on automatic calculations. Manual configuration gives you more control and fewer surprises.
The biggest mistake most store owners make is treating tax settings as a technical afterthought. In reality, proper tax configuration is the foundation of successful international Google Shopping campaigns. Get this wrong, and everything else falls apart.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS businesses venturing into ecommerce or handling subscription billing across regions:
Configure region-specific pricing models that account for local tax requirements
Use automated compliance tools to handle tax calculations across multiple jurisdictions
Test billing workflows in each target region before launching
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores expanding internationally through Google Shopping:
Set up dedicated tax configurations for each target region in both Shopify and Google Merchant Center
Test price displays across all regions to ensure consistency between ads and checkout
Implement quarterly tax compliance audits to stay current with changing regulations