Google Analytics
If you are new to Shopify, you may have heard that "connecting Google Analytics" is one of the first things every store owner should do. The good news is that Shoppable Videos does not ask you to create a new Google Analytics account or paste in any technical ID. Instead, it simply sends extra events — like video views and product clicks — into the Google Analytics you already have on your store.
This guide explains what the integration does, what you need before turning it on, and how to enable and verify it step by step.
When you enable this integration, Shoppable Videos automatically sends extra information to the GA4 that is already connected to your store, such as:
- A customer watched one of your shoppable videos.
- A customer clicked on a product tagged inside a video.
- A customer added a product to their cart from the video widget.
- A customer started checkout from the video widget.
There is no "Measurement ID" or API key to type in anywhere inside Doran Shoppable Videos. The switch you will turn on in the next section only tells the app "yes, please also send my video events to the Google Analytics that is already running on my store." If you haven't connected Google Analytics to your store yet, turning this switch on will not do anything, because there is nothing for it to send data to.
Before you start
Make sure both of the following are true before you continue, otherwise the integration will not work:
- Google Analytics 4 is already connected to your store (through Shopify's Online Store > Preferences, the Google & YouTube channel app, or Google Tag Manager). If you are not sure, ask whoever set up your store's marketing tools, or check your Shopify admin under Online Store > Preferences.
- The "Doran: Shoppable Videos" app embed is turned on in your theme (Online Store > Themes > Customize > App embeds). Without this, none of the Shoppable Videos widgets — and none of the tracking — will load on your storefront at all.
Events tracked
Once enabled, Shoppable Videos sends the following events to your store's Google Analytics every time a shopper interacts with a video widget:
| Event name in GA4 | When it is sent |
|---|---|
view_video | A shopper watches a video in a widget for a few seconds. |
watched_time | Reported after a shopper finishes watching, showing how many seconds (and what percentage) of the video they watched. |
select_item | A shopper clicks on a product tagged inside a video. |
add_to_cart | A shopper adds a tagged product to their cart from the video widget. |
begin_checkout | A shopper clicks "Checkout" from the video widget's cart. |
Shoppable Videos does not send a purchase event to Google Analytics. If you want to see completed orders in Google Analytics, make sure you have Shopify's own Google & YouTube channel connected — that is what reports purchases to GA4, independently of this integration.
How to enable Google Analytics
Double-check that Google Analytics 4 is already connected to your store (see Before you start above). If it isn't, set that up first — Shoppable Videos only forwards events to an existing Google Analytics connection, it does not create one for you.
In your Shopify admin, access Doran Shoppable Videos > Settings > Integrations.
Find the Google Analytics section and toggle the Enable Google Analytics switch to On.
Go to Online Store > Themes > Customize > App embeds and confirm that Doran: Shoppable Videos is turned on. If it is already on, you don't need to do anything else.
That's it — there is no account to connect, no code to paste, and no extra save button. As soon as the switch is on and the app embed is active, new video events will start flowing into your Google Analytics.
How to verify it's working
Because this is your first time setting this up, it's a good idea to confirm the events are actually arriving before you move on:
Open your Google Analytics 4 property and go to Reports > Realtime (or Admin > DebugView if you want to see each event individually).
In a new browser tab, open your storefront and play one of your shoppable videos, then click on a tagged product.
Within a minute or two, you should see view_video and select_item events appear in the Realtime report.
Google Analytics can take a minute or two to show new events, and some reports (outside of Realtime/DebugView) can take up to 24-48 hours to update. If you don't see anything after a few minutes in Realtime, double check the two prerequisites above before assuming something is broken.
Troubleshooting
(GoKwik) Kwik COD & Checkout
Learn what Kwik COD & Checkout is, a feature on Doran developed in collaboration with GoKwik, and discover how easy it is to activate it for your store.
MCP
Connect an AI assistant to your Shoppable Videos data via MCP so you can ask questions about your videos, widgets, and analytics in plain language.