How it works
How a CSS Partner saves you ~20% on every Google Shopping click
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By Google
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97,00 €
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Free
By TheCSSPartner
What is a CSS Partner?
A Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) is a company that is authorised to submit product listings to Google Shopping on behalf of webshops. When your ads run through a CSS instead of directly through Google, you typically pay around 20% less per click.
That is the whole mechanism. Everything else stays the same.
Your ads appear in exactly the same positions. Your products, prices and images are unchanged. Shoppers see the same ads as before. The only visible difference is a small grey line of text beneath the ad that shows your CSS provider instead of "Google".
a right Google must offer
Why does Google offer this?
Not voluntarily.
On 27 June 2017, the European Commission fined Google EUR 2.42 billion (case AT.39740) for giving its own Google Shopping service an unfair advantage over rival comparison shopping services. As part of the remedy, Google was required to give authorised CSS providers access to the same auction on equal terms.
That equal-access rule is what creates the 20% saving. When you run ads through Google's own Shopping platform, Google takes a margin before your bid enters the auction. When you run through an authorised CSS, your full bid enters the auction directly. More budget in the auction means more clicks for the same spend, or the same clicks for less spend.
This is a regulatory reality, not a promotional offer. That same equal access applies to any authorised CSS, including us. So the saving itself is not what sets providers apart. What sets them apart is the price, the terms, and who picks up the phone when something needs fixing. The real question is not whether to use a CSS, but which one.
Why us over another CSS?
Every authorised CSS provider gives you access to the same auction. The difference is in the pricing model, the lock-in, and the support. Here is what to look for in a CSS partner, and how we answer:
| What to look for | The CSS Partner |
|---|---|
| Price | Flat: 20 € per month per shop. All 21 European CSS countries included, with no per-country fee and no setup fee. |
| Hidden fees | None. The price on the page is the price. Prices are excl. VAT. |
| Lock-in | None. Pay monthly, cancel any time. |
| Support | A real person: Magnus, from Aarhus, direct contact. No ticket queue. |
| Guarantee | 60-day guarantee. |
| Authority | Built directly on the EU ruling (case AT.39740), and you can check our own ad live: the source line switches to By TheCSSPartner. |
| Languages and coverage | 29 languages on one domain, with real translators per market. |
What the ~20% actually means
The saving is on your cost-per-click, not on your product prices.
Your customers still see the same prices for your products. Your ads show the same images, titles and descriptions. You rank in the same positions. Nothing changes for your customers.
What changes: the amount you pay Google per click. If you currently spend 5.000 € per month on Google Shopping, a ~20% reduction in CPC means you get the same number of clicks for roughly 4.000 €. Or you keep the same budget and get ~25% more clicks.
To be precise: the 20% is a structural average across the market. Your actual saving depends on your current campaigns, bids and category. Most shops see 15 to 25%.
What does NOT change
It is worth being explicit, because this question comes up every time.
- Your Google Ads account stays yours. You keep full control.
- Your campaign structure, bids, budgets and targeting are untouched.
- Your product feed and Merchant Center data are unchanged.
- Your ad placements and ranking are unaffected.
- Your customers see identical ads, identical prices, identical products.
- You do not need to learn a new platform or retrain your team.
The only thing that changes is which CSS is linked to your Merchant Center. That is a single settings change.
How the switch works: 3 steps, 24 hours
Step 1: You sign up and pay. You create an account with The CSS Partner and pay right away via Stripe, and your subscription starts. Takes about five minutes.
Step 2: We connect your Merchant Center. We send you a short connection request in your Google Merchant Center. You approve it. That is literally one click. We handle the technical CSS configuration on our side.
Step 3: You go live. Within 24 hours of the connection being approved, your ads are running through The CSS Partner. Your campaigns keep running without interruption. No downtime. No relearning phase.
Most shops are live within a few hours of approving the connection.
Is the saving permanent?
Yes. The EU regulation that created the equal-access rule is in force. The Court of Justice of the EU upheld the Commission's decision in 2024. As long as Google operates Shopping in Europe, authorised CSS providers have the right to participate on equal terms.
Your ~20% lower CPC is not a temporary promotion. It is the normal price for running Shopping ads through an authorised CSS.
Who is this for?
Any webshop running Google Shopping ads in one or more of the 21 European countries where Google CSS is available. There is no minimum spend. There is no minimum number of products. If you are paying Google for Shopping clicks right now, you are paying more than you need to.
The maths work at any scale, but they become very visible above a few hundred euros per month in Shopping spend.