Outbound Wiki

App marketplace partnerships

Building, submitting and maintaining integrations in software marketplaces and partner directories.

An app marketplace listing guides onboarding. Shape it around the decisions a buyer and the person approving access must make before use. Set the listing boundary first, then connect the marketplace events, account flow, and setup material. Publishing multiple integrations in one listing can streamline installation and authorization.1 The consent screen lists every scope required by every integration in that listing.2 Check compatibility and scope impact before you submit, because changing the shape after launch creates work for users and for the team maintaining the integration.

Choose the listing shape

Use the smallest listing structure that gives users a clear installation path. If you have multiple integrations, decide whether they belong together before building the submission materials.

Decide which integrations a buyer should install and authorize together and whether they share a coherent setup path.

Web apps, Drive apps, and Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms add-ons can often be combined in one listing, subject to compatibility rules.3 Use the marketplace comparison table to determine which integrations can share a listing.4 Find the starting integration in the left-hand column, find the endpoint in the top row, and trace both lines to their intersection.5

A listing cannot contain more than one Google Workspace add-on.6 A single Google Workspace add-on can extend Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Chat, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Meet.7 The compatibility option for Chat applies only to Chat apps built as Google Workspace add-ons. Other Chat apps must be listed separately.8

Record the scopes each integration needs before you submit. Identify who will approve those scopes, what the user sees, and whether the combined consent screen makes sense for the installation path.

Build the marketplace plumbing

The marketplace connection must work after purchase, during account creation, and when the subscription changes. Build and test those handoffs before treating the listing as ready.

For a Cloud Marketplace listing, the app backend must integrate with the specified Google APIs and services.9 Use Pub/Sub to receive marketplace notifications, including a notification when a user signs up.10 The Partner Engineer creates the Pub/Sub topic that the app must subscribe to.11

Use the Partner Procurement API to create customer accounts and link them to the marketplace purchase.12 Continue using that API when users change or cancel their subscription plans so the linked accounts stay current.13 If the pricing model is usage-based, integrate with Service Control to report usage information.14

Set up the marketplace integrations in the frontend.15 Provide a sign-up page for new customers who purchase through the marketplace.16 When a user visits that page, the marketplace sends a JSON Web Token containing the user account ID.17 Use that account ID to connect the product account with the user's Google Account and for Identity and Access Management.18

Provide a login page for customers.19 You can add single sign-on so customers sign in with their Google Accounts.20 When they use single sign-on, the marketplace sends a JSON Web Token with information for the app to verify.21

Track which event creates the customer account, which changes its entitlements, and what happens when the buyer reaches the sign-up page without an existing product account.

Before testing, verify that the Partner Engineer has enabled access to the Cloud Commerce Partner Procurement API.22 After that access is granted, no further API enablement is needed in the cloud console.23

Prepare the listing page

Write the page for the person deciding whether the integration fits and the technical team deciding whether it can be installed. A buyer should understand the connection, its requirements, and the first setup action without chasing your team.

The website listing page should be user friendly, engaging, and helpful to prospects and customers.24 Show your name with your partner's name or logo.25 Describe the partner's product and the value of the integration.26 Keep the description specific enough to answer what moves between the systems and what the user can do after setup.

Include system requirements and install instructions so prospects can pass the technical details to their technology and leadership teams.27 Give the sales team a listing URL it can paste into sales emails during the buying process.28

Add a how-to video for setup.29 A step-by-step setup video can reduce hand-holding from the customer-success team and speed adoption among existing customers.30 Include screenshots of the integration in action.31 Use them to show customers and prospects what the integration can do.32

A technical reviewer should be able to find the requirements, installation steps, and expected result on the page. An existing customer should be able to follow the setup without waiting for a meeting.

Submit through the partner route

Submission depends on the marketplace owner, so confirm that your product belongs in the directory you are using. Keep the partner program, app build, and listing submission in one tracked path.

For an ISV with an app, the App Marketplace is the software directory, while the Solutions Directory shows agencies that implement HubSpot.33 The route is to join the Technology Partner Program, build the app, and submit a Marketplace listing.34 Keep those routes separate when you plan distribution, because they represent different types of partner work.

Before submitting, walk through the listing as a new buyer. Confirm that the installation action reaches the right account flow, the permissions match the product experience, and the page gives the technical reviewer enough information to proceed.

Maintain the published listing

A published listing is part of the product's access path. Changes to its structure can create customer work, so review the effect on existing installs before moving an integration or adding new scopes.

Keep a record of the listing's integrations, scopes, account handoffs, and setup materials. When you change one of those pieces, test the path from installation through first use and update the page where the customer will encounter the change.

What not to do

  • Do not combine integrations without checking for broader consent screens, scope verification, and user access effects.35
  • Do not add an integration that requires additional scopes to an existing listing without planning for authorization in the Google Admin console. Administrators who installed the original app for their domain must authorize the additional scopes, or users in that domain are prompted individually.36
  • Do not move an integration assuming existing users keep access. They might lose access and need to install the listing to which you moved the integration.37
  • User counts and reviews do not carry over when an integration moves to another listing, so do not treat them as transferable.38

Sources

  1. 1
    “Publishing multiple app integrations within a single app listing streamlines user experience by enabling simultaneous installation and authorization.”
  2. 2
    “The consent screen lists all scopes required by all app integrations.”
  3. 3
    “Web apps, Drive apps, and Editor add-ons (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms) can often be combined within one listing, with certain compatibility rules outlined in a provided table.”
  4. 4
    “Use this comparison table to learn which app integrations can be included in a single app listing.”
  5. 5
    “To use this table, find your starting point in the left-hand column and then look across the top row for your endpoint. Trace both lines until they intersect.”
  6. 6
    “* You can't list more than one Google Workspace add-on in your app listing,”
  7. 7
    “but you can build a single Google Workspace add-on that extends Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Chat, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Meet.”
  8. 8
    “** Only available for Google Chat apps built as Google Workspace add-ons. Otherwise, Chat apps must be listed separately in the Google Workspace Marketplace.”
  9. 9
    “You must integrate your app's backend with the following Google APIs and services:”
  10. 10
    “Integrate with Pub/Sub to receive notifications from Cloud Marketplace, such as when a user signs up for your product.”
  11. 11
    “Your Partner Engineer creates a Pub/Sub topic that you must subscribe to for notifications.”
  12. 12
    “Integrate with the Partner Procurement API to create accounts for customers, and to link these accounts with their Cloud Marketplace purchase.”
  13. 13
    “You must also use the Partner Procurement API to update the linked accounts when users change or cancel their subscription plans.”
  14. 14
    “If you've chosen a usage-based pricing model, integrate with Service Control to report usage information.”
  15. 15
    “In your app's frontend, you must set up the following integrations:”
  16. 16
    “Provide a sign up page to sign up accounts for new customers who buy your product through Cloud Marketplace.”
  17. 17
    “When users visit this page, Google sends a JSON Web Token (JWT) containing the user's account ID.”
  18. 18
    “You use this account ID to link the user's account in your product with their Google Account, and also for Identity and Access Management (IAM).”
  19. 19
    “Provide a login page for your customers.”
  20. 20
    “Integrate single sign-on (SSO), so that your customers can sign into your app using their Google Accounts.”
  21. 21
    “If you integrate SSO, when users sign in by using SSO, Google sends a JSON Web Token (JWT) containing information about the user for you to verify.”
  22. 22
    “Verify that your Partner Engineer has enabled access to the Cloud Commerce Partner Procurement API.”
  23. 23
    “After your Partner Engineer has granted you access to the Partner Procurement API, you don't need to take any additional steps to enable the API in Google Cloud console.”
  24. 24
    “One of the most important pieces for launch day is making sure your integration listing pages on your website are user-friendly, engaging, and helpful to prospects and customers.”
  25. 25
    “Your name + your partner’s name (or logo)”
  26. 26
    “Description of your partner’s product and the value of the integration”
  27. 27
    “Include system requirements and install instructions so your prospects can pass information along to their tech and leadership team about specific tech stack requirements.”
  28. 28
    “Your sales team can also copy and paste the listing URL into their sales emails to help accelerate the buying process.”
  29. 29
    “How-to videos for setting up the integration”
  30. 30
    “Walk your existing customers through the integration setup via a step-by-step video to eliminate the need for hand-holding from your customer success team and drive integration adoption faster.”
  31. 31
    “Screenshots of the integration in action”
  32. 32
    “Give your customers and prospects a taste of what the integration can do in action.”
  33. 33
    “If you're an ISV with an app, the App Marketplace is your directory; the Solutions Directory shows agencies that implement HubSpot.”
  34. 34
    “For apps: join the Technology Partner Program, build your app, submit a Marketplace listing.”
  35. 35
    “Before combining integrations, developers should be aware of potential impacts like broader consent screens, scope verification, and user access considerations.”
  36. 36
    “If you add a new app integration that requires additional scopes to an existing app listing, administrators who have already installed the original app for their domain need to authorize the additional scopes in the Google Admin console. Until they do, users within the domain are individually prompted to authorize.”
  37. 37
    “Existing users might lose access and need to install the app listing you moved it to.”
  38. 38
    “User counts and reviews don't carry over.”